newsademic issue 248 a

April 30, 2015

American English edition

Issue Number 248

In this issue

Hermione sails to the U.S.Mediterranean migrant meetingAltamura manZombie worms and the fossil recordChina-Pakistan corridorCalbuco eruption in ChileGallipoli 100th anniversaryDRC monkeys rediscoveredTTIP demonstrationsSt. Georges DayHubbles 25th birthdayHoly Shroud exhibitionCaesars symptomsApex predator discoveryFinlands new prime ministerVampire squid studyAuschwitz trial beginsBandung anniversary ConferenceMammoth DNA decodedGlossary Crossword and Wordsearch Puzzle

Some of the many earthquake damaged buildings in Nepal

A powerful earthquake struck Nepal on April 25. It was followed by many after-shocks, or smaller tremors. Soon after-wards seismologists, or scientists who study earthquakes, confirmed that the ini-tial earthquake was a magnitude 7.8.

Nepal is a poor country. It is probably best known for its many Hindu temples and the Himalayan Mountain Range. Mount Everest, the worlds highest mountain, is on its border with Tibet. The earthquake destroyed a number of the an-cient temples in Kathmandu, the capital city. It also caused, or triggered, a huge avalanche on Mount Everest. Ice, snow and rocks buried tents at base camp. This is where many mountaineers gather be-fore they set out to climb the mountain.

The earthquakes epicenter was be-tween Kathmandu and Pokhara, Nepals second largest city. Seismologists said that it was shallow, or only 9.3 miles

(15 kilometers) below the surface. These types of quakes are often more destruc-tive. They create a greater side-to-side shaking movement. Over 30,000 thou-sand years ago the bowl-shaped Kath-mandu valley was a lake. The loose soil, or sediment, of the former lakebed am-plified the shaking movement, or made it worse.

The city of Kathmandu and surround-ing area is home to about three million people. Today, Kathmandu is one of the fastest growing cities in Asia. Yet many of its buildings are badly constructed. Extra floors have been added to some two- or three-story buildings. This means that they are more likely to fall down when the ground starts to shake. Most of the surrounding areas are mountainous. There, many smaller towns and villages are built on steep slopes. Earthquakes in these places can create huge landslides.

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Less powerful earthquakes are not uncommon in the Himalayas. It is easy to understand why. The outer layer, of the Earth is like an enor-mous jigsaw. It is made up of huge pieces called tectonic plates. These float on the very hot rock deep be-low the surface. This rock is like a thick liquid. The plates move slowly at a speed of about 0.8 inches (two centimeters) each year. Some move apart from each other. Others slide past and some force other plates underneath them. Earthquakes are a result of these plate movements.

India and Asia are on separate plates. Around 85 million years ago the Indian plate was not connected to Asia. It was close to the island of Madagascar. Then, it began to slow-ly move northwards. It eventually collided with the Eurasian plate. The Indian plate is now pushing into and under the Eurasia one. This is what has created the Himalayas.

This mountain building is still going on. Each year the Himalayas get a few inches higher. Millions of years ago, rocks now at the top of the mountains were under the sea. This explains why fossils of seashells can be found high up in the Himalayas. Earthquakes in Nepal and other parts of the Himalayas are part of this mountain building process.

This was the fourth major earth-quake to hit the Himalayan region since 1905. In that year the Kanga Valley earthquake killed more than 20,000 people. This was centered on the most northerly part of India. Around 10,000 people died in the 1934 Nepal-Bihar quake. Its epi-center was in eastern Nepal. Over 80,000 people were killed in Kash-mir in 2005. This earthquake struck the northern part of Pakistan.

People in Kathmandu rushed out of their houses when the ground

began to shake. Because of the af-tershocks, most were too scared to return to their homes. Buildings damaged by an initial earthquake can fall down in a later aftershock. Many people set up small camps on open areas of ground and slept outside. The hospitals treating the injured soon became overcrowded. Officials from the United Nations (U.N.) said that the earthquake had affected 8.1 million people.

Other countries quickly offered help. Within a few hours of the earthquake, military planes from India began to arrive at Kathmandu airport. They brought rescue work-ers and emergency supplies. Within several days over 50 countries had flown doctors, medical workers and equipment into Nepal. However, the countrys roads and communi-cations are poor. So it was difficult to reach the people most in need of help. Because of landslides the only way to get to villages near the epi-center was by helicopter.

No one knows how many people have been killed and injured. Some fear that the figure will be higher than it was in 1934.

Nepal is a popular holiday des-tination. Many people visit to go trekking, or hiking, in the moun-tains. Tourism is an important part of Nepals economy. One news-paper reported that at least 20,000 people from other countries were in Nepal when the earthquake hit. This is also the time of year for climbing

Mount Everest and Nepals other high peaks. Since Mount Everest was first climbed in 1953, around 6,000 people have gotten to the top.

In recent years more and more people have wanted to climb Ever-est. Expert climbers organize group expeditions to the mountain. Each expedition member must have a permit. They cost at least $25,000 (16,000) per person. This money is paid to the Nepalese government. Each year about 300 climbers try to get to the top of Mount Everest.

For ten months of the year bad weather makes it impossible to reach the top of Mount Everest. Climbing permits are made out for late April and May. These months are known as the climbing season. At this time of year, the winds at the top are calm-er and the weather is clear. After this, heavy snow falls on the mountain and it becomes too dangerous.

Mount Everest.

Nineteen people died in the av-alanche that hit Everest base camp. Other climbers became stuck on the mountain when ropes and ladders were swept away. All had to be res-cued by helicopters.

Officials said that it was fortunate that the earthquake struck at noon on a Saturday. Schools were closed and many people were outdoors. In the countryside, people were working in the fields. If the quake had happened in the middle of the night many more would have died or been trapped un-der collapsed buildings,


HERMIONE SETS SAIL

Thousands of people gathered near the port city of Rochefort, on Frances western coast, on April 18. They came to see a replica of Her-mione, a famous French ship. As the ship set sail for the U.S., the crowds waved and cheered.

Hermione

France is often described as Americas oldest ally. This is be-cause French and American soldiers fought alongside each other against the British over 235 years ago. Then, George Washington (1732 1799) led the American army.

In 1780 a young French aristo-crat and military officer called the Marquis de Lafayette traveled to America. He sailed across the At-lantic Ocean on a ship called Her-mione. After arriving in America, Lafayette told Washington some welcome news. A large French force was being sent to help in the war against the British.

Beginning in the early 1600s, Britain set up settlements and col-onies on the eastern coast of what is now the U.S. By the 1770s there were 13 separate colonies. All were controlled by Britain. Yet, at that time, many people in the 13 colonies were unhappy about being governed by Britain and its king. They wanted to elect their own leaders. The rulers of Britain disagreed.

In 1775 fighting broke out. This war is known as the

American War of Independence, or the American Revolutionary War. Washingtons army, with help from the French, eventually defeated the British forces.

Lafayette was about 18 years old and living in France when the Rev-olutionary War began. He decided to go to America and join Washing-tons army. Lafayette took part in several battles and was commended for his bravery. In one battle he was wounded in the leg. Lafayette asked for permission to go back home to see his family. Washington agreed. In France, Lafayette was given a he-ros welcome.

Marquis de Lafayette

Lafayette met with the French king, Louis the Sixteenth. He asked the king to support Washington with soldiers and money. Louis agreed. Lafayette then returned to America on the Hermione to tell Washing-ton the news. The French ships and soldiers arrived several months lat-er. Lafayette continued to fight for Washingtons army until the British surrendered in 1783. After the war ended Lafayette returned to France. He died in 1834.

Work on the replica Hermione began 20 years ago. The ship, which has three masts, is 65 meters (213 feet) long. The materials used are the same as the original. The wood came from 3,000 oak trees. The ship was even built in the same shipyard. All the sails have been sewn by hand. Hermione has a crew of 80. Many are younger volunteers. In the U.S., the ship will visit several coastal towns and cities. Hermione will be in Boston on July 4, Ameri-cas Independence Day.

SEA OF TEARS

The leaders of European Union (EU) member countries were called to an emergency meeting on April 23. It was held at the EUs headquarters in Brussels, the capital of Belgium. They discussed ways of stopping the migrant boats that are setting off from the North African coast. Several days before the meeting one overcrowded boat sank. Over 750 people drowned.

In recent years hundreds of boats carrying illegal migrants have tried to cross the Mediterranean Sea. The people in the boats want to go to EU member countries. They believe that they will find good jobs in these countries and improve their lives. Nowadays, most of these boats come from Libya.

The migrants come from many different countries. Many travel from places like Syria, Somalia and Afghanistan. Some are Liby-ans. Most of these people say they want to get away from the fighting in their own countries. Many oth-ers are from African nations such as Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Eritrea, Ivory Coast, Niger, and Ethiopia. Some come from as far away as


Bangladesh. These people are what are known as economic migrants. They want to find work in EU countries. Even if they get low paid jobs, they will earn far more than they can at home. Many plan to send some of the money they make back to their families.

After arriving at the coast, the migrants have to find a boat. Criminal gangs in Libya charge thousands of dollars to take the migrants to Lampedusa or Malta. These gangs are also called people smugglers, or people traffickers. Lampedusa is one of a group of small islands, called the Pelagie Islands. Even though they are not far from Tunisia, the islands belong to Italy. The island of Malta is a separate country. Like Italy, it is a member of the EU.

Rescued migrants on a navy ship in Sicily

The people smuggling boats are always overloaded. Most are old and need repair. There is always a danger of them sinking. How-ever, if the boats manage to reach Lampedusa or Malta their passen-gers may eventually be allowed to live in an EU country. Also, if a passing ship picks them up, the migrants will probably be taken to Italy. Italy, Greece, Malta, Ger-many, and Sweden have agreed to take in many of the migrants. Yet most EU members say they do not want the migrants to come to their countries.

Over one year ago sever-al migrant boats sank. Hundreds

drowned. After this, Italian navy and coast guard ships began to pa-trol the seas around Libya. Over the next 12 months these ships picked up 170,000 migrants. However, this operation was expensive. Italy wanted other EU countries to help. Some EU members argued that res-cuing the migrants only encouraged more to make the journey.

Last November an EU force, known as Triton, took over. Yet this has far fewer ships. In recent months the number of migrant boats has increased. More accidents have happened. At least 1,750 migrants have drowned since the beginning of 2015. At the Brussels meeting, the EU leaders decided to increase the size of Triton. Another idea is to destroy the people smuggling boats in Libya. They will need to get per-mission from the United Nations (U.N.) to do this.

On April 27, Ban Ki-moon visit-ed Italy. He is the secretary-general, or leader, of the U.N. Mr. Ban spent some time on an Italian navy ship

off the coast of Sicily. He said that the Mediterranean was now a sea of tears.

ALTAMURA MAN

Just over 20 years ago a team of spe-leologists (speleology is the study of caves) decided to investigate some caves in Italy. The limestone caves are near the town of Altamura. The team found a skull and bones in one of the caves. They looked like the skeleton of a man. It was not possi-ble to move them. This was because the bones had become fixed to the wall of the cave.

Caves often form in limestone rocks. Limestone is porous. This means that water can seep through it. Rain that lands on the ground slowly flows through the soil. As it does, the water absorbs carbon dioxide from rotting vegetation. This makes it slightly acidic. If there is limestone under the ground the water will seep into

LIBYA

Mediterranean Sea


it. The acid in the water will dis-solve some of the limestone. Over many millions of years this acidic water can create long caves and big caverns.

The water flowing out of the limestone contains calcite. Stalac-tites and stalagmites are made of calcite. Stalactites are icicle-like formations that hang down from the ceiling of a limestone cave. Stalagmites grow up from the cave floor. As the stalactites and stalagmites keep growing, they can meet. When this happens they form pillars that join the floor to the ceiling.

The cavers were unable to move the bones because they were cov-ered in calcite. Because of the amount of calcite, the cavers knew the bones were tens of thousands of years old. Yet it was difficult for sci-entists to study the skeleton. They guessed that the man had fallen into the cave. He was unable to get out and died of hunger or thirst. The skeleton was called Altamura man, after the nearby town.

Altamura man (Ministry of Culture, Puglia)

Nowadays, scientific testing has improved. Recently, researchers were given permission to take a small piece of bone from Altamu-ra man. They were able to date the bone and extract some DNA. Tests showed that the bones belong to a Neanderthal man. He fell into the cave between 128,000 and 187,000 years ago.

The scientific name for Neander-thal is Homo neanderthalensis. The name comes from a place in Germa-ny where some of the first Neander-thal bones were found in the 1850s. Neanderthals were an early homi-nid, or type of human. Some people call them our ancient cousins. Its known that Neanderthals were liv-ing in Europe at least 300,000 years ago. They died out about 39,000 years ago. No one knows why.

The researchers say that the DNA sample is one of the oldest and best ever taken from Neanderthal bones. They now plan to use it to map Al-tamura mans genome, or genetic code. If this can be done, scientists will have a better understanding of the evolution of Neanderthals and their early history.

BONE-EATING WORMS

Thirteen years ago scientists from the U.S. discovered an unusual creature on the seabed. It feeds on whalebones. The worm-like crea-tures were given the name Osedax. This is Latin for bone-eating. Many people began to call them zombie worms. These worms have been found at depths of 2.5 miles (four kilometers).

A large number of zombie worms can eat all the bones of a whale. It was thought that they evolved about the same time as whales, or 45 mil-lion years ago. However, scientists in Britain have discovered that they go back much earlier than this. They are now sure that Osedax existed at least 100 million years ago.

Since the first bone-eating worms were discovered, scientists have found more of them. So far, at least 17 different types of Osedax are known to exist. The worms, which

are about one inch (three centime-ters) long, have been found in sev-eral places. As well as off the coast of California, in the U.S., they have been seen near the shores of Sweden and Japan.

Osedax or zombie worms (Plymouth University)

The worms feed on the bones within carcasses, or dead bodies, of larger creatures on the sea floor. Osedax are unusual. They have no gut. (The gut is the long tube, start-ing at the mouth and including the stomach and intestines, by which many creatures digest food and dis-pose of the remaining solid waste.)

Zombie worms do not have a mouth or teeth. Whats more the males never grow past the larval stage. They are only around 0.04 inches (one millimeter) long. Hun-dreds of them live in a jelly-like tube that covers part of the female. There-fore the only purpose of the males is to fertilize the females eggs.

The worms attach themselves to the bone. The end on the bone is a bit like the root of a tree. An acid inside the worm passes through its skin near its root. This dissolves the hard outer layer of the bone. Bacteria inside them helped the worms to digest the oils and fats in-side the bones.

British scientists found holes made by zombie worms in two fos-sils. One was from a plesiosaur. This was a large marine creature with a long neck. The other fossil came from a giant turtle. The plesiosaur


fossil is 100 million years old. These creatures died out 66 million years ago. The worms may then have eat-en turtle bones before whales ap-peared about 20 million years later.

