newsademic issue 057 b

3rd January 2008British English edition

Issue Number 57

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In this issue

End of a Royal familyCodex Atlanticus damagedRecord-setting QueenSouth China treasureNEWSCASTS

Earthquake in New ZealandSouth Korean ‘bulldozer’Putin makes the front cover of TimeTiger attacks zoo visitorsEuropean free travelPilgrims travel to MeccaElection in ThailandAncient Egyptian royaltiesNew York City goes greenerAncient ice skatesWhale hunting in AntarcticaExpelled from AfghanistanKenya’s troubled electionEuro for Malta and CyprusVishnu statues go missingBook reviewGlossary and Sudoku prize competitions

Supporters of the Pakistani People’s Party (PPP) light candles in memory of their former leader, Benazir Bhutto

At the beginning of December Pervez Musharraf, the president of Pakistan, announced that elections would be held on 8th January. Many predicted Bena-zir Bhutto’s Pakistani People’s Party (PPP) would win. Miss Bhutto was therefore expected to become the new prime minister.

On 27th December Miss Bhutto made a speech to a group of PPP supporters in Rawalpindi. Afterwards she left in a bullet-proof car which was fitted with a special sun roof. Miss Bhutto stood up in her car to wave to her supporters through the sun roof.

Someone in the crowd fired shots as Miss Bhutto waved from the roof of her car. She was hit in the neck. Another per-son then detonated a bomb. The explosion killed him, the person who fired the shots and another 20 people in the crowd. Miss Bhutto’s car sped to the nearest hospital.

Doctors were unable to save her. Three hours after the shooting a representative of the PPP announced to the waiting crowd that Miss Bhutto was dead.

Both Miss Bhutto and her father had been prime minister of Pakistan before. Her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was de-posed by the Pakistani army in 1977. General Zia, then head of the army, be-came the country’s leader. Mr Bhutto’s family left the country. His daughter completed her education at Oxford Uni-versity, in the UK, and Harvard Univer-sity, in the USA.

The army imprisoned Mr Bhutto for two years. Then General Zia put Mr Bhutto on trial. He was found guilty of ordering the murder of a political oppo-nent and hanged.

When General Zia died in an army plane crash in 1988 Miss Bhutto returned to Pakistan. She was elected prime minister

B E N A Z I R B H U T T O A S S A S S I N A T E D

3rd January, 2008 Newsademic.com – British English edition page 2

in the first proper elections to be held since her father was deposed. Miss Bhutto became the first woman elected as leader of a Muslim country.

Only 20 months after winning the election she was accused of dishon-esty and dismissed from office. She gained the people’s support again and was re-elected in 1993. Three years later both Miss Bhutto and her hus-band, Asif Ali Zardari, were accused of stealing money from the govern-ment. Both of them have always denied all the charges against them. Miss Bhutto left Pakistan again and went to live in Dubai. Her husband was sent to prison for eight years.

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In 1999 the army took over the country again. This time General Pervez Musharraf deposed Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister. Mr Shar-if is the leader of one of Pakistan’s other big political parties – the Paki-stan Muslim League. He also left the country and went to live in London, in the UK.

In 2001 everything changed. Al-Qaeda, an Islamic terrorist group based in Afghanistan, attacked America. The USA demanded that the Taliban – which controlled Af-ghanistan – hand over the leaders of al-Qaeda. The Taliban refused. The USA then led an invasion of the country. The Taliban was de-feated but many of its fighters and

al-Qaeda followers crossed over the mountainous border into Pakistan.

This part of Pakistan is known as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. The central Pakistani government has little control in this area. The USA could not send its own troops into the Tribal Ar-eas. It asked General Musharraf to send the Pakistani army to attack the militants. General Musharraf agreed in return for large amounts of money, much of which was spent on military equipment.

But over the last five years the fight against the Taliban and al-Qae-da in the Tribal Areas has not been successful. Many think the militants are getting stronger. Some experts believe that all the recent terrorist attacks in Europe, the Middle East and Africa have been planned by militants in Pakistan.

General Musharraf has become very unpopular. Many Pakistanis dislike him because he helped the USA. Some didn’t like having an army general as president of the country. Others wanted to be able to elect their leaders.

In December President Mushar-raf resigned as head of the army and announced that new elections would be held on 8th January. This pleased the USA and other countries cur-rently fighting against the Taliban over the border in Afghanistan.

Miss Bhutto and Mr Sharif both returned to Pakistan to lead their par-ties in the January elections. It was rumoured that if Miss Bhutto won she might allow American planes to attack the Tribal Areas. This is why most people suspect her assas-sination was planned by supporters of al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Many worried that her death would lead to violence on the streets and the can-cellation of the January elections.

Three days after her death Miss Bhutto was buried next to her father near their family home in Larkana.

On 30th December PPP officials announced that Miss Bhutto’s hus-band and their son, Bilawal, would jointly take over the leadership of the PPP. Bilawal is only 19. Like his mother did, he is currently studying at Oxford University, in the UK.

On 2nd January government offi-cials announced the elections would be delayed until 18th February. They said the violent protests after Miss Bhutto’s death had made it impos-sible to hold them as planned. Lead-ers of the PPP and Pakistan Muslim League had been urging the govern-ment not to postpone the elections. If it did, they argued, it would be a victory for the terrorists who killed Miss Bhutto.

NEPAL VOTES TO REMOVE ROYAL FAMILY

For the last 239 years Nepal’s royal family has ruled the country. In Ne-pal the king is traditionally viewed as a God, descended from the Hindu God Vishnu. In recent years the rul-ing king has only been a figurehead with little political power. All im-portant decisions are made by the country’s elected parliament.

On 28th December the Nepalese parliament held a vote. They de-cided they would no longer have a king or royal family, even as a fig-urehead. Nepal will now become a republic with an elected president. The decision will be finalised next April when King Gyanendra, aged 61, will have to give up his throne.

King Gyanendra was not meant to be king. He is the brother of the pre-vious king. In 2001, the son and heir of his brother King Birenda burst


into the royal palace with a gun. The prince killed his mother and father, and several other members of the royal family. He then shot and killed himself. People think he was angry that his parents disagreed with his marriage plans. Many said he had psychological problems because of his drug taking.

Gyanendra was not in Nepal at the time. As one of the only surviv-ing members of the royal family he became king. But Gyanendra was much less popular than his brother King Birenda.

A militant group called the Mao-ists, formed in 1996, started to cause trouble in the countryside. It wanted to remove the caste system in Nepal, give equal rights to women and get rid of the monarchy. Many people agreed with what they wanted but didn’t like what they were doing. Maoist fighters terrorised the countryside, murdering, stealing and forcing villagers at gun point to join them.

King Gyanendra

King Gyanendra was angry about the Maoists. He said parliament was not doing enough to defeat them. In 2005 he sacked the leading politi-cians and took control of the coun-try himself. Many people held dem-onstrations against what the King had done. He ordered the army to control the huge protests. The army refused. 15 months after taking over King Gyanendra gave up and hand-ed power back to parliament.

Parliament then had to arrange a peace deal with the Maoists, whose attacks were becoming more suc-cessful. The Maoists agreed to give up violence and put forward candi-dates for election to parliament. But Maoist leaders have been arguing with the elected members of parlia-ment since September. They cannot agree on which system of voting should be used. Some suspect the Maoists are worried that they will not do very well in a proper election.

Maoist leaders began to demand that the royal family must be abol-ished. They threatened to break the peace agreement if this was not done. The parliament realised that King Gyanendra had few support-ers. So it agreed with the Maoists and voted to change the country into a republic.

DA VINCI BOOKS DAMAGED

Leonardo Da Vinci was born in Italy in 1452. He is probably best known as the artist who painted the Mona Lisa – one of the world’s most fa-mous paintings.

But Leonardo Da Vinci was not just a painter. He was also an expert mathematician, engineer, inventor, writer, sculptor, architect, scientist, botanist and anatomist.

During his lifetime he sketched and wrote about many of his ideas in note books. After he died in 1519 Pompeo Leoni, an Italian sculptor, collected most of these note books. He then put them together and bound them all up in one large book.

Soon afterwards the book, called the Codex Atlanticus, was divided up into 12 separate leather-bound books, or volumes. All 12 volumes are now kept in a museum in Milan, in Italy.

On 23rd December officials at the museum announced that many of the 1,119 pages of the Codex Atlanticus have become stained and damaged by mould. They said scientific tests were needed to try to discover what caused the black, red and purple types of mould to form.

Page from the Codex Atlanticus

Some of Leonardo Da Vinci’s more famous drawings of flying ma-chines, weapons and the inside of the human body are in the books. Muse-um officials have not said if any of these drawings have been damaged by the mould.

The books are normally kept in sealed glass cases. This stops them being affected by moisture in the air. Occasionally some volumes are removed for study or special exhibi-tions. Experts agree the mould must have got onto the pages the last time the volumes were removed from the glass case.

Restoring and repairing the Co-dex Atlanticus will be difficult. It is also expected to take a long time and cost a large amount of money.

CHRISTMAS TREE RESCUE

A family from California, in the USA, has survived three days lost in a forest during a snowstorm.

The father and his three children drove into the forest to choose a Christmas tree. They were wearing


only jeans, sweatshirts and light shoes. They did not carry any food or equipment except for a saw for cutting down the tree.

After they found their tree and cut it down a snowstorm started. They could not find their car. Eventually they realised they were lost. It was getting dark so they dug a snow hole to shelter in for the night. The next day, feeling very cold, they found a small bridge under which they hud-dled for shelter.

Two days later the father and his three children were rescued by a helicopter. They had spelled out the word ‘help’ with tree branches on the snow. The rescuers could see the sign from the helicopter. At first res-cuers were unable to begin a search because the snowstorm was so bad. It was three days before a helicopter was able to take off and search for the missing family.

The family was taken to hospital where each of them was checked for hypothermia. This is a life-threaten-ing condition where the body tem-perature falls below normal for a long time. One of the three children had frostbite in her toes. Frostbite occurs when ice crystals form in the cells of the body, usually in the toes and fingers. It can damage skin and body tissues. The girl’s father had used his sweatshirt to wrap around her feet to try to keep them warm.

Like many people who live in the area, the family pays a US$10 (£5) fee for a permit to be allowed to cut a Christmas tree. It is used as a way of managing the forest. When a for-est becomes too dense with trees, it is more likely to burn in a forest fire. Allowing a certain number of trees to be cut down reduces the risk of fire.

The family was rescued just be-fore another severe storm hit the

area. Many days of snowstorms across the USA followed.

QUEEN ELIZABETH SETS A RECORD

The UK’s Queen Elizabeth the Sec-ond has just achieved a new record. She is now the country’s oldest-ever monarch.

Previously, the oldest reigning king or queen was Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth the Second’s great-great-grandmother. Queen Victoria lived for 81 years and 243 days. Queen Victoria is still the longest-reigning monarch in British history. She reigned for almost 64 years. Queen Elizabeth will have reigned for the same length of time on 9th September 2015. She was born in 1926 and was crowned in 1952.

Queen Elizabeth the Second

Queen Elizabeth is also the monarch of the Commonwealth of Nations. The Commonwealth is a group of 53 independent countries. Most of them were once part of the British Empire. In 2002 the Queen toured the Commonwealth. She was celebrating her 50th year as Queen. Her main role within the Common-wealth is as a symbol of unity.

The UK is known as a ‘consti-tutional monarchy’. This means

that the Queen is the official Head of State but she does not have any political power. The Queen is not al-lowed to vote in public elections. In a constitutional monarchy, the head of government is the prime minis-ter. During Queen Elizabeth’s reign there have been 11 different prime ministers of the UK.

Since Queen Elizabeth came to the throne there have been many changes in the monarchy and in the way the public think about it. Most countries and territories that were once part of the British Empire have become independent from the UK. Some people believe that it costs the country too much money to have a monarchy. So the Queen and her son Prince Charles recently began paying taxes. This is the first time in history that the British monarchy has paid income tax.

Australia is one country where some people think the monarchy is no longer necessary. It has held a vote on whether or not to continue to keep the Queen as Head of State. So far the people who want her to remain have outnumbered those who don’t want her as Head of State of Australia. But many think this will change in the near future.

CHINESE TREASURE SHIP

On 21st December Chinese archaeolo-gists successfully raised the wreck of an 800 year old trading ship.

The ship, nicknamed the Nan-hai Number One (which translates as South China Sea Number One), was first discovered in 1987. It was found near the South China coast.

The wreck was 25 metres (82 feet) underwater and buried in two metres (6.5 feet) of silt, or mud. In 1987 Chinese officials did not


have the knowledge, expertise or money needed to raise the ship. So for the past 20 years they have guarded it from local fishermen and foreign divers.

The work to recover the ship began in May. The silt and the sea-water have preserved the wreck. If the wreck comes into contact with the air it will immediately begin to rot. Builders made a huge specially-designed steel box underwater all around the wreck. The box included the silt, the wreck and the surround-ing seawater. It was lifted onto an-other ship by a large crane.

The wreck is 30 metres (99 feet) long and 10 metres (33 feet) wide. It comes from a period of Chinese history called the Song Dynasty (960 – 1279). During this time Chi-nese trading ships from southern ports were selling valuable goods to countries in Asia, the Middle East and even as far away as Europe.

Steel box containing the wreck

The wreck is full of gold, silver, tin pots, copper coins and porcelain plates and bowls. Porcelain, which is made from a special type of clay, was first invented by the Chinese. Experts estimate that there may be as many as 80,000 items on the ship. Many are still in their original wooden boxes.

A museum has been built on the coast for the wreck. Within it will be a huge glass tank of water rather like a swimming pool. Five days

after being lifted from the seabed the steel box was moved into the muse-um building where the tank will be built around it. The tank’s water will be kept at exactly the same tempera-ture and pressure as the seawater in which the wreck was found.

After removing the steel box, trained divers will work in the tank to recover the valuable items gen-tly. Visitors to the museum will be able to watch them through the glass while they work.

It may take as long as five years before all the contents of the ship have been fully recovered.

NEW ZEALAND EARTHQUAKE

A strong earthquake has shaken the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island.

The earthquake occurred under the sea about 80 kilometres (50

SURPRISE CRACKER — A New Zealand woman had a shock when she pulled her Christmas cracker. She expected to find the traditional treats of a paper hat and a riddle. Instead she found a dead, decaying mouse. She had bought the crackers for a family Christmas dinner but said the image and the smell of the dead mouse put her off eating for the rest of the day.

TANK RESCUE — A man spent part of his Christmas Eve stuck in the top of his septic tank. The 77-year-old man from Iowa, in the USA, reached into the tank to clear a blockage. He lost his balance and got stuck in the tank’s opening. It was over an hour before his wife noticed what had happened. She called the police who managed to pull the man out. Afterwards he said it was ‘the worst Christmas Eve I’ve ever had’.

TOILET PAPER DRESS — A bride in the USA was married wear-ing a wedding gown made of toilet paper. The dress took seven rolls of toilet paper to make. The gown was the win-ning design in a competition to make a wedding dress from toilet paper. The ceremony took place in a public toilet in Times Square, New York City. A toilet paper company paid for it to advertise their brand. A national online survey found that the average cost of a wedding in the USA is $28,000 (£14,000).

SELLING SNOW — A man from Canada has chosen an unusual way to get rid of the snow on his property. He has auctioned a large pile of it on eBay. He promised to donate the money raised to a local youth group. In the end the highest bidder decided not to pay for the snow. However, the third-highest bidder agreed to pay the money so that it could still be do-nated to the charity. The snow pile is over two metres (6.5 feet) in height. The man says that the winner of the auction is welcome to take the rest of the snow in his yard as well.

UNWANTED FOUR-LEGGED CUSTOMER — People in a clothes shop in Poitiers, in France, had to run away from a wild boar that got into the shop. 15 people were in the shop when the boar ran in through the shop’s front door. They immediately called the police. When the police tried to catch the wild boar it became very aggres-sive. After it began charging at the police officers they were forced to shoot and kill the animal. Two other boars were seen close by. All were thought to have come from a nearby forest.

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miles) away from the coast. It was felt most in the city of Gisborne. It was strong enough to damage many buildings and cut off electricity for 40 minutes. One person died.

Police closed down the main street of Gisborne because many roofs had collapsed. Several shops had to stay closed because of the damage. Busi-nesses lost a lot of money because the products on their shelves were thrown to the floor and broken. The day after the earthquake, building inspectors went through the town checking for damage. They had to decide which businesses to visit first. They decided to check impor-tant services such as chemists to make sure it was safe for them to open again.

The land on which we live is known as the ‘crust’ of the earth. It is solid, but deep underneath the crust is a lay-er of hot liquid rock called magma. The crust is broken into separate pieces. The pieces move around very slightly on the layer of magma.

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An earthquake occurs when two pieces – called plates – rub together. Earthquakes are more frequent in places where these plates meet – often called a fault line. New Zea-land is on a fault line between the Pacific and Australian plates. Other fault lines are along the west coast of North and South America, and beneath the east coast of Japan.

The strength, or magnitude, of earthquakes is measured using a scale called the Richter Scale. The lowest an earthquake can be on the scale is 2. This is a minor tremor that is not really noticeable. The largest earthquake ever recorded took place in Chile in 1960. It measured 9.5 on the Richter Scale. The New Zealand earthquake measured 6.8.

There are about 14,000 earth-quakes in New Zealand each year. Most of them are very small and do not cause any damage. New Zea-land’s largest earthquake was in February 1931. It had a magnitude of 7.8. This quake caused the great-est loss of lives and the most damage of any recorded in New Zealand.

NEW SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT

South Korea – officially called the Republic of Korea – holds its presidential election every five years. Each elected president is only allowed one term in office so it is not possible for a president to be re-elected.

The latest presidential election was held on 19th December. The winner was Lee Myung-bak, aged 66, who won 49% of the votes. His two main rivals got 26% and 15%.

Between 2002 and 2006 Mr Lee was mayor of Seoul, the country’s capital city. Before becoming a politician he was a successful businessman.

At the end of the Korean War (1950 – 1953) South Korea was left in ruins. It has been transformed in the last 50 years. It now has the 13th largest economy in the world. Many Koreans think Mr Lee’s life story is similar to their country’s recent history.

Mr Lee grew up in poverty but managed to earn enough money to

pay to go to university. He worked collecting rubbish from the streets during the day and studied at night.

After graduating from university he found a job at a small building and engineering company called Hyundai. The company had 90 em-ployees. Mr Lee eventually became chairman. By then the company had grown to employ 160,000 peo-ple. While working at Hyundai Mr Lee was nicknamed ‘the bulldozer’ for his determination to complete projects and make them succeed.

South Korea’s new president Lee Myung-bak

He also became a very rich man. Most of his wealth has come from buying and selling land and build-ings in Seoul. Some people have claimed that a number of his busi-ness deals have been illegal. Mr Lee has always denied this.

Before the election Mr Lee said he would make South Korea’s economy grow by 7% each year and turn it into the seventh largest in the world if he won. He also promised to raise income per capita to Won 37.5 million (£20,000) after five years. Income per capita is the amount of money a country makes in one year divided by the number of people who live there. The current income per capita of South Korea is Won 17 million (£9,000).

Although Mr Lee won the elec-tion in December he will not become president until 25th February. This is when the five year term of the current president, Roh Moo-hyun,


officially finishes. Until then Mr Lee will be known as president-elect.

Mr Lee sometimes jokes that he chose to marry his wife on his birth-day so he would never forget their anniversary. Now his birthday, 19th December, will remind him of an-other anniversary. It’s the same day he won his country’s presidential election.

TIGER ATTACK AT SAN FRANCISCO ZOO

A Siberian tiger at San Francisco Zoo, in the USA, escaped from her enclosure and attacked three visi-tors. One person was killed and two others were badly hurt.

At first the tiger attacked the three men just outside her enclosure. Two of them ran to one of the zoo’s cafes

for help. The tiger followed and con-tinued to attack them. The police were called. When they arrived they saw the tiger sitting on the ground next to one of the victims. The police of-ficers then shot and killed the tiger.

The attack took place just as the zoo was closing on 25th Decem-ber. The police and zoo keepers searched the zoo several times for any other victims or escaped ani-mals. The zoo was closed while the police investigated.

It is not known how the tiger managed to escape. Zoo officials say it’s not possible for the cage door to be left open. They think the tiger must have climbed or jumped out. The police are investigating if the tiger had been let out, either on purpose or by accident.

The Zoo Director has admitted that the wall around the tiger enclo-

sure is too low. It is one metre (three feet) lower than the height recom-mended by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). However, the wall is still above the minimum height required. This is the first time a visitor has been killed due to an animal escaping at an AZA-approved zoo.

Siberian tiger

One witness said the visitors caused the attack by taunting the ti-ger. The police say there is no proof

Time is a well known American news magazine. It started in 1923 and was the first weekly magazine to be published in the USA. One of Time’s most famous features is the announcement of its annual ‘Person of the Year’.

A picture of the person chosen appears on the front cov-er of the last issue in December. Time’s ‘Person of the Year’ for 2007 was Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia.

Four other people were considered: Al Gore, a former vice-president of the USA who has been working to stop global warming; J K Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter books; Hu Jin-tao, president of China; and General David Petraeus, commander of the American troops in Iraq.

Some people were annoyed by Time’s choice of President Putin. They said during the last year he has restricted many freedoms in his country. He has banned political demon-strations. Newspapers and television broad-casters are now punished if they criticise his government. Many also accuse Mr Putin of allowing cheat-ing in Russia’s recent elections, which his party ‘United Russia’ easily won.

However, Time said he had strengthened his country after the chaos that followed the collapse of the Russian-led Soviet Union in 1990. The Russian economy has been growing quickly and he is very popular amongst ordinary Russian people.

Time insists that its ‘Person of the Year’ is not an honour or award. It says it chooses the person it be-lieves has had the biggest effect on the world’s news over the last 12 months. In the past both Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin have appeared on the front cover of Time. Both are now recognised as being two of the world’s worst mass murderers.

In 1979 Time chose Ayatollah Khomeini, the revolutionary leader of Iran, as its ‘Person of the Year’. This was just after 63 American citizens were taken hostage in Iran by mili-tant students. After Khomeini’s face appeared on Time’s front cover, thousands of Ameri-can readers cancelled their subscriptions in protest.

In 2001 some people were surprised Time didn’t choose Osama bin Laden, leader of the terrorist group al-Qaeda. Earlier that year al-Qaeda members had attacked buildings in New York and Washington DC. Instead Time

picked Rudy Giuliani, the mayor of New York City. Most people suspected this was because Time was worried about people stopping their subscriptions again.

The Time ‘Person of the Year’ is not always a per-son. For example, in 1983 the personal computer was chosen as ‘Machine of the Year’. In 1999 Albert Ein-stein – the famous scientist – was picked as ‘Person of the Century’.

TIME’S PERSON OF THE YEAR


of this. They want to collect all the possible evidence to find out why and how the attack happened.

The Zoo Director says he will bring in experts from other zoos to make improvements to the safety of the animal enclosures. Last year the same tiger attacked one of her keepers. She reached through the bars of the enclosure and injured the keeper’s arm. After that incident extra steel wires were fixed between the bars. The distance between the enclosure and the public was also increased.

The tiger was one of two Siberi-an tigers at San Francisco Zoo. She was moved there a few years ago. Zoo officials hoped she would mate with the male tiger at the zoo.

The Siberian tiger is an endan-gered species. The small wild popu-lation of Siberian tigers lives mainly in the far east of Russia. There are more than 600 Siberian tigers living in captivity.

Tigers that are bred in captiv-ity have great difficulty adapting to life in the wild. They become used to humans and do not learn how to hunt for food.

SCHENGEN ZONE EXPANDS

Schengen is the name given to a free travel agreement between most Eu-ropean countries. It allows people to cross borders within the ‘Schengen zone’ without the need for visa or passport checks.

The idea for a free travel area was first discussed in 1985. The talks were held at the town of Schengen, in Luxembourg. This is how the agreement got its name.

Before Schengen, different Euro-pean countries had their own travel rules. Many insisted that official

documents – passports and visas – were shown when people crossed their borders. People had to apply for visas before travelling.

As trade and the number of peo-ple travelling between countries in-creased there were often long delays at border crossing points. Trains had to stop while border police checked people’s travel documents. Long queues of cars and trucks formed at some road crossing points.

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The first countries that agreed to be within the Schengen zone were Belgium, The Netherlands, Lux-embourg, France and Germany. Between 1995 and 2001 another ten countries joined. Most Schen-gen zone countries are members of the European Union (EU) but not all. Iceland and Norway, which are not EU members, joined Schengen in 2001.

On 21st December nine more countries joined. Most of them recently became members of the EU and were once part of the old

Russian-led Soviet Union. So the Schengen frontier has moved east-wards. All border checkpoints to the west of the new frontier have been removed.

While the new Schengen coun-tries are happy that cross-border travel will be easier, others are not. For example, German border police used to check everyone entering the country from Poland. All German border checkpoints were dismantled on 21st December. So it will be the job of the Polish police to check peo-ple wanting to travel from outside the Schengen zone to Germany.

Many Germans – including the police – fear that illegal immigrants and criminals will now find it much easier to get into their country.

Another problem is the new Schengen computer system. The EU designed it so all police forces within the Schengen zone will be able to get information on people crossing the Schengen frontier. But both the German and Polish border police say the new computer system is not yet working properly.

Not all EU member countries have decided to join the Schengen zone. For instance, the UK and Ire-land allow free travel between one another but continue to check peo-ple and goods coming in from other European countries.

BelgiumThe NetherlandsLuxembourgFranceGermanySpainPortugalAustriaItalyGreeceDenmarkFinlandSweden

IcelandNorwayJoined on 21st December 2007Czech RepublicEstoniaHungaryLithuaniaLatviaPolandSlovakiaSloveniaMalta

SCHENGEN MEMBER COUNTRIES


PILGRIMAGE TO MECCA

Muslims from around the world are returning home after carrying out a pilgrimage to Mecca.

Muslims are expected to perform the Hajj, or pilgrimage, once in their lifetimes, as long as they can afford it and are physically able. The Hajj lasts for five days. This year it be-gan on 18th December. The pilgrims travel to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. This is considered the centre of the Islam-ic world. For Muslims, the Hajj is a spiritual journey that cleans the soul.

The pilgrims perform ceremo-nies that represent important ideas of the Islamic faith. As well as visit-ing Mecca, they must travel to Mina and the valley of Arafat to perform the different rituals. At Mina, pil-grims throw stones at pillars called the Jamarat. This represents throw-ing stones at the Devil. At the end of the Hajj, pilgrims return to Mecca for the final ceremony. They walk around the Kaaba, a cube-shaped building draped with black cloth.

The Kaaba at Mecca, in Saudi Arabia

It is thought that over two mil-lion pilgrims completed the Hajj this year. There are so many pil-grims that it can be quite dangerous. Two years ago more than 360 pil-grims died because of a crush in the crowd. After this the Saudi Arabian authorities restricted the number of pilgrims that could perform the cer-emonies at any one time.

The president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, attended this year’s

Hajj. He is the first of Iran’s leaders to undertake the pilgrimage. Presi-dent Ahmadinejad was invited to attend by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. The countries of Iran and Saudi Arabia have not always had a good relationship in the past. The Iranian president hopes that his visit will show friendship between the two countries.

NO CLEAR WINNER IN THAILAND’S ELECTION

In September 2006 Thaksin Shina-watra, the prime minister of Thai-land, visited New York, in the USA, for a meeting at the United Nations (UN). While he was away the Thai army took control of the country.

The army, and many opposition politicians, accused Mr Thaksin of illegal business deals. Before he became prime minister in 2001 Mr Thaksin was a successful business-man and one of the richest people in Thailand.

The army said Mr Thaksin should return to Thailand and face charges of corruption. So far he has refused to go back. He has spent most of the last 12 months in the UK, where he has bought a leading football team.

After taking control of the coun-try the army leaders promised to arrange new elections. These were held on 23rd December. Mr Thak-sin’s political party was called Thai Rak Thai (TRT), which translates as Thais love Thais. It was closed down by the army and banned from taking part in elections for five years.

Some TRT members decided to form new political parties. Samak Sundaravej was one of them. He called his new party the People’s Power Party (PPP). Mr Samak was formally elected as his new party’s

leader in August. He admits he is a supporter of Mr Thaksin, the former prime minister, and would welcome him back to Thailand.

The army hoped that most people would vote for other smaller parties and the larger Democrat Party that has always opposed Mr Thaksin.

Samak Sundaravej

After the votes had been counted, to the embarrassment of the army, the PPP won. There are 480 places – or seats – in the Thai Parliament. The PPP won 233. The Democrat Party got 165. The smaller parties won the rest of the seats. Mr Samak, the PPP leader, immediately said he would get some of the smaller par-ties to support him. He needs another eight seats for the PPP to have over half the seats in parliament. When a political party has over half the seats in the parliament, this is called a majority. If Mr Samak can get a majority he should become the next prime minister.

Some believe the army is now trying to force the smaller parties to join the Democrat Party. If they all join, the Democrat Party’s leader, Abhisit Vejjajiva, will become prime minister. A few think this could lead to violent street protests and the army taking over again.

Both of the biggest parties now have to try to persuade the smaller ones to join them. According to the country’s rules a prime minister must be appointed within one month of the election.


COPYRIGHTING THE PYRAMIDS

Copyrighting is a way of stopping a person’s work from being copied by others without permission. Music, inventions, photographs, books and other written work can be protected in this way.

Different things are protected by copyright for different lengths of time. For example, copyright pay-ments for a book have to be paid to the author, or his or her descendents, during the author’s lifetime and for up to 70 years after the author’s death. After this period the copy-right protection ends.

On 24th December Dr Zahi Ha-wass said that the Egyptian par-liament would soon pass a law to ‘copyright’ its country’s ancient monuments. Dr Hawass, who is the leader of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the law would apply in all other countries.

The Sphinx and the Great Pyramid

He said that anyone who wanted to make exact, same-size copies of the pyramids, the sphinx or any ar-tefact owned by Egyptian museums would have to pay a fee called a royalty. The money will be used to help pay to protect the hundreds of ancient sites in Egypt.

Dr Hawass’s announcement came a few days after a story appeared in a local newspaper. It complained about a big hotel in Las Vegas, a city in the USA. The hotel is called

the Luxor. It is shaped like a huge pyramid. It’s full of fake Egyptian statues and contains a museum with replicas of the items found in Tut-ankhamun’s tomb.

Luxor is a town in Egypt. Its surrounding area is sometimes de-scribed as the greatest open air mu-seum in the world. It has two huge ancient Egyptian temples. The Val-ley of the Kings, where many phar-aohs were buried, is nearby.

The newspaper reported that every year more people visit the pyramid-shaped hotel in the USA than visit Luxor in Egypt. Some of the money the hotel makes, the newspaper story said, ought to be paid to the city of Luxor.

However, Dr Hawass said the ho-tel would not have to pay any royal-ties. This was because its pyramid shape was not an exact copy of the Great Pyramid – especially on the inside. But he didn’t say anything about the Tutankhamun items in the hotel that are exact copies.

Many souvenirs sold to tour-ists visiting Egypt are exact copies of ancient Egyptian items. Most of these are made in China. Dr Hawass said the Chinese companies that make them will have to pay royal-ties. But legal experts predict it will be difficult for the Egyptian govern-ment to force them to do so.

NEW YORK TO REDUCE GREENHOUSE GASSES

The mayor of New York City has begun a project to reduce the city’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The mayor, Michael Bloomberg, first announced the project on Earth Day, 23rd April 2007. The first parts of the project have now begun. They are expected to reduce the City’s

emissions by 30% by the year 2030. The project is called PlanNYC.

Nearly all scientists agree that greenhouse gasses are causing world temperatures to rise. The major gas, carbon dioxide, is released into the atmosphere when fossil fuels – oil, gas and coal – are burnt. The gas-ses act like the glass in a greenhouse and trap the Sun’s heat close to the Earth.

Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg

Mayor Bloomberg wants organi-sations and businesses to reduce the amount of fossil fuels they use. He says it’s important for them to set a good example to all the people who live in the City.

He believes there must be radi-cal changes in how the city helps to slow down global warming. He says population increase in cities is a major cause of extra carbon dioxide emissions. More people use more resources. This means extra energy will be needed to run systems such as waste management and water sup-plies. Just over eight million people live in New York City. This figure is expected to increase to nine million by 2030.

The mayor’s plan will make many changes to the transport sys-tem. He has spent a long time study-ing what other cities do. He wants to copy Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, where they have very good cycling and pedestrian paths.

Another idea is planting one mil-lion extra trees, as they absorb carbon


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

U. S. A.

U. K.

THAILANDSAUDIARABIA

RUSSIA

PAKISTAN

NEW ZEALAND

KENYA

JAPAN

ITALYITALY

IRAN

FRANCE

FINLAND

EGYPT

CYPRUSMALTA CHINA

BANGLADESH

AUSTRIA

SOUTH �KOREAAFGHANISTAN

NEPAL

California

CANADA

dioxide. This has already been done in the cities of Los Angeles and Chicago, in the USA. The plan will also improve busses and trains to encourage people not to use their cars. People will have to pay money to bring their cars into the city cen-tre. A similar system, called the ‘con-gestion charge’, is already in place in London, the capital of the UK.

Mayor Bloomberg’s plan also includes teaching people about global warming and how everyone can make a difference. An official report will be produced every year. This will say by how much New York City has managed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.

4,000 YEAR OLD SKATES

Scientists believe that ice-skating first started in northern Europe

nearly 4,000 years ago. Some an-cient skates made from horse bones have been found in Finland. Unlike modern skates, which have a sharp edge, these ancient bone skates are flat. The scientists think people used sticks to push themselves along on them – rather like skiers do today.

Testing an ancient bone skate

Why people first started skating has been a mystery. Scientists think it would be unlikely they did it just for fun and that there must have been a reason. Now some scientists

at Oxford University, in the UK, be-lieve they may have the answer.

First they made copies of 23 sets of ancient skates owned by mu-seums. Animal fat was left on the bones to make them slide more eas-ily on ice.

Volunteers then tested the cop-ied skates on modern ice rinks. Af-ter a day’s practice to get used to the skates the volunteers were set a number of physical tasks. These included skating long distances at slow speeds and short ones as fast as they could.

During the tasks the scientists measured the skaters’ heart rates and the amount of oxygen they had to breathe in. These figures were entered into a computer program which worked out the skaters’ en-ergy consumption.

Finland has more lakes than any other country in the world. After


completing their tests scientists calculated that in winter, when the lakes were frozen, people travelling across Finland using the bone skates would save 10% of their energy. This figure was much lower for other northern European countries such as Norway that have far fewer lakes.

Scientists therefore believe the skates were an important reason why people could survive the harsh winters in Finland 4,000 years ago. Without them they may not have had enough energy to travel long distances to hunt the animals they needed for food.

JAPAN STOPS HUMPBACK WHALE HUNT

Each year, Japanese ships travel to the Antarctic to hunt whales. An in-ternational agreement allows them to hunt and kill up to 2,000 whales, of different species, each year.

This year, the hunters planned to kill humpback whales. Nobody has been allowed to hunt humpbacks since 1966, when they almost be-came extinct. The number of hump-back whales has now started to rise. This is why the Japanese planned to start hunting them again this year.

Humpback whale

The Japanese whale hunting ships belong to a scientific research organisation run by the Japanese government. Japan says hunting and killing whales is necessary for scientific research. Many disagree

with them. They think the Japanese use scientific research as an excuse to hunt whales. Research, they say, could easily be done without kill-ing the whales. Whale meat is still a popular food in Japan.

Many other countries and or-ganisations disagree strongly with Japan’s decision to hunt humpback whales. They say that the population has not recovered enough for people to hunt the whales. Some environ-mental groups want Japan to stop its whale hunting altogether. They were especially angry that the hunt was to include the rare humpbacks this year.

The hunting of whales is control-led by the International Whaling Commission (IWC). The IWC sets rules that help to conserve whale populations. The members of the IWC asked the Japanese govern-ment to order its ships not to hunt any humpback whales.

Eventually it agreed that Japa-nese ships will not catch any hump-backs this year. But they still plan to hunt other types of whales. The hunters are expected to kill almost 1,000 minke whales.

Australian government officials are very critical of Japan’s whale hunting. Australia’s Foreign Minis-ter said he was pleased that Japan had decided not to hunt humpbacks this year. He said the Australian gov-ernment thinks there is no reason for any species of whale to be hunted. Australia will continue to put pres-sure on Japan to stop whale hunting completely.

Whale hunting began in the 1700s. Whale bones were used in making clothing, umbrellas and whips. People also carved whale bones to make ornaments. Whale blubber – or fat – was used to make candles, soap, and oil for lamps.

Now hunting whales is only allowed for scientific research. Many whale species are still endangered because of the numbers that were hunted in the past.

EXPULSIONS IN AFGHANISTAN

Hamid Karzai is the elected president of Afghanistan. On 24th December he ordered two foreign diplomats to be expelled from his country. One, who is British, works for the United Nations (UN). The other, from Ire-land, is employed by the European Union (EU).

The president was angry to dis-cover that the two men had been holding secret meetings with mem-bers of the Taliban.

In 2001 the USA was attacked by al-Qaeda – a militant terrorist group based in Afghanistan. At the time Afghanistan was run by the Taliban. The USA demanded that the Taliban hand over the leaders of al-Qaeda. When it refused, the USA led an in-vasion of the country. The Taliban was quickly defeated but retreated to the mountainous areas in the south of the country.

Soon after the invasion elections were held and Hamid Karzai was elected as president. But Taliban fighters, supported by al-Qaeda, have been trying to regain control of the country. Troops from the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia, The Netherlands and many other coun-tries have been in Afghanistan for the last five years. They have been fighting against the Taliban and helping to train a new Afghan army and police force.

The Taliban used to run Afghani-stan according to a very strict inter-pretation of Islamic rules. Women were not allowed to be educated.


Books, music and information from non-Muslim countries were all for-bidden. There were no elections.

Most Afghans in the big cities don’t want the Taliban to return. But it is difficult for people living in remote areas to take sides. There the Taliban still controls large areas of the country. If the local people show support for President Karzai and the foreign troops the Taliban fighters destroy their houses and murder them.

Many people now believe it will be impossible to defeat the Taliban fully. The country is too big and mountainous for the foreign and Afghan troops to control. The best thing to do, they say, is to start peace talks with some Taliban leaders.

The two expelled men were thought to be trying to persuade some of the Taliban to change sides. Both men have lived in Afghanistan for the last ten years. They speak the language and know the local cus-toms. Friends claim they had told officials in the Afghan government what they were planning to do. It seems that these officials didn’t tell President Karzai.

The expulsion of the two men may now cause disagreements be-tween the president and the for-eign governments whose troops are fighting the Taliban. Most hope Mr Karzai will allow the men to return and continue their work.

WHO REALLY WON KENYA’S ELECTIONS?

Two elections were held in Ken-ya on 27th December. They were to elect the president and members of the country’s parliament. Two elec-tions held on the same day are some-times called ‘parallel elections’.

Kenya was once a British colony. It gained independence in 1963. For a long time after becoming inde-pendent Kenya was a ‘single party state’. This meant there were no meaningful elections because there was only one political party.

In 2002 the country’s first proper democratic election was held. There were a number of parties contest-ing it. Mwai Kibaki was elected as president. The election was peaceful and a great success. People hoped it would set an example to other African countries that didn’t elect their rulers.

Raila Odinga and President Kibaki

Three years after being elected President Kibaki wanted to change Kenya’s constitution – the rules by which the country is governed. He promised to hold a vote – or referen-dum – where people could say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the changes.

Many Kenyans are unable to read or write. So government officials chose two different types of fruit to represent the votes. A banana meant ‘yes’ and an orange ‘no’.

Many thought the new rules would take too much power away from parliament and give it to the president. In the end 57% chose the orange and voted no.

President Kibaki said he accepted the vote and his changes were can-celled. After the referendum a new political party was formed by some of the people who voted ‘orange’. It is called the Orange Democratic

Movement (ODM). Its leader is Raila Odinga.

The two biggest parties that con-tested the parallel elections on 27th December were President Kibaki’s Party of National Unity (PNU) and Mr Odinga’s ODM.

The ODM easily won most of the seats in parliament. Many of Presi-dent Kibaki’s senior ministers were defeated. People then waited to hear who had won the presidential elec-tion – Mr Kibaki or Mr Odinga. After the results of the parliamen-tary elections everyone expected Mr Odinga to win.

The count of the votes for presi-dent was delayed for two days. Mr Odinga’s supporters accused the government of cheating. The result was finally announced on 30th De-cember. Mr Kibaki got 4,584,731 and Mr Odinga 4,352,993 – a differ-ence of only 231,738 votes.

Mr Odinga refused to accept the result. Many of his supporters began a protest in the streets. A number of cars and buildings were set on fire. Police fired shots and water cannons to control the demonstrators.

Most of the new members of par-liament oppose Mr Kibaki. So even if Kenyans accept the vote count, it will probably be very difficult for him to govern the country.

Many people thought the result was strange. Why, they said, would so many people have voted for Mr Odinga’s party in the parliamentary election and then change their minds and vote for Mr Kibaki in the presi-dential one?

The European Union (EU) sent observers to monitor the election. Even the EU team leader claimed the vote count was wrong. He said numbers had been altered and tens of thousands of extra votes added to Mr Kibaki’s total.


Violence on the streets got worse. Police estimate over 300 people have been killed. Other countries urged Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga to meet and find a solution. So far they have refused to do so.

MALTA AND CYPRUS JOIN THE EUROZONE

Six years ago, on 1st January 2001, 12 member countries of the Euro-pean Union (EU) adopted the euro as their legal currency.

Before they began to use euro notes and coins, each of the 12 countries had its own different currency. For example, France used the French franc, Germany the Deutsche Mark and Italy the Italian lira.

Some EU countries chose not to join what has become known as the ‘eurozone’. The UK, Den-mark and Sweden chose to keep the British pound, Danish krone and Swedish krona.

In 2004 another ten countries joined the EU. Many of them were former members of the old Russian-led Soviet Union. Two more, Bul-garia and Romania, became EU members in 2007. The EU now has a total membership of 27.

All the countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 2007 have agreed to join the eurozone. But they are not allowed to do so until their econo-mies meet certain standards. These are set by the European Central Bank (ECB), based in Frankfurt, in Germany.

Slovenia was the first of the new member countries allowed to join the eurozone in 2007. On 1st Janu-ary 2008 two more were admitted. Malta gave up its Maltese lira and Cyprus its Cypriot pound.

Malta and Cyprus are small is-land countries in the Mediterranean Sea. The island of Cyprus was in-vaded by Turkey in 1974. It remains divided between the Turkish-con-trolled north and the Greek Cypriot-controlled south.

Only the southern part is a mem-ber of the EU. Some people believe the introduction of the euro to the southern part of the island will help Cyprus to become reunited in the future.

Each euro coin has a common and a national side. The common side shows how much the coin is worth and has the same design in all eurozone countries. The national side is different in each country. Each member is allowed to choose its own design.

For the national side of three of its coins Cyprus has chosen a picture of a mou-flon. This is a wild sheep that lives all over both sides of the island. Malta has selected the

famous eight-pointed Maltese Cross for two of its coins. The Maltese Cross has

been a symbol of the island for over 1,000 years.

Slovakia will be the next country to change to the euro currency. It is due to join the eurozone in 2009.

VALUABLE STATUES STOLEN

Two statues of the Hindu god Vishnu have been stolen. The statues were being sent to France from Bangla-desh for a special art exhibition. The statues went missing from the Zia International Airport in Dhaka.

The statues are 1,500 years old. They were discovered during an

archaeological dig. They are worth Taka 4.4 million (£32,500).

Statue of Vishnu

Almost 200 items were chosen from five of Bangladesh’s museums for the art exhibition at the Guimet Museum in Paris. Many of them had already been sent to France. The police arrested 12 people in con-nection with the theft. They have increased security at the borders of Bangladesh to try to stop anyone from smuggling the statues out of the country.

Since the statues were stolen, the Bangladeshi government has decid-ed not to send the rest of the items to Paris. They are being guarded at the National Museum in Dhaka. The Education and Cultural Affairs Adviser of Bangladesh has resigned from his job. He said he should take responsibility for the loss of the stat-ues. The exhibition in Paris has now been cancelled.

The theft has caused some peo-ple to say that such important and precious items should not be sent abroad. The former director of Bang-ladesh’s National Museum said the exhibition should have been shown in Bangladesh instead of in France.

The statues represent Vishnu, who is considered the supreme God in the Hindu religion. In pictures and

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Newsademic.comEditor: Amber ThodyAcknowledgements:

News story photographs by gettyimagesPhotographs for book review courtesy

of Young PicadorSCHOOL SUBSCRIBERS MAY

PHOTOCOPY ANY PART OF THIS NEWSPAPER FOR USE WITHIN

THEIR SCHOOL ONLY.© Newsademic 2008

B O O K R E V I E W

This is a fine and very readable love story set mostly against the back-ground of Vienna, capital of Austria, and the UK in the late 1930s. Jewish and other refugees are es-caping from Hitler as his actions and cruelties lead to the start of the Second World War in 1939.

Ruth Berger’s family is well off. Her father is a respected university lecturer in Austria and they have a beautiful flat in Vienna. When Ruth is

still a child her parents entertain Quin, a brilliant young palaeontologist from the UK. It is he who, later when things are very difficult, helps the Bergers to escape. The person he helps particularly is Ruth, but no-one apart from the two of them realises that for a very long time.

There’s a lot of music in the novel because Vienna is a city full of musical traditions. Ruth is steeped in it and her boyfriend/cousin Heini intends to be an internation-ally famous concert pianist.

But when the family arrives in London – and Ruth eventually joins them – life is hard although, of course, it’s much worse for people left behind and sent to camps by the Nazis. The Bergers have very little money. But with discreet assistance from Professor Quinton Somerville Mr Berger gets a minor university job in Manchester.

Meanwhile Ruth goes to university in London, makes friends – and enemies – and, most importantly, attends a field course in the north of England. Professor Somerville is very senior at her university but she has little to do with him and when they do meet they often misunderstand each other.

First published in 1993 and just out in a new edition, The Morning Gift is full of splendid characters. Ruth is clever, funny, innocent, impetuous and muddled, in spite of having read many very adult books when she was a small child. Quin is kind, well-mannered, witty, and with an astonishing academic brain. He is also a man of the world – a very rounded personality. Then there’s the splendid Aunt Frances who is nothing like as tough as she pretends, and Ruth’s Uncle Mishak with his sad and romantic story, who now wants only to gar-den. Pilly, Ruth’s closest friend at university, is delight-ful too. And even the obnoxious Verena Plackett is very well presented.

You will learn from this novel a lot about Second World War refugees, the problems they faced and how they dealt with them. Eva Ibbotson knows what she’s talking about too. She grew up in Vienna but escaped to England with her family in the 1930s. In passing, there is also information about fossils and how they are dis-covered because that’s what Quin does. Although it’s quite long, the story moves along fast and it often makes you smile because the style is quite light and amusing.

The Morning Gift by Eva Ibbotson, Young Pica-dor (an imprint of Pan Macmillan) 2007. ISBN 978-0-330-444499-6.

Reviewed by Susan Elkin

statues, Vishnu is usually dark blue in colour and wearing a crown. The blue colour represents infinity. It shows that Vishnu has great power. He has four arms, and in his hands he holds objects that are his emblems: a conch shell, a discus, a mace and a lotus flower. His four arms rep-resent his authority in the physical and the spiritual worlds. Vishnu is also known by other names, such as Narayana or Vasudeva. Vishnu rep-

resents tolerance and patience. His role in the Hindu tradition is to look after the well-being of all creation. He is known as the guardian of the Universe.

The religion of Hinduism is mainly practised in India. It origi-nated about 4,000 years ago and is the world’s oldest existing religion. Hinduism is the third largest reli-gion in the world. Around 900 mil-lion people are Hindus.

HAVE YOU READ …?


GLOSSARY PRIZE COMPETITION

INSTRUCTIONS: 1 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. 2 Once you have solved the crossword find the 20 words in the word search on the next page

1 2 3

4

5 6

7 8

9

10 11

12 13 14

15

16

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18

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ACROSS

1 Noun Person who studies the human body (9) 4 Verb To keep and protect something from danger or damage (8) 9 Noun Amount used or eaten (11) 10 Noun Willingness to put up with something with which you

might disagree (9) 12 Noun (Plural) Actions or words performed or spoken

frequently as part of a ceremony (7) 14 Noun When a person or animal is kept somewhere and not

allowed to leave or escape (9) 16 Noun A social structure in which a person’s social position is

ranked by the family into which he or she is born (5,6) 17 Verb Removed or taken to pieces (10) 18 Verb Changed completely, usually for the better (11) 19 Noun (Plural) Heat, light or vapour sent into the

atmosphere (9)

DOWN

2 Noun Space that has no end (8) 3 Verb Exploded or caused something to explode (9) 4 Noun Overcrowding or blockage (10) 5 Noun The killing of an important person, especially

for political reasons (13) 6 Noun Being joined together or in complete

agreement (5) 7 Adjective Acting on a sudden idea or wish without

thinking what might happen (9) 8 Noun Man-made object of historical interest (8) 11 Noun (Plural) Items of great age and value (11) 13 Noun Underground container in which sewage is

allowed to decompose through bacterial activity (6,4) 15 Adjective Wanting to make extreme political

changes (7)


GLOSSARY PRIZE COMPETITION CONTINUED

INSTRUCTIONS: 3 Find the crossword answers in the word search. Words can go vertically, horizontally, diagonally and back to front. 4 After solving the word search write down the unused letters, starting at the top left and reading from left to right, top to bottom to find the solution. Hint - The numbers of letters and words in the solution are shown under the word search.

T S N O I T S E G N O C E A S S S S

O O T C A F E T R A N S G R T N E U

E E L D I S M A N T L E D T R O P O

I N G E C S E C G K G K G P A I T U

Z B N M R O V V M W R T L R N S I T

J M T E D A N L R M C N P N S S C E

N U B T E F N S L E P Y O L F I T P

L N Y S T C J C U M S I Y A O M A M

Y I T Y A J V T E M T N N Z R E N I

T T Z S N T R C S A P T O K M G K S

I Y T E O K K L N I I T R C E H L X

V K R T T N T I N Q M A I T D A L Y

I T B S E Q S D U X D O V O U L T Q

T K L A D S X I N I B Y T T N V W C

P C N C A J T D C D L N I A G Q G R

A C W S L I Y A L R L R T X N P R L

C G S L E Y L R B L V L L L D A W Z

K A R S F K I N F I N I T Y K M L T

COMPETITION RULES:1 Competition prizes are awarded on a per issue and not a per edition basis. 2 Only one entry per person per competition will be ac-cepted. 3 You must obtain permission from your parent/guardian before entering if you are under 16 years of age. 4 Deadline for receiving entries is at 10 pm (GMT) on 17th January 2008. 5 The winners will be randomly selected from all correct entries received. 6 The winners will be contacted by E-mail. Newsademic’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. 7 Prizes must be taken as offered. There are no cash al-ternatives. 8 Newsademic does not accept any responsibility for lost or late entries due to the internet. Proof of submission is not proof of re-ceipt. 9 Competitions are not open to employees or contractors of Newsademic. 10 Newsademic reserves the right to cancel competitions at any stage, if in their opinion it is deemed necessary or if circumstances arise beyond their control. 11 These rules are governed by the laws of England and Wales. 12 When entering competi-tions entrants will be deemed to have accepted these rules and to agree to be bound by them.

Competition solution (two words with a total of 16 letters)

COMPETITION PRIZES

Glossary Prize WinnerPaperback copy of ‘The Morning Gift’ by

Eva Ibbotson

Glossary Prize Runner up10 free issues of Newsademic added to

your subscription

Sudoku Prize Winner10 free issues of Newsademic added to

your subscription

ISSUE NUMBER 56 PRIZE WINNERS

Glossary CompetitionWilliam Matthews, UK

Benjamin Rees, Canada

Sudoku CompetitionPamela Gretz, USA

SUDOKU COMPETITIONINSTRUCTIONS: 1 Fill the boxes on each horizontal row with a number between 1 and 9. 2 Fill the boxes on each vertical row with a number between 1 and 9. 3 Make sure that each number between 1 and 9 also appears in each highlighted 3 x 3 square box. 4 After solving the Sudoku puzzle write down the numbers from the tinted vertical column from top to bottom in the boxes below.

Competition Solution

8 7 5

26 1 8

13 6

3

2 63

98 3

92 6 3

4

6 49

43

Go to www.newsademic.com log in and submit your solution by clicking on the “Enter competition” link within the Subscribers tools menu.Deadline for receiving your entry is 10 pm on 17th January 2008 (GMT/UTC).

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