378 B Newsademic

NID: 1001538-151-378 B Newsademic
The informative easy to read introduction to world news

British English edition 23rd April 2020 | Issue number 378
IN THIS ISSUE
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus,
director-general of the World
H ‘World’s weirdest lizard’ Health Organization
H Rwanda’s ‘kind-hearted
dictator’
H Star’s spirograph
orbit
H Nightingale changes
H Europe’s olive tree disease
H Rats’ survival behaviour
H Antarctica’s temperate
forests
H Ramadan begins
H Easter tornadoes
H Singing for the queen
H South Korea’s pandemic
election
H Bird alarms
H Leatherbacks return
H ‘Longest animal’
H Glacial archaeology in
Norway
H Israel’s unity government
H Glossary Crossword and
Wordsearch Puzzle
A meri ca and the WH O
Traditionally, American presidents that America would stop funding, or The informative easy to read
British English edition
introduction to world news
27th February 2020 | Issue number
hold press conferences at the White giving money to, the World Health
374
IN THIS ISSUE
H Pink manta ray surprise
H Mubarak: Egypt’s former
president
House. In Washington DC, this is the

H Saint Valentine’s Day
Organization (WHO). Mr Trump ex-

H Rome founder’s shrine
unveiled
H Togo’s dynasty continues
H Amazon boss’s Earth Fund
H Motionless baby dragons
H Pale Blue Dot photographs
home and offices of the president. plained that he was unhappy with the
anniversary
H ‘Stinging water’ mystery
solved
H Narendra Modi and ‘Namaste’
Trump
H Dinosaur body heat debate
Press conferences are usually organ-

H 366-day year
way that the organisation had han-

H Neanderthal flower burial
ritual
H Machine learning finds
antibiotic
H Sahara: cross-ocean fertilizer
Virus outbre ak spread s

ised after an event that affects the
H Pleistocene horned lark
dled the coronavirus outbreak. He

Wordsearch Puzzle
Two months ago, people
from Teams of healthcare workers were
around the world began listening
to, sent to Wuhan from other
and watching, news reports parts of E e
more China. They have been
visiting peo- E ess tim
frequently. Newsreaders spoke R cc d
whole country. Newspaper reporters

about ple’s homes. The workers
record the F ll amite
claimed that the WHO had ‘failed in

a new flu-like virus that had appeared
in Wuhan, a city in central China.
residents’ temperatures. A fever,
or fu li
They high temperature, is a sign
that a per- ra
explained that it was a coronavirus.
son may have the virus. Anyone
fo
Each day, the newsreaders listed with 1
the a temperature is quickly isolated.
number of people in China who
had other parts of the country, large
In
gath-
Newsademic 2
Newsademic
been infected and the number The informative easy-to-read introduction to world news
who erings have been cancelled.

The informative
easy-to-read
and television news channel hosts

introduction to
People
world news
had died.
are not allowed to travel unless
its basic duty’. Most countries help

their
Many people marvelled at the journey is necessary. READING LEVEL 1
READING LEVEL
actions that the Chinese govern- 2
China is a one-party state. The
ment took. Even though it was
the government can influence
Chinese New Year holiday, Wuhan, what is
a printed in newspapers
city of 11 million people, was ‘locked and what news
reports are broadcast. The country’s
are invited. After the president has

down’. All transport, by car, bus
and government is often described
to fund the WHO. Currently, the USA

train, in and out of Wuhan, as au-
stopped. People in the city were
was thoritarian. Most people
listening to READING LEVEL 1 AND 2 APPS
told news from China realised Ten easy-to-understand
to stay in their homes. Within that similar
a few virus-stopping actions Newsademic articles
weeks, two new hospitals were in their coun-
built tries would be hard to
implement. As + interactive exercises,
in the city. They have been designed updated every two weeks
the days passed, the news changed.
only to treat people who have + archive of 100+ stories
spoken, they can ask questions.

the More and more people
new coronavirus. with the vi- www.newsademic.com/apps
pays more than any other. Its most

rus were being identified in
other
NEWSADEMIC.COM
For several weeks, Donald J recent payment was US$400 million