Researchers who study dinosaurs and ancient marine reptiles are in-terested in whats known as the fossil record. Fossils can be found in many of the Earths rocks. Old-er layers of rock are beneath more recent ones. From fossils in each rock layer it is possible to trace how life-forms slowly changed, or evolved. The progression of fossils, from small microbes to far more complex forms of life, is known as the fossil record.

The scientists now think that zombie worms must have fed on the bones of many ancient marine reptiles. As they were eaten, these bones never became fossils. This means the fossil record of large an-cient marine creatures is likely to be incomplete.

CHINA-PAKISTAN CORRIDOR

Xi Jinping, Chinas president, ar-rived in Pakistan on April 20. This was the start of a two-day state visit. Mr. Xis plane landed at a Pakistani air force base. Pakistans president, Mamnoon Hussain, and prime min-ister, Nawaz Sharif, were there to greet him.

Presidents and prime ministers frequently travel to other countries. However, a state visit is different. State visits are formal events. For example, there is a special welcom-ing ceremony. This will include a military parade and the two coun-tries national anthems.

Soon after Mr. Xi arrived a 21-gun salute was fired. The firing of a gun salute is a way of marking or

celebrating an important event. Air force jets flew overhead. A large number of children waved Pakistani and Chinese flags. Two of them gave flowers to Mr. Xi and his wife.The main reason for Mr. Xis visit was to finalize a number of large projects. Together these are often called the China-Pakistan Econom-ic Corridor (CPEC). This is a huge construction project. The corridor will connect the Pakistani city of Gwadar with Xinjiang. Gwadar is a port on the Arabian Sea. Xinjiang is the westernmost part of China.

Chinas president, Xi Jinping, and the prime minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif (PML(N))

The distance between Gwa-dar and Kashgar, the largest city in Xinjiang, is about 1,860 miles (3,000 kilometers). The route pass-es through the western end of the Himalayas. Part of the route will follow whats known as the Kara-koram Highway. This connects Kashgar with Islamabad, Pakistans capital city. It passes through the Karakoram. This mountain range includes some of the worlds high-est mountains. The Karakoram Highway is the highest internation-al road in the world. However, parts of the highway have had to close because of frequent landslides.

The CPEC will include roads and railways. There will also be pipe-lines. These will be used to transport oil and gas. The building costs are estimated to be $46 billion (30.2 billion). This money will come from China. Construction work will take several years.

Strait of Malacca

China- Pakistan Economic Corridor

When the CPEC is completed Beijing, Chinas capital city, and Shanghai will have a direct con-nection to the Arabian Sea. Chi-na buys large amounts of oil from Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East. Currently, this oil is transported in oil tankers. These large ships cross the Indian Ocean and then pass through the Strait of Malacca, between Malaysia and Indonesia. The tankers then have to sail through the South China Sea to get to Chinas southern coast. The CPEC will reduce this distance by several thousand miles.

Many people say that the CPEC will make a big differ-ence to Pakistans economy. Oth-ers worry about Islamic militant groups in Pakistan. These groups have organized attacks in many parts of the country in the recent past. Some think that these mil-itants may try to stop or delay construction work.

As part of the CPEC project several new power stations will be built in Pakistan. Pakistan has also agreed to buy eight Chinese-made submarines.


CALBUCO ERUPTION

The Calbuco volcano in southern Chile erupted on April 22. The next day there was another large erup-tion. The eruptions were a surprise. Normally, there are an increasing number of earth tremors before powerful volcanic eruptions. Yet none were detected. Calbuco last erupted in 1971.

Calbuco eruption (Informaciones Chile)

The first eruption lasted for 90 minutes. It produced a large plume or cloud of ash 12 miles (20 kilo-meters) high. Around 6,500 people who live near Calbuco were told to leave their homes. Officials set up a 12.4 mile (20-kilometer) no entry zone around the volcano. Volcanic ash in the air can damage aircraft engines. For several days after the eruption the ash caused flight can-celations and delays in Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil.

The outer layer of the Earth is known as the crust. It is made up of huge pieces called tectonic plates. Usually called plates, they float on the mantle deep below. The mantle is a layer of hot rock. In places it is like a very thick liquid. The edge of one plate can slide over or under anoth-er. The edges can also move apart or push into each other. The plates move very slowly. As they do pressure builds. When the pressure becomes too great the edges of the plates can

suddenly move. This is what causes earthquakes and earth tremors.

Volcanoes can form at plate boundaries. These are places where tectonic plates meet. Chile is a long narrow country. It is where the South American and the Naz-ca Tectonic Plates meet. This ex-plains why Chile has frequent earthquakes. Over millions of years the movements of these two plates have created the Andes Mountains. Chiles eastern boarder runs along this mountain range. Its the worlds longest chain of volcanoes.

There are about 2,000 volcanoes in Chile. Most are dormant or ex-tinct. A dormant volcano is one that has not erupted for many years but might do so in the future. An extinct volcano is one that has not erupted for thousands of years. Around 500 of Chiles volcanoes are thought to be active. About 50 have erupted at least once in the last 200 years.

Volcanic ash that fell after the eruption

A few days after the Calbuco eruptions officials allowed people to visit their homes. This was so they could check their properties and collect items they might need. Many said the land looked like a grey desert. Everything is covered in a 7.9 inch (20 centimeter) layer of volcanic ash.

A number of buildings, including schools and homes, have collapsed. The weight of ash on the roofs became too great. Soldiers have been sent to the area to help. Farm

animals were a problem. As the fields are covered with ash, there was no grass for them to eat. The animals had to be taken to places farther away from the volcano.

Officials do not know when ev-erybody will be able to return to their homes. The last time Calbuco be-came active, the eruption lasted for six weeks. The officials are worried about volcanic mudflows. These can be a danger when heavy rain falls on steep slopes covered in ash.

GALLIPOLI CENTENARY

At dawn on the morning of April 25 special ceremonies took place in towns and cities in New Zealand and Australia. Other remembrance ceremonies were held in Gallipoli, in Turkey, and London, the capital of Britain. The ceremonies com-memorated what happened at Galli-poli exactly 100 years ago.

The fighting at Gallipoli during the First World War (1914 1918) is known as the Gallipoli cam-paign. At the start of the war Russia, France and Britain were on one side. Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire were on the other. After the war began, the Ottoman Empire joined Germany and Austria-Hun-gary. The Ottoman Empire was cen-terd on modern-day Turkey.

Soon after war was declared thousands of young men in Austra-lia and New Zealand volunteered to join the army. Later, the soldiers from these two countries were called Anzacs. Anzac stands for Austra-lian and New Zealand Army Corps. The Anzac soldiers sailed to Egypt on troopships.

By 1915 the fighting on the Western Front in Belgium and east-ern France had become a stalemate.


The French, British and German armies had all dug deep trenches. These ran from the English Chan-nel to the border between France and Switzerland.

Leaders in Britain came up with a new plan. They would land a fight-ing force on the Gallipoli Peninsula. This army would go on to capture the city of Constantinople (now called Istanbul). The Ottoman lead-ers would then have to surrender. Once the Ottoman Empire had been defeated, British and French ships would sail through the Dardanelles. Military supplies could be taken to Russia and Austria-Hungary could be attacked from the Black Sea.

RUSSIA

TURKEY

GREECE The Dardanelles

GallipoliPeninsula

Istanbul

Black Sea

Mediterranean Sea

At dawn on April 25, 1915 thousands of soldiers from Britain, Australia and New Zealand landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula. French troops from North Africa also took part. The place where the Australian and New Zealand soldiers landed became known as Anzac Cove.

The plan was not a success. Ottoman soldiers controlled the hills above the landing sites. The first attacks failed. Yet the fight-ing continued for another 260 days. Around 8,700 Australian and 2,700 New Zealand soldiers were killed. Britain lost 25,000 soldiers, France 10,000 and the Ottoman army 86,000. Many more were

badly wounded. Eventually, Brit-ish military commanders halted the attacks. All the troops were with-drawn. After Gallipoli, the Anzac soldiers were sent to fight in the Middle East, France and Belgium.

Anzac Cove, in Gallipoli

In Australia and New Zealand April 25 is a national holiday. It is called Anzac Day. On this day Australians and New Zealanders re-member the soldiers, sailors and air-men who took part in the First World War and other more recent conflicts. Many attend dawn services at war memorials.

Even though it was a defeat, what happened at Gallipoli is an important part of the history of Australia and New Zealand. It was the first battle that involved Anzac soldiers. Aus-tralia had become an independent country 13 years earlier. New Zea-land was granted independence in 1907. Australians and New Zealand-ers believe that the Gallipoli cam-paign was the moment at which both countries became true nations.

Tony Abbott, the prime minister of Australia, and John Key, New Zealands prime minister, were at Gallipoli for the commemorations. Prince Charles and his son, Prince Harry, represented Britain. Tur-keys president, Recep Tayyip Er-doan, made a speech. Thousands of Australians and New Zealand-ers traveled to Gallipoli to take part. In London, Queen Elizabeth the Second and David Cameron,

Britains prime minster, placed wreaths at the Cenotaph. This is a large war memorial.

In Turkey the Gallipoli campaign is called the Battle of Canakkale. It too was an important moment in the countrys history. In 1915 Britain was one of the worlds superpow-ers. So the Battle of Canakkale was a great victory. One of the Ottoman army commanders at Gallipoli was Mustafa Kemal Bey. In the 1920s he became Turkeys first president. Later, he became known as Atatrk. (This means Father of the Turks). In Turkey, Atatrk is a national hero and much admired.

EXTINCT MONKEYS SEEN

Bouviers red colobus is a rare type of monkey. It was last seen in the wild about 25 years ago. Many feared that the monkeys had become extinct. Yet two scientists have proved that they still exist. During an expedition to the forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), they took several pictures of the monkeys. This is the first time that Bouviers red colobus has been photographed.

A scientist from Belgium first recorded this type of monkey in 1887. A few specimens were col-lected about 100 years ago. These are now kept in museums. There are a number of types of red col-obus monkey. In recent years stud-ies of the museum specimens have confirmed that Bouviers red colo-bus is a separate species.

Bouviers red colobus has a long tail. Its fur is an orange-brown color. The monkey has a white face, black-ish fur on its head and black rings around its eyes. Like most monkeys, Bouviers red colobus lives in trees.


They prefer swamp areas close to rivers. The monkeys do not seem to have a fear of humans. Therefore they are easy to catch.

The two scientists who found the monkeys are primatologists. These are people who study primates. Pri-mates are mammals that have hands, hand-like feet, and forward facing eyes. They include: lemurs, bush ba-bies, tarsiers, marmosets, monkeys, apes, and even humans. There are about 190 primate species. Nearly all live in trees. Orangutans, gorillas and chimpanzees are apes.

One of the scientists is a Belgian and the other comes from the DRC. Two months ago they decided to try and find the elusive monkey. The scientists organized an expedition to where the monkeys were last seen. Local guides went with them. This part of the DRC was set up as a protected area in 2013. Called the Ntokou-Pikounda National Park, it is home to many gorillas, chimpan-zees and elephants.

The first photograph ever taken of Bouviers red colobus, adult female and infant (Lieven Devreese)

The scientists spoke with local people about the monkeys that live in the forests. They asked them to describe what they looked like and the calls they made. From these descriptions the scientists guessed where they might find the mon-keys. They set out in a river canoe. The scientists then spent four days searching the trees along several riverbanks. Just before they ran out

of food and batteries, they spotted a group of them.

The scientists do not know how many Bouviers red colobus are in the DRC. They suspect that the population is quite small. This is probably the only place in the world where they live. Fortunately, the area is within the national park. There-fore the monkeys habitat should be protected from logging (or tree fell-ing), farming and the construction of buildings and roads.

TTIP PROTESTS

On April 18 thousands of people in European countries joined street rallies. The largest demonstrations were in the German cities of Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, and Stuttgart. The people who took part were pro-testing about the TTIP.

TTIP is the name of a proposed trade agreement between the Euro-pean Union (EU) and the U.S. TTIP is an acronym for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. Senior officials from the EU and the U.S. have been discussing TTIP for a long time. The agreement is sup-posed to be finalized by the end of this year.

The governments of the U.S. and the 28 EU member countries are in favor of the TTIP. They be-lieve that it will increase interna-tional trade between them. They argue that more trade will create more jobs. The TTIP is supposed to remove trade tariffs and reduce regulatory barriers.

Tariffs are an import tax. Within the EU there are no tariffs. Yet when companies in EU member states sell their goods (or the items they make) to other countries they may have to pay a tariff.

Laws in the U.S. mean that tariffs are charged on certain items. Like-wise, EU laws mean some Amer-ican companies have to pay a tax when exporting their goods to EU countries. In the past many tariffs have been dropped. However, some still remain. Under the new TTIP agreement there should be no EU-U.S. tariffs.

Anti-TTIP demonstration

Regulatory barriers are more difficult to remove. For example, the EU and the U.S. have different safety standards. These standards have to be followed by companies that make things like cars, planes, medical drugs, and food. If an EU automaker wants to sell its cars in the U.S., they must pass American safety standards. These are different from EU car safety standards. Mak-ing sure that EU or American cars pass other safety standards costs a lot of money. The TTIP means that the U.S. and the EU will accept each others safety standards.

Other regulatory barriers exist. For example, a foreign company is not allowed to own more than 25% of an American airline. Because of the rule, the EU says American airline companies cannot own EU airline companies. In the U.S., only American ships can take goods from one American port to another. Many people argue that removing these types of barriers will increase trade.Not everyone agrees with the TTIP. Some people in EU countries fear


that large international American companies will have too much power. They worry about food and health safety standards. EU food standards are far stricter than those in the U.S. For example, in the U.S. many farmers grow GM (genetical-ly modified) crops. They also give growth hormones to beef cattle. In most EU countries GM crops and growth hormones are banned. Some American farmers use pesticides (chemicals that kill certain insects), which are not allowed in the EU.

The anti-TTIP protesters also claim that officials from the EU and U.S. are talking in secret. The latest talks began in New York City in the U.S., on April 20. Currently, the U.S. is trying to set up another similar free trade agreement. Called the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), it would include: Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Canada, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singa-pore, and Vietnam.

ST. GEORGES DAY

On April 23 people in many Europe-an countries celebrate St. Georges Day. This is one of many feast days in the Christian calendar. This type of feast is not a large meal. A feast day is one that is dedicated to a saint. It is usually the day on which the saint died.

Saint George was born in Lydda. Today, this is the city of Lod in Isra-el. Saint Georges father was a Ro-man army official. He was a Greek Christian from an area that is in modern-day Turkey. Saint Georges mother was a Palestinian Christian. Saint George became an officer in the Roman army. Then, Diocletian was the Roman emperor. Saint George was one of his many guards.

Diocletian believed in the Ro-man gods. One day he made a sur-prising announcement. The emperor ordered the arrest of all Christian soldiers in the Roman army. Some were told to make a sacrifice to the Roman gods. Saint George refused. He declared that he would always be a Christian. Diocletian ordered Saint Georges execution. Before he was killed, Saint George gave all his money to the poor. He died on April 23, 303 CE.

Saint George and the Dragon by Gustave Moreau

Saint Georges body was re-turned to Lydda. Christians began to visit his grave. They believed he was a martyr who had died for his faith. Later, a large church was built in Lydda. It was dedicated to Saint George. About 200 years af-ter his death, the pope, or leader of the Catholic Church, declared that George was a saint.

In 1096 crusaders from Europe arrived in Lydda. At that time, Muslim leaders controlled the city of Jerusalem and the surrounding area. This was known as the Holy Land. Wealthy Christian families

in Europe decided to work together to capture the Holy Land. Christian church leaders encouraged them. They said that any man who took part in a crusade would go to heav-en when he died. When the crusad-ers returned home they took stories about Saint George back with them.

Saint George is probably best known for killing a dragon. The crusaders may have invented this legend. In the story a dragon stops the people from a city taking wa-ter from a spring. To get the wa-ter they have to give the dragon something to eat. After running out of sheep, young women, or maid-ens, are fed to the dragon. Lots are drawn to choose which maiden is to be next. One day a young princess is selected. As she walks towards the dragon, Saint George appears. Protecting himself with the sign of the cross, Saint George kills the dragon. All the people in the city then decided to become Christians. In the story the dragon represents evil, or wickedness. The princess is Gods holy truth, or the Christian faith.

A patron saint is one chosen to represent a particular group of peo-ple or a country. Many countries have Saint George as their patron saint. These include: Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, and Lithuania. St. Georges Day is celebrated in many other places, such as Canada, Ge-noa, in Italy, Moscow, the capital of Russia, Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, and Catalonia, a region of Spain.

Britain is made up of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Each has its own patron saint and flag. Saint George is the patron saint of England. The En-glish flag is a red cross on a white background. It is called the Cross of Saint George.


HUBBLE AT 25

On April 24 1990 an American space shuttle was sent into space. On board was the Hubble Space Telescope. A few days later, the space shuttles crew successfully launched Hubble into its planned orbit. Therefore, April 24, this year was Hubbles silver anniversary, or 25th birthday.

Hubble is named after the well-known American astronomer Ed-win Hubble (1889 1953). He discovered galaxies beyond our own Milky Way. He was also the first person to work out that the Universe is expanding, or getting bigger and bigger.

The Hubble telescope is 43 feet (13.2 meters) long and weighs about 11 tons. It is about 375 miles (600 kilometers) above the Earths sur-face. Hubble circles, or orbits, the planet at a speed of 17,400 miles (28,000 kilometers) per hour. As it is just outside the Earths atmosphere, Hubble can record space objects that are very, very far away. Many believe that Hubble is the most im-portant scientific instrument in the history of mankind.

Hubble Space Telescope (NASA)

Soon after Hubbles launch, NASA scientists discovered that it had a serious problem. The curve of its main mirror was faulty. This meant the first pictures it sent back to the Earth were blurred, or unclear. Fortunately, Hubbles design meant

it could be repaired in space. In 1993 astronauts traveled to the space tele-scope on a space shuttle flight. They spent ten days replacing the mirror. The new pictures that Hubble took were spectacular.

Horsehead Nebula (NASA)

There were several more repair visits to Hubble. Worn out parts were replaced and updated scientific instruments fitted. New gyroscopes and batteries were also installed. The gyroscopes are used to point Hubble in the right direction. On one visit the space telescope was moved farther out into space.

Over the last 25 years, Hubble has changed human understand-ing of the Universe and the place of the Earth within it. For exam-ple, Hubble helped astronomers to work out that the Universe is 13.7 billion years old. It was known that the Universe is getting bigger. Yet Hubbles recordings showed that, as the years go by, this expansion is speeding up.

Hubble is able to see very faint distant objects. It does this by deep field observations. This is when the telescope points at the same small area of space for hundreds of hours. By doing this, Hubble gradually records light from galaxies that are many millions of light years away.

The space telescope has taken many famous photographs. One is known as the Horsehead Nebula. A nebula is an enormous cloud of gas, which is mainly hydrogen and dust. Nebulas are where stars, like our Sun, are formed or born. When seen from the Earth, this nebulas clouds of dust and gases look like a horses head.

Hubble is expected to continue to record distant planets and galax-ies for another five years. In 2018 NASA plans to launch a new tele-scope. Called the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), its named after one of NASAs former bosses. The JWST will be much more power-ful than Hubble. Tasks that Hubble takes many days to complete will be done by the JWST in hours.

HOLY SHROUD EXHIBITION

A special exhibition opened at Tu-rins cathedral, in northern Italy, on April 19. It includes the public display of the Holy Shroud. This is a rare event. The shroud is kept in a special case made of bulletproof glass. It was last displayed in 2010. Then, two million people visited the cathedral to see it.

The Holy Shroud is also known as the Turin Shroud. It has been kept at the citys cathedral for over 400 years. A shroud is a length of cloth. In many countries a dead body is wrapped in a shroud before burial. Some people believe that the Turin Shroud is the cloth used to cover Je-sus Christs body after his death.Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He probably lived in what is now Israel and the West Bank about 2,000 years ago. In the Christian story Jesus was crucified, or nailed to a cross, for his beliefs.


Christian teachings say that he was resurrected and went up to heaven, three days later.

The Turin Shroud is 14.3 feet (4.4 meters) long and 3.7 feet (1.1 meters) wide. There is a very faint image of the front and back of a man on the cloth. In 1898 a photog-rapher was asked to take a picture of the unfolded shroud. This was the first time this had been done. When he processed his movie, the photographer was amazed to see an unmistakable image of a bearded man. In the negative picture the mans head and body were much clearer. This negative image had never been seen before.

The head on the Turin Shroud shown as an origi-nal and negative image (Dianelos Georgoudis)

There are several stains and burn marks on the shroud. The stains are around the mans hands, feet and the top of his head. Some people think these are bloodstains. The stains are where a mans wounds would be if he had been nailed to a cross. Before he was crucified, Jesus was made to wear a crown made of thorns. This, these people say, is why there are stains on the top of the head.

If the Turin Shroud is Jesuss burial cloth, it would be 2,000 years old. Some researchers say that a piece of cloth surviving for so long is unlikely. Also, there are no his-torical records of the shroud exist-ing before 1360. For many years it belonged to one of Italys former royal families. In 1983 they decided

to give the shroud to the head of the Roman Catholic Church.

The Catholic Church has never said that the Turin Shroud is an im-age of Jesus. In 1988 it agreed that a small piece of cloth could be cut off. This was then used for some scientific dating tests. Called carbon dating, the tests suggested that the shroud was between 700 and 800 years old.

Shroud on display in Turin Cathedral

However, some people claim that the tests were done incorrectly. They think the piece of cloth used for carbon dating came from later patch up work. Its known that the shroud was repaired after it was damaged by fire in the 1500s. More recent scientific tests seem to show that the shroud might be at least 1,800 years old.

The negative-like image on the shroud is unusual. So far, nobody has been able to explain how it was made. Several scientists have stud-ied the image marks. They are sure that the marks could not have been painted or rubbed into the cloth. The scientists say some form of electromagnetic energy, such as a flash of light at short wavelength from ultraviolet (UV) lasers could have made them. The people who believe that the shroud is Jesuss burial cloth, say this flash of light happened when he was resurrected.

Pope Francis is the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. He ordered the latest exhibition. He did this to

celebrate the life of a man called St John Bosco. Born 200 years ago, he was a monk who spent his life helping poor children in Turin. Pope Francis plans to visit the city to see the shroud on June 21. The exhibi-tion closes on June 24.

CAESARS ILLNESS

Julius Caesar is known to have had medical problems, or ailments. These affected him in later life. The famous Roman general is thought to have had epilepsy. However, a group of university doctors in Brit-ain now believe this is incorrect. They believe Caesar had heart dis-ease. His ailments, the doctors say, were probably caused by a number of mini-strokes.

Roman writers recorded that, as he became older, Caesar often be-came dizzy. Sometimes he would shake and even fall over. During the Battle of Thapsus Caesar collapsed. This battle took place in modern-day Tunisia in 46 BCE. Near the end of his life, Caesar became depressed. His personality seemed to change.

Caesar was born in 100 BCE. Many historians believe that he was one of the worlds greatest military commanders. His rule marked the beginning of the end of the Roman Republic. After his death it became the Roman Empire with an emperor as its leader. Cae-sar joined the army when he was a young man. He soon became a talented military leader. He was also a very good speaker.

During the republic, citizens of Rome elected their leaders. There were two consuls. Each was like a president. The two men served together for one year. Caesar be-came a consul when he was 40.


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

USA

UK

Wrangel Island

TURKEY

RUSSIA

POLAND

NEW ZEALAND

MALTA

LIBYA

INDONESIA

GERMANYFRANCE

FINLAND

DEM. REP.OF CONGO

CHINA

CHILE

BRAZIL

BELG

IUM

AUSTRALIA

ARGENTINA

ITALYITALY

NEPALPAKISTAN

SWEDEN

URUGUAY

After his 12 months ended, Cae-sar was appointed as the governor of Gaul.

Gaul was the Roman name for a large area of Western Europe. To-day this includes France and Bel-gium, parts of northern Italy, the Netherlands and Germany, most of Switzerland, and Luxembourg. In Gaul, Caesar commanded four Ro-man legions. Each had about 5,000 well-trained soldiers. Caesar was an effective governor. In Gaul he defeated the tribes that opposed Ro-man rule.

While Caesar was in Gaul, the leaders of the Roman Republic ar-gued. Many feared that Caesar was becoming too popular. Pompey, an-other Roman general, and Caesar became rivals. Caesar announced that he planned to return to Rome. The Roman leaders agreed. Yet, they said he would have to give up

his army command. Caesar refused. He arrived in Rome with a part of his army and took control of the city. A civil war between Caesar and Pompey began.

Modern bronze statue of Julius Caesar

The war lasted for 18 months. It ended when Pompey was killed. Caesar returned to Rome in 46 BCE. By this time he was the most power-ful man in the world. Caesar was de-clared to be Romes ruler for life. He then ruled the republic like a dictator. Caesar made many changes

to Rome. Large new buildings and temples were constructed.

Caesar even reorganized the cal-endar. One year became 365 days. This became known as the Julian calendar. The month of July was named after Caesar. (Pope Gregory the Thirteenth changed the calendar again in 1582. Called the Gregorian calendar, this is whats used today. It has 365.25 days in one year.)

Some wealthy people in Rome thought that Caesar had become too powerful. They feared that his rule would lead to the end of the republic. In 44 BCE they attacked him in the Senate. This was a large building in the center of Rome. Cae-sar was stabbed 23 times. After his death another civil war broke out. Caesars nephew, Octavius, was the eventual winner. He changed his name to Caesar Augustus and be-came Romes first emperor.


When a person has a stroke or mini-stroke the supply of blood to one area of the brain is disrupted. There-fore, for a short time, this part of the brain does not get the oxygen it needs. Strokes can lead to problems with sight, balance, memory, per-sonality change, and coordination. These problems can last for a short or much longer time.

The university doctors claim that Caesars health problems match those of people who have had mini-strokes. Also, Caesars father died very suddenly. He probably had a heart attack. Today, its known that families can have a history of heart disease, such as strokes or mini-strokes.

KRONOSAURUS UNCOVERED

Four months ago, the owner of a cattle farm in Australia found some fossilized bones on his land. He telephoned the museum in Rich-mond, a nearby town, in the state of Queensland. Scientists from the museum immediately went to the farm to investigate. They quickly realized that the bones belonged to Kronosaurus queenslandicus.

Artists impression of Kronosaurus queenslandicus (Lisa Wallace and Kronosaurus Korner)

The scientists have now dug up many of the bones. On April 19, the jawbone, or mandible, was dis-played in the museum for the first time. The fossilized bones are about 110 million years old. This fearful

marine creature was alive when di-nosaurs lived on the land. For much of this time, some of Australia was covered by a large inland sea.

The name Kronosaurus queenslandicus comes from an Ancient Greek god, or deity, and the Australian state of Queensland. Cronos was the leader of the Titans. These deities were giants with su-perhuman strength. The first Krono-saurus bones were discovered in the state of Queensland in 1899.

Some researchers have described Kronosaurus as having a head like a crocodile and the body of a sea lion. Its teeth were the size of bananas. The creature had four powerful flip-pers and a short tail. A fully-grown Kronosaurus was about 33 feet (ten meters) long. From the shape and size of its body, it must have been a fast swimmer. Kronosaurus was whats known as an apex predator. It was at the top, or apex, of the food chain. Kronosaurus fed on other marine creatures, such as sharks and giant turtles. Yet nothing preyed on it.

So far, only a few Kronosau-rus have been found. One of the most complete skeletons was dug up in Colombia in 1977. Proba-bly the best-known is called the Harvard Kronosaurus. In 1932 a team of fossil hunters from Harvard University, in the U.S., visited Australia. While staying in Queensland, they were told about a large fossilized skeleton. Parts of it could be seen in some limestone rocks.

Using explosives, the team broke up the rock. The blocks of limestone containing the bones were then shipped back to the U.S. A com-plete skeleton was finally displayed in one of Harvards museums, in 1959. However, the skeleton in the

limestone blocks was incomplete. What were thought to be the miss-ing bones were made from plaster. Its now known that the university researchers added too many ribs. Therefore, the Harvard Kronosau-rus is longer than the real creature would have been.

The Harvard Kronosaurus

Scientists from the Richmond museum have now dug up many of the Kronosaurus bones. They plan to return to the cattle farm in a few months time to search for more. The jawbone is much better pre-served than any others found in the past. It is 5.25 feet (1.6 meters) long. This Kronosaurus must have been a juvenile. The mandibles of adults were around 8.5 feet (2.6 meters) in length.

The area around Richmond is known for fossils. These are from marine creatures that lived and died in the ancient inland sea. Most that have been found are displayed in the museum, which opened in 1995. Its called Kronosaurus Korner.

FINLANDS NEW PRIME MINISTER

A general election for the 200 mem-bers of Finlands parliament was held on April 19. In Finland, elec-tions for the countrys parliament (or Eduskunta) take place every four years.

Finland has a large land area, but small population. It is home to about


5.5 million people. About 1.4 mil-lion live in the area around Helsin-ki, the countrys capital city. Finland joined the European Union (EU) in 1995. Soon afterwards, it decid-ed to use the euro as its currency. Today, 19 European countries use the euro. This group is often called the eurozone.

Juha Sipil

Finland is a republic. The presi-dent is the countrys leader, or head of state. The people elect this person ev-ery six years. Yet, in Finland, the pres-ident has few powers. The prime min-ister leads the elected government. He or she makes most of the important decisions. Normally, the prime min-ister is the person who is the leader of the political party with the most seats in the countrys parliament.

In Finland, many different polit-ical parties have seats in the parlia-ment. To have a majority (or to be able to out vote all the other parties) a party needs to have at least 101 seats. This is very unlikely. So the parties form groups, or coalitions. It is not unusual for the Finnish gov-ernment to be made up of a coalition of four or more separate parties.

One of the larger political parties in Finland is called the National Co-alition. It, together with several oth-er parties, has governed the country for the last eight years. Its current leader, Alexander Stubb, took over as Finlands prime minister last year. At the last election in 2011, the National Coalition got 44 seats.

After all the votes had been count-ed it was announced that the Center Party had the largest number of seats. It won 49. This was 14 more than last time. Juha Sipil leads the Cen-ter Party. As his party won the most seats, Mr. Sipil will be Finlands new prime minister. Before this hap-pens, he will have to hold talks with other parties to form a coalition.

Mr. Sipil only became a member of parliament four years ago. Mem-bers of the Center Party chose him as their leader in 2012. Mr. Sipil, who is 53 years old, is very wealthy. Be-fore becoming a politician, he was a successful businessman. He ran a company called Solitra. It makes components for cell telephone net-works. In 1994 Mr. Sipil sold the company to an American firm for a large amount of money.

The National Coalition lost sev-en seats. It came third with 37 seats. With 38 seats, the Finns Party is now in second place. Timo Soini leads this party. His party is often described as nationalist. Its sup-porters think that the traditions and history of their country are very im-portant. They dont want too many immigrants, or people from other countries, to come and live and work in Finland. The Finns Party dislikes the euro. Its followers want Finland to leave the eurozone and for the country to have its own cur-rency again.

For the last three years Finlands economy has done badly. The num-ber of people without jobs has been rising. Austerity, or a large reduction in the amount of money the govern-ment spends, has been unpopular. Mr. Sipil admits that improving the economy will be difficult. Yet, he says he plans to create more jobs, reduce government borrowing and minimize austerity.

VAMPIRE SQUID DISCOVERY

Researchers in Germany have been studying vampire squid. These crea-tures are a type of cephalopod. Other cephalopods include octopuses and cuttlefish. Most female cephalopods release, or spawn, only one set of eggs. They die soon afterwards. The researchers have discovered that vampire squid are different. They seem to spawn smaller numbers of eggs throughout their lifetimes. This is similar to many fish.

The vampire squids scientific name is Vampyroteuthis infernalis. This means vampire squid from hell. Vampire squid are examples of what are sometimes called living fossils. These are creatures that have existed for a very long time without changing much. Fossils of vampire squid, many millions of years old, look similar to the ones found living in the oceans today.

Vampire squid (MBARI)

Vampire squid grow to a length of about one foot (30 cen-timeters). Their color can vary between reddish and black. Unlike most cephalopods, their eight arms are webbed, or joined. There are suckers on the insides of their arms. Their arms are lined with spines called cirri. These are not hard and sharp but soft and flesh-like.The squid have two fins, one on each side of their body, or mantle.


They swim through the water by flapping these fins. Unlike other cephalopods, vampire squid have two long string-like filaments. These are about eight times the length of their bodies.

Vampire squid live between 2,300 and 3,000 feet (700 and 900 meters) below the surface of the sea. This is sometimes called the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ). Not many things live in this part of the ocean. Here, there is very little dissolved oxygen in the water. However, the vampire squid can live and breathe normally at these depths. Vampire squid have a very slow metabolism. This helps them to save energy. Me-tabolism is the different chemical processes in living things that con-trol growth, energy production, and getting rid of waste.

Nearly all cephalopods catch and eat live prey. Yet vampire squid dont do this. Instead they live on whats known as marine snow. This is small bits and pieces that sink to the bottom of the ocean. Ma-rine snow includes the dead bodies of small creatures, eggs, fish scales, small bits of jellyfish and the feces, or fecal pellets, of other fish that swim above them.

As it sinks, bits of marine snow get stuck to the squids long fila-ments. These are then slowly pulled in. The squid uses its arms to clean or scrape off the bits stuck to the filaments. The food is then cov-ered in mucus. This comes from the suckers on its arms. The cirri then pass or move these food lumps towards the squids mouth.

The German researchers ex-am-ined over 40 female vampire squid. These were caught in nets off the U.S.s Pacific coast. By cutting them up, the researchers could see that the squid had released some

eggs. Yet many undeveloped, or im-mature, eggs remained inside them. These would therefore be used for future spawning. The researchers calculated that one squid had al-ready used 3,800 eggs. It still had another 6,500.

Spawning all the eggs at the same time would use a lot of energy. The researchers think the squid release about 100 eggs at a time. This, they say, is probably the result of living in the OMZ. Its another way to save energy.

AUSCHWITZ TRIAL

The trial of Oskar Grning began on April 20. Now aged 93, Mr. Grning worked in the Auschwitz death camp during the Second World War (1939 1945). He is accused of being an accessory to the murder of 300,000 Jews from Hungary. These people were killed at Auschwitz between May and July 1944.

Oskar Grning in the 1940s

Before the Second World War started, Nazi officials set up special camps in Germany. These became known as concentration camps. Many people who spoke out against the Nazis or their ideas were sent to them.

More camps were built in other countries after the war began. Some were specially designed. This was so tens of thousands of people could be

murdered inside them. Nowadays, these places are usually called death camps. Of the many death camps, Auschwitz is the most notorious. This camp is in Poland. During the war 1.1 million people died at Aus-chwitz. Most were killed by poison gas. The killing of millions of Jew-ish people by the Nazis during the war is known as the Holocaust.

Oskar Grning

The camps were run by an or-ganization called the SS. When the war ended some of the people who ran or worked in these places were arrested. They were put on tri-al. Most were found guilty of war crimes and executed.

Mr. Grning was born in 1921. At the age of 17 he started work in a bank. Soon afterwards the war be-gan. Mr. Grning joined the SS in 1940. He was given a desk job and worked as a bookkeeper, or accoun-tant. Two years later Mr. Grning was sent to Auschwitz. Then, he knew nothing about the camp. He learned what was happening there soon after his arrival.

As a bookkeeper, Mr. Grning was given an office job. He counted the money that was taken from the people sent to Auschwitz. This mon-ey was then sent to SS headquarters. Sometimes he was ordered to guard the suitcases that belonged to the new arrivals. These were taken from them after they got off the trains.

Mr. Grning claims that he was not directly involved with kill-ing anyone at Auschwitz. He did


not like being at the camp and asked to be sent to a front-line SS unit. The front-line was where the fighting was taking place. In 1944 Mr. Grning was transferred to the Western Front. There, he was wounded and captured. Mr. Grning spent the rest of the war in Britain as a prisoner. After the war ended, he did not tell anyone that he had been at Auschwitz. Mr. Grning got a job in a glass fac-tory. Eventually he became one of the factory managers.

Some people claim that the Ho-locaust never happened. This is known as Holocaust denial. Ho-locaust denial is illegal in Germa-ny and several other countries. In the 1980s, Mr. Grning met some-one who was a Holocaust-denier. Mr. Grning did not argue with the man. However, after this inci-dent, he decided to speak out. Mr. Grning also agreed to talk with several news reporters. He says he did this to show that Holocaust-de-niers were wrong.

For many years former SS members were only put on trial if they were known to have person-ally taken part in the killings. This changed in 2011. Then, a former SS guard at another camp was found guilty of being an accessory to murder. Lawyers successfully ar-gued that, by working at the camp, he had assisted in the murders. The guard was given a five-year prison sentence.

Mr. Grning has been nicknamed the bookkeeper of Auschwitz. Sev-eral Auschwitz survivors are taking part in the trial. Most SS men who worked in the camps are now dead or over 90 years old. Therefore, this is likely to be the last death camp trial. Mr. Grning admits that tens of thousands of people were killed

when he was at Auschwitz. He says the judge must decide if he was an accessory to their murder. If the judge says he is guilty, Mr. Grning will probably be sent to prison.

ASIAN-AFRICAN CONFERENCE

A large meeting, or summit, began in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, on April 21. It lasted for five days. Called the Asian-African Confer-ence, it was held to mark the 60th anniversary of a meeting that took place in Indonesia in April 1955. In-donesias president, Joko Widodo, hosted the summit.

The 1955 meeting is known as the Bandung Conference. The city of Bandung is about 112 miles (180 kilometers) from Jakarta. The Band-ung Conference was organized by Indonesia, Burma (now also known as Myanmar), Pakistan, Ceylon (now called Sri Lanka), and India.

Asian-African Conference group photograph

Sixty years ago most of the worlds developed, or wealthier, nations were split into two groups, or blocs. They were known as the West and the East. The West was led by the U.S., and communist Rus-sia led the East. Nowadays, this di-vide is often called the Cold War.

The Cold War was not a real war. The name is used to describe the period between 1947 and 1991. During this time, the Soviet Union and the U.S. (with its allies) were enemies. In the Second World War

(1939 1945) the U.S., Britain, France, and Russia were allies. All fought against Germany. In the last year of the war Russia occu-pied many Eastern Europe coun-tries. Most eventually became part of the Russian-led Soviet Union. The U.S. (together with its allies in Western Europe) and Russia be-gan to mistrust each another. This was when the Cold War began. It ended when the Soviet Union broke up.

Indonesias president, the president of China and other heads of state walking in Bandung

Before the Second World War many countries in Africa and Asia were colonies. Other countries, such as Britain and France, controlled them. Indonesia was a colony of the Netherlands. It was called the Dutch East Indies. Soon after the war ended many colonies became independent nations. These includ-ed the five countries that organized the Bandung Conference.

Two types of countries were in-vited to the Bandung Conference. Some were newly independent na-tions and others were not part of the East-West divide. For example, China, Japan and Iran all took part. The leaders of 25 countries went to the Bandung Conference. Sukar-no (1901 1970) hosted it. After leading the fight for independence, Sukarno became Indonesias first president in 1945.

The countries that attended the Bandung Conference promised to work together. They agreed to


oppose colonialism, or richer na-tions running other countries as col-onies. All declared that they would not join either side in the Cold War. The Bandung Conference led to the set up of an organization called the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). Members of the NAM did not want to be aligned (or grouped) with the large power blocs.

Officials and heads of state from 77 countries attended the anniversa-ry conference. On the last day they traveled from Jakarta to Bandung. There, they walked from the build-ing where the 1955 meeting took place to a large hotel. This was where the people who took part in the Bandung Conference stayed 60 years ago.

MAMMOTH DNA STUDY

Scientists from Sweden have suc-cessfully mapped the genome, or decoded the DNA, of two woolly mammoths. After studying the two creatures genomes, the scientists were able to confirm what happened to these large animals.

From the discovery of ancient bones, its known that mammoths existed 700,000 years ago. They lived in the northern parts of Rus-sia, Europe and North America. Adults were about the same size as modern-day Indian elephants. Woolly mammoths had long curved tusks. These may have been used for clearing snow from the ground. Mammoths would need to do this to find the grasses and plants they ate. The males probably also used their tusks for fighting with rivals.

There are several ideas, or the-ories, about why woolly mam-moths became extinct. One is that

they all died from a disease. Some think that the plants the mammoths ate stopped growing because of a change of climate. Others believe that ancient humans hunted them to extinction. Its known that most mammoths died out around the end of the last ice age. However, one group continued to exist on Wran-gel Island, in northern Russia. This group finally became extinct about 4,000 years ago.

Life size woolly mammoth model

In northern Russia the ground has remained frozen for thousands of years. Now, rising world tempera-tures have caused many of these areas to thaw. This has led to an increasing number of woolly mammoth discov-eries. As well as bones and tusks, hair, skin and internal organs have been found. The frozen ground preserved these body parts.

The scientists were able to take DNA samples from two Russian mammoths. One came from a calf, or baby. It lived about 45,000 years ago. The other DNA sample came from a tooth. This came from one of the last mammoths that lived on Wrangel Island. It died around 4,300 years ago. By comparing the two genetic codes, the scientists were able to find out what happened to mammoths.

The genomes show that their numbers suddenly declined twice. The first time was 280,000 years ago and the second 12,000 years ago. When this happens its known

as a population crash. After the first population crash, mammoth num-bers recovered. However, this did not happen the second time.

The last ice age ended about 12,000 years ago. Then, the large ice sheets that covered parts of North America and Europe melt-ed. This was followed by a period called the Younger Dryas. Also known as the Big Freeze, it lasted for about 1,000 years. This freeze seems to have affected the northern hemisphere but not the southern one. This big drop in temperature may have caused the mammoths second population crash. Other large animals, which lived in North America, also seem to have become extinct around this time.

The scientists think that only 300 to 1,000 mammoths survived the second crash. A small mam-moth population lived on Wrangel Island for about 6,000 years after all the others disappeared. The sci-entists think that this group eventu-ally died out because of inbreeding. This is when animals mate with their close relatives or siblings. Inbreeding usually results in weak and unhealthy genes.

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Editor: Rebecca Watson

American Editor: Chris Tarn

Acknowledgements:

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ISSUE 248 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

1 2

3

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5 6

7 8

9 10 11

12 13

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ACROSS 1 Noun Plural Dead bodies of animals 4 Noun Plural Long thin fibres or threads of an artificial or

natural material 8 Adjective Describes rules that you have to obey or follow 9 Noun Plural Parts that combine with other parts to form

something bigger 10 Noun A situation in which neither side can win 12 Verb Named, or honored a building, place, memorial, or

event in the name of a person, religious figure, or something that happened in history

13 Adjective Having a very bad reputation 15 Verb Brought back to life 16 Noun Someone who helps another person to commit a

crime 17 Noun A word formed from the initial letters of other words,

often used as a shortened way of referring to something 18 Noun Plural Groups of countries, people or organizations

that have the same interests and work together

DOWN 1 Verb Praised or congratulated 2 Noun Someone who suffers death or hardship for their

beliefs 3 Noun Large amount of snow, ice and rock falling quickly

down a mountainside 5 Noun A wealthy person who is a member of the ruling

class 6 Noun Describes actions taken to save money, especially

living more simply and strictly controlling spending 7 Verb To kill an animal or person as an offering to a god or

gods 11 Noun Disorder that affects a persons central nervous

system that may cause shaking or violent movements of arms and legs

12 Noun A refusal to believe that something is true 14 Noun Plural Various chemicals, made by living cells, that

act on the growth or development of particular organs, tissues or parts of living organisms


ISSUE 248GLOSSARY 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.

MISSING WORD ANSWER =

ISSUE 247 A

NSW

ERS

If you wish to earn additional Demics please email the missing word answer to: [email protected] entries need to be submitted by 10 pm on May 13, 2015 (GMT/UTC).*

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