(£324 million). This is about 15% of
Learning
Trump, America’s current president,
has held a daily press conference. the WHO’s total budget. The budget English as a
During them, Mr Trump, other mem- is the amount of money the organi-
bers of his team and medical experts sation needs for the next 12 months. foreign language?
provide an update on the coronavi- Mr Trump’s WHO announcement
rus outbreak in the country. After- surprised many world leaders. They
wards, Mr Trump invites the ‘press’ to said that it was the wrong thing to Newsademic is
question any member of his team. Mr
Trump also uses the press conferenc-
do in the middle of a worldwide pan-
demic. Yet, in recent months, others
recommended
es to make official announcements. have questioned some of the WHO’s reading for EFL
On 15th April, Mr Trump made
an unexpected announcement at
actions. They believe that the organ-
isation is ‘too close’ to China. The and ESL
the press conference. He declared pandemic began in Wuhan, a large
NEWSADEMIC.COM
in 2009. This virus killed about 19,000 Zimbabwe for 30 years. Mugabe ruled
people. It’s thought that it transferred his country as a dictator. During this
from a pig to a human on a small farm time, it became one of the world’s
in Mexico. In this instance, the WHO poorest nations. Under his rule, Zim-
quickly declared a pandemic. At that babwe had only very basic health-
time, this announcement meant that care. When Mugabe needed medical
many countries had to take certain treatment, he travelled to an expen-
actions. H1N1 soon faded. The WHO sive private hospital in Singapore.
was criticised for ‘being too hasty’ to Mugabe was the AU’s chairman when
declare a pandemic. The opposite Dr Tedros won the director-general
happened with the West Africa 2014 vote. Mugabe’s appointment caused
Ebola outbreak. This virus is far more an outcry. A few days later, Dr Tedros
deadly than H1N1 or Covid-19. Then, changed his decision.
people complained that the WHO
All 194 member countries pay an
city in central China. Yet, WHO crit- was too slow to help countries with
annual fee to the WHO. This com-
ics say that the organisation’s leaders Ebola. The outbreak was contained. It
pulsory amount depends on the
have been reluctant to question Chi- killed 11,300 people. Ebola still exists
size of their economies. In addition,
na about what happened in Wuhan. in several African countries.
countries and organisations can
For example, many people think that
Like the UN, the WHO has 194 make voluntary payments. The USA
the number of deaths in Wuhan was
members. A director-general leads makes the biggest compulsory and
far higher than the Chinese govern-
it. A health minister from each mem- voluntary payments.
ment’s official figure.
ber country elects this person. The
The WHO is part of the United director-general is appointed for five On 22nd April, Dr Tedros said that
Nations (UN). Its large headquarters’ years. Margaret Chan was the direc- he hoped Mr Trump would reconsid-
building is in Geneva, a city in Swit- tor-general for two five-year terms. er his decision. On the same day, Chi-
zerland. The UN’s emblem, or logo, She is a Chinese-Canadian physician, na announced that it would give the
is a globe, or map of the world, as or medical doctor. Before leading organisation an extra US$30 million
seen from above the North Pole. Ol- the WHO, she worked for the Hong (£24 million). Germany then made
ive wreaths are on either side of the Kong government. a similar offer. Not all countries are
globe. These are a symbol of peace. supportive. Australia declared that
Ms Chan’s second term ended in the WHO should agree to an inde-
The WHO’s logo is the same view of
2017. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus pendent review, or investigation, into
the North Pole and olive leaves. Yet,
succeeded her. (He uses the name the virus’ worldwide spread. 
there is a snake wrapped around a
Tedros.) From Ethiopia, he is the first
rod, or stick, overlaying it. This an-
African to lead the WHO. Dr Tedros
cient symbol is known as the Rod of
was Ethiopia’s minister for health. By
Asclepius. A Greek god, Asclepius is
training, he is a malaria researcher.
associated with medicine and heal-
Therefore, he is the first non-med-
ing. Medical organisations in many
ical doctor to be elected as the di-
parts of the world use this motif as
rector-general of the WHO. In recent
their logo or as part of its design.
years, China has invested large sums
The WHO’s main job is to advise of money in Ethiopia. In the vote for
governments about healthcare. It the position of director-general, the
also arranges projects and studies to African Union (AU) and China sup-
improve people’s health and wellbe- ported Dr Tedros. All African coun-
ing all around the world. The WHO tries are AU members. Dr Tedros’s
only advises. It can make recommen- two rival candidates were medical
dations to governments. However, doctors from the UK and Pakistan.
the organisation cannot force them
After Dr Tedros became direc-
to take action.
tor-general, he made a surprise
During the last 11 years, the WHO appointment. He selected Robert
has been involved with several inter- Mugabe to be the WHO Goodwill
national health emergencies. They Ambassador for Africa. Mugabe died
include the H1N1 swine-flu outbreak last year. He was the president of President Trump at a press conference
NEWSADEMIC.COM | British English edition | 23rd April 2020 | Issue number 378 page 2
Underside of the yellow-bellied three-toed skink
lives near a section of Aus- and produce live young at

tralia’s eastern shoreline. the same time. A vertebrate
This skink is about 18 centi- has never been record-
metres (seven inches) long. ed doing this before. The
Its upperparts are brown. researchers say that this
The creature’s underside, unusual action might have
or belly, is an orange-yel- a natural explanation. The
low colour. These skinks skink may have done this
are nocturnal, or active to ensure that some off-
at night. spring survived. For in-
One population of stance, changing temper-
yellow-bellied three-toed atures could favour eggs
skinks lives in a coastal over live young, or the other
‘ Wo rl d ’ s
low-lying area. Another way round.
inhabits higher ground in
Another explanation
weird e st l i z a rd ’
the nearby mountains. The
is that this skink is in evo-
lowland population is ovip-
lutionary transition. It is
arous, or lays eggs. Their
eggs have very thin shells. evolving from eggs to live
Also, the embryos inside offspring. It’s possible, the
Skinks are a type of lizard. place outside the body. researchers say, that the
They live in many parts of Birds, and some snakes them are almost fully de-
veloped. Therefore, these skink is ‘moving’ in the oth-
the world. There are over and lizards, also lay eggs. er direction. It is evolving
1,000 species. Skinks can Yet, these are fertilized in- eggs hatch far quicker than
other lizards’ eggs. Strange- from live births to laying
be found in many hab- side the female’s body. The
ly, these skinks’ ‘higher-liv- eggs. This, they suspect,
itats. Mountains, grass- larvae, babies or chicks
ing’ neighbours are vivip- is less likely. The skink
lands, forests, deserts, that hatch from the eggs
and urban areas are ex- get the food that they need arous. They produce live may have changed from
amples. The largest are from the egg yolk. young and not eggs. As this producing eggs to pro-
about 36 centimetres (14 skink species lays eggs and ducing babies some time
Viviparous animals give
inches) long. has live births, it is of great ago and is now changing
birth to live young. They
Some skinks live in develop from an embryo interest to scientists who back again. Alterations in
trees. Many are ground inside the female. Mam- study evolution. the environment could be
dwelling and a few are mals (such as humans) pro- Recently, one yel- the reason. The research-
aquatic, or live in the water. duce a placenta. It provides low-bellied three-toed ers say that they will only
Most skinks that live on the extra nutrition. It’s thought skink did something even discover what the skink
ground dig tunnels in the that egg laying came first. weirder. Some researchers is doing by further study
soil. These small lizards are Over time, many animals watched it lay several eggs and observation. 
often confused with baby evolved from producing
snakes. This is because eggs to giving birth to live
skinks have a snake-like young. (The dinosaurs laid
body, a short neck and very eggs.) Today, about 80%
small legs. They feed mainly of all snakes and lizards
on insects. are egg layers. The others
Like all lizards, skinks are produce live young. Some
invertebrates. This means skink species lay eggs and
that they have a backbone. others give birth.
Vertebrates reproduce in Many skinks are found
one of two ways. Some are in Australia. One type is
oviparous, or the female unusual. Researchers who
lays eggs. Fish, for exam- study this skink call it ‘the
ple, lay eggs, or spawn. The weirdest lizard in the world’.
male then fertilizes these. Known as the yellow-bel-
Here, fertilization takes lied three-toed skink, it Yellow-bellied three-toed skink
Rwanda’ s ‘kind -he arted dic tator ’

shot down. They blamed
Paul Kagame, the president of Rwanda
the Tutsi. In Kigali, the cap-
ital city, many Hutu be-
gan murdering the Tutsi.
This was the start of what
is now called the Rwan-
dan genocide. About 100
days later, the RPF arrived.
It defeated the Rwandan
army and took control
of the country. By this
time, Mr Kagame was the
RPF’s leader.
During 100 days, around
800,000 Tutsi were killed.
This was 20% of the pop-
ulation. The Rwandan gen-
ocide shocked people all
around the world. Yet, no
country intervened to stop
it. Most victims were mur-
dered in their homes. Of-
ten, it was people from the
same town or village who
committed the crimes. A
Memorial Centre opened in
Kigali in 2004, or the gen-
ocide’s tenth anniversary.
It was built where 250,000
of those killed were bur-
Paul Kagame is the pres- Great Lakes. The west side an armed group called the ied. There are several other
ident of Rwanda. As well has mountains and the east Rwandan Patriotic Front memorial sites in Rwanda.
as a politician, he is a for- is grasslands, or savanna. (RPF). It fought against the One, called the Nyamata
mer military commander. Two main ethnic groups, or Rwandan government and Genocide Memorial is at a
Mr Kagame was officially tribes, live in Rwanda: the its army. church where thousands
appointed as Rwanda’s Tutsi and the Hutu. In 1994, Rwanda’s pres- were killed.
president on 22nd April The country is a former ident was killed in a plane After the RPF took con-
2000. Therefore, this colony of both Germany crash. The Hutu were sure trol, Mr Kagame became
date in 2020 marked the and Belgium. It has a trou- that his aircraft had been the vice president and
20th anniversary of his bled past. After Rwanda
presidency. Most Rwan- became an independent
dans greatly admire their nation in 1962, the Hutu ran
62-year-old president. the country. Violence often
Yet, some describe him broke out between the two
as a ‘kind-hearted, or ethnic groups. Many Tutsi
benevolent, dictator’. fled to surrounding coun-
Rwanda is one of Afri- tries. Mr Kagame was born
ca’s smallest countries. It is into a Tutsi family. When he
home to 12.3 million peo- was very young, his family
ple. Rwanda is landlocked, moved to Uganda. This was
or has no direct access to where Mr Kagame grew
the sea. Just south of the up. He became an officer
Equator, it is within a re- in Uganda’s army. Later, Mr
gion known as the African Kagame helped to set up Human skulls at the Nyamata Genocide Memorial, in Rwanda (Fanny Schertze)
UGANDA
TANZANIA
Rwanda’s mountains and grassland, or savanna (Dave Proffer)
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
Kigali
smartphone made in Africa him are badly treated,

is manufactured in Rwan- or persecuted.
da. VW (or Volkswagen), Since he became pres-
BURUNDI the German carmaker, has ident 20 years ago, Mr
opened a factory in the
Kagame has won three
country. It chose Rwan-
elections. The last was
da to build its cars for the
minister of defence. This no natural resources. Yet, African market. two years ago. Then, he
meant that he controlled in five decades, Singapore got 98% of the votes. A
Mr Kagame believes in
the army. Another RPF has become one of the referendum was held in
gender equality. He pro-
member called Pasteur world’s wealthiest nations. 2015. People could vote for
motes the rights of wom-
Bizimungu was appointed It has excellent education, a change in the country’s
en. In 2008, Rwanda be-
as the president. However, healthcare and housing. election rules. An over-
came the first country in
many people believed that Many international com- whelming number voted
the world where the wom-
he was a ‘placeholder’. This panies have operations ‘yes’. The change meant
en members of parliament
word is used to describe in Singapore. that Mr Kagame could
outnumber the men. How-
a person who occupies a Now, Rwanda is one stand again in future pres-
ever, some people accuse
place (or position) on be- of Africa’s leading IT cen- idential elections. There-
Mr Kagame of being too
half of someone else. Mr tres. It has the continent’s authoritarian. They claim fore, he may not stand
Bizimungu, they say, could best and least expensive that people, politicians and down as Rwanda’s presi-
not do anything without internet services. The only journalists who criticise dent until 2034. 
Mr Kagame’s permission. If
this is true, Mr Kagame has
led Rwanda since 1994, or
for 26 years.
Before Mr Kagame took
over as president, Rwan-
da’s economy was based
on farming, or agriculture.
Its main export was cof-
fee beans. Over the last 20
years, the country has be-
come one of Africa’s most
successful nations. The
majority of people have
jobs. Government officials
are not dishonest, or cor-
rupt. The country’s econ-
omy continues to improve
and expand.
Mr Kagame has said that
he wants Rwanda to be
the ‘Singapore of Africa’.
Singapore is a small island
nation. Like Rwanda, it has Kigali, Rwanda’s capital city (Adrian K)
Artist’s impression of
mysterious forces in the
the spirograph-shaped Universe. Albert Einstein
orbit of the S2 star (1879 – 1955) was a famous
around the black hole
in the centre of
German-born American
the Milky Way physicist. Around 100 years
(ESO / L Calçada) ago, he produced sever-
al famous theories about
space and time. Over time,
many have been shown to
be correct. Einstein’s theo-
ry of relativity implied the
existence of black holes.
A black hole is created
when a giant star explodes
after coming to the end of
its lifecycle. The explosion
is called a supernova. Af-
terwards, the star shrinks
to a far smaller size. Due
to its small size and huge
mass, the object’s grav-
itational force (or pull) is
greatly enhanced. This is a
black hole.
Anything near a black
hole is devoured, or sucked
in. Even light, and other
Sta r ’ s s pi ro graph orb i t

types of radiation, can-
not escape. John Wheel-
er (1911 – 2008) was an
American physicist. He
The Milky Way is the name months. The Milky Way is black hole. This period invented the ‘black hole’
of the galaxy that contains 100,000 light years across. is sometimes called the name in 1967. Before, they
the Sun, the Earth and Scientists are sure that ‘galactic year’. were called ‘dirty stars’.
the Solar System’s oth- there is an extra-large, or Some astronomers joking-
In space, most objects
er planets. Astronomers supermassive, black hole at ly call the mysterious space
have an elliptical or circular
believe that the Universe the centre of the Milky Way. objects ‘a one-way ticket
contains between 100 They call it Sagittarius A*. If orbit. A team of interna-
out of the Universe’.
and 200 billion galaxies. it is a black hole, Sagittarius tional astronomers working
Most, including the Milky A* is four million times the at the Max Planck Institute,
Way, are spiral-shaped. mass of the Sun. in Germany, have been ob-
First-ever image a of a black hole,
These disc-shaped gal- serving a star called S2. It it is at the centre of the Messier 87
The Earth is about is located near the centre galaxy (EHT)
axies have a central point
26,000 light years from of the Milky Way, or close
and ‘arms’ that spiral out-
the Milky Way’s centre. to Sagittarius A*. The as-
wards. The stars nearer to
Everything in a spiral galaxy tronomers discovered that
the centre are older. New,
rotates around its central S2 has an unusual orbit
or young, stars form in the
point. Therefore, the So- around the black hole. Its
outer arms.
lar System (including the
orbit, they say, is further
One light year is rough- Sun and the Earth) circles
evidence that the super-
ly nine trillion kilometres Sagittarius A*. It takes the
massive black hole exists.
(six trillion miles). This is Solar System about 225
the distance that a beam million years to complete Black holes are one of
of light will travel in 12 one rotation of the huge the most powerful and
Albert Einstein in 1947
The ‘edge’ around a than Sagittarius A*, it is 54 hole, it slows. The star is
black hole is called the million light years from the then pulled back towards it.
event horizon. Anything Earth. The history-mak- However, each of S2’s
that crosses this boundary ing picture was not of the orbits are not the same.
disappears into the black black hole, as they cannot Due to the black hole’s
hole. The event horizon be seen. It was of the ‘ring intense gravity, the place
is the ‘point of no return’. of fire’ around it. Sagittarius to where it slingshots S2
Once crossed, there is no A* has a far less bright ring differs each time. So, over
escape. Stars that get too of fire. It would, therefore, time, S2’s orbits around
close to black holes are be much harder to create Sagittarius A* look like a
ripped apart. The material an image of it. rosette or spirograph. This
that they are made from is the first time that a black
empty. They contain huge The S2 star goes around
revolves around the black hole orbiting-star has been
amounts of matter that is Sagittarius A*. Yet, its oval
hole. It becomes super- seen to do this.
very densely packed. This orbit is not centred on the
heated. Gradually, it is Each of S2’s oval orbits
is what creates the object’s black hole. Sagittarius A*
drawn into, or consumed takes 16 years. To confirm
powerful gravitational pull. is at one end. The star is
by, the black hole. its unusual orbit, the Max
Twelve months ago, a pulled towards the black Planck astronomers have
As light and radiation
cannot escape from a black hole was ‘pictured’ hole. It then travels at about had to observe the star for
black hole, it is invisible. for the first time. The image three percent of the speed 27 years. Interestingly, their
What can be seen is a was created by a group of of light. The star goes discovery confirms anoth-
‘bright ring of fire’. This is 200 scientists, using eight around Sagittarius A* and er of Einstein’s predictions
the superheated material powerful telescopes. This is then ‘thrown back’ out- from 100 years ago. 
that swirls around it. Even black hole is at the centre wards. This action is known
Artist’s impression of a black hole
though they are called of a spiral galaxy called as a ‘slingshot’. As S2 moves billions of times the mass of our
‘holes’, black holes are not Messier 87. Much bigger farther away from the black Sun (NASA/JPL)
Nightingale in Spain (Carlos Delgado)
N ig ht in gale
ch a nges
The nightingale is a small key, parts of Iran, the area
bird. Of all the birds that between the Black and
can sing, its song is said to Caspian Seas, and parts of
be the most beautiful. Re- Central Asia. Here, the birds
searchers have been stud- build nests, lay eggs and
ying nightingales in Spain. raise their chicks. In au-
The birds’ wingspan, they tumn, they fly to an area in
say, is shrinking. Wingspan Africa, south of the Sahara
is the distance from one Desert. This is their winter inches) in length. Females Only male nightingales
wingtip to the other. The home. In spring, nightin- are slightly shorter. Both sing. They can be heard
researchers suspect that gales fly back to their nest- are brownish-coloured. singing at night (this ex-
the smaller wing size is due ing sites. There are three Their tails are darker, or plains their name). Song-
to warmer temperatures main populations. Each a reddish-brown. Nightin- birds are usually daytime
and a changing climate. returns to the same areas gales are omnivores. They singers. Nightingales will
in summer and winter. The feed on insects and fruits. also sing during the day.
Nightingales are mi-
nightingale is the national The birds mainly forage, Amazingly, they can pro-
gratory birds. In summer
bird of Croatia and Iran. duce over 1,000 different
months, they are found in or search for food, on the
Europe, the part of North Male nightingales are ground. Ants and beetles sounds. The skylark is an-
Africa closest to Spain, Tur- about 16 centimetres (6.5 are a favourite. other well-known song-
bird. Its repertoire is 340
sounds. A blackbird’s is
NIGHTINGALE MIGRATION about 100.
The nightingales that
sing at night are probably
EUROPE single birds. They hope to
Su attract a female that has
mm recently arrived from Afri-
CROATIA er ca. Nightingales are asso-
SPAIN hab
itats ciated with romantic love.
Their song is often de-
IRAN scribed as one of nature’s
most beautiful sounds. It
has inspired composers,
such as Beethoven and
Tchaikovsky, and many
AFRICA poets and writers. Homer
(an Ancient Greek poet),
Sophocles (an Ancient
Greek playwright), Shake-
Winter hab
ita speare (an English play-
ts wright), and Keats (an Eng-
lish poet) are among them.
Olives (Nick Fraser)
Nightingales are secre- two areas of the country

tive. Difficult to see, they for 20 years. During this
prefer woodlands and time, their wings’ average
spend much of the time length, in comparison to
in thick bushes. This is body size, became small-
where the birds nest. Their er. Nightingales migrate for
nests are built on, or very long distances. In normal
near, the ground. They are times, the researchers say,
made from dead plants the birds adjust to this life-
and leaves. The females style naturally. They have
lay between five and six ol- longer wings, lay more
ive-green eggs. The male eggs, but live for only a
supplies food while the fe- few years.
male incubates, or sits on, Nowadays, in Spain and
the eggs. They hatch after other parts of the Mediter-
15 to 20 days. ranean, spring is arriving
Both male and female later. Summer droughts
feed the chicks. When nest are more frequent. There-
Eu rop e’ s oliv e
building and looking after fore, for the nightingale,
the chicks, the male does the best breeding time is
t ree di sease
not sing. If it did, the sound ‘squeezed’, or shortened.
would attract foxes and Now, the researchers be-
other predators. The chicks lieve shorter-winged birds,
fledge, or are ready to leave which lay fewer eggs,
Olive quick decline syn- upper side and a whitish
the nest, within two to four are more likely to breed
drome (OQDS) affects colour underneath.
successfully. Yet, overall,
weeks. They fly off and olive trees. It is the result
they suspect that these The trees produce small
are no longer dependant of a pathogen, or dis-
climate-driven changes white flowers. These de-
on their parents. A night- ease-causing bacterium.
will not help nightingales. velop into olives, or small,
ingale’s lifespan is short. Sap-sucking insects, such egg-shaped fruit. Each
With shorter wings, the
They live for between one as the meadow spittlebug, contains a large seed. This
birds’ chances of com-
and three years. spread the disease. It hin- is called a pit, stone or
pleting their long-distance
The Spanish research- flights, to and from Africa, ders, or limits, the flow of rock. Olives are harvested,
ers studied nightingales in are reduced.  an olive tree’s sap. The sap or picked, in the autumn
takes water and nutrients to and early winter. If har-
all parts of the tree. OQDS vested early, the olives are
is what’s known as a wast- green. Those left on the
ing disease. Over time, an tree to ripen are dark pur-
olive tree’s branches, twigs ple or black. Olives can-
and leaves die back. not be eaten when picked
Olive oil is made from from a tree. They need to
the olive trees’ fruit, or ol- be soaked in brine, or very
ives. The trees are native salty water.
to areas around the Med- Nowadays, about ten
iterranean Sea. The tallest percent of all harvested
olive trees are about 15 olives are eaten. These
metres (50 feet) high. They are known as table olives.
have twisted and gnarled The other 90% are crushed
trunks. Olive trees are ever- to make olive oil. Seven
green, so they do not drop litres (1.8 gallons) of ol-
their leaves in winter. They ives are needed to make
have oblong leaves. These one litre (0.25 gallons) of
Nightingale’s nest with eggs are greyish-green on the oil. Table olives and olive
Meadow spittlebug (Sharp photography) Olive orchard infected with OQDS (ippc.int)
oil are a healthy type of Today, olive oil is an im- Recently, researchers be no cure and for the dis-
food. They contain several portant industry. Italy, Spain built an economic com- ease to keep spreading. If
important vitamins. and Greece make most of puter model. It is designed this happened, the model
Olives and olive oil it. Of all olive oil made in to calculate the economic says, the total economic
Europe, these three coun- impact of the disease on
are used in many types of loss (or hit) to Spain would
tries produce 95%. Cur- the olive industries of
Mediterranean cooking. be €17 billion (£14.8 billion).
rently, there is no cure for Spain, Italy and Greece.
People in this part of the The same scenario in Italy
OQDS. The disease also Different scenarios can be
world have made olive oil would cost €5 billion (£4.4
affects plum, almond and input into the model for up
for thousands of years. In to 50 years. The worst out- billion) and about €2 billion
cherry trees. The strain that
the past, the oil was used as come would be for there to (£1.7 billion) in Greece. 
kills olive trees was first re-
a type of medicine and as
corded in Puglia, an area of
soap. The Ancient Greeks Olive Tree of Vouves (Crete Olive Mill)
southern Italy, in 2013. In
and Romans had olive oil
recent years, the bacterium
lamps. The flames from
has been found in Spain,
these lamps illuminated
France and Portugal. In the
their homes after dark.
Mediterranean area, Spain
Olive trees usually live has the most olive trees.
for between 300 and 600 The disease-causing
years. Yet, some survive for bacterium can live inside
far longer. One growing on a spittlebug. These insects
the island of Crete is known are only six millimetres
as the Olive Tree of Vouves. (0.34 inches) long. After
It is believed to be 3,000 feeding on the sap of one
years old. Crete is a part of olive tree, the spittlebug
Greece. Groups of plant- can pass the bacterium
ed olive trees are called to another. Now, infected
orchards. (Smaller groups trees have to be burned.
are usually known as olive Scientists are trying to find
groves.) The ownership ways of controlling or erad-
of some ancient orchards icating the sap-sucking in-
has been passed from one sects. Another possibility is
generation to the next for to ‘develop’ trees that are
hundreds of years. resistant to the pathogen.
Brown rats
Rats chew on wood to stop their

teeth from getting too long.
Brown rats are more aggressive.
Usually, in urban areas, they displace
black rats. Today, Antarctica, parts of
the Arctic, and Canada’s far north are
the only places where no brown rats
exist. If there is food and water, they
breed very quickly. Brown rats are
known to mate every three weeks.
Each time, the female gives birth to
four or five offspring. Within six to
nine weeks, these young rats are ‘old
enough’ to mate. Their lifespan is be-
Rats ’
rats, street rats, Hanover rats, Parisian tween two and three years.
rats, water rats, and wharf rats. The
One reason why rats are disliked
black rat does not have so many. It is
surv iva l
is that they carry diseases. In some
also known as the roof rat, the ship
people, they can set off, or trigger, al-
rat and the house rat.
be havio ur
lergies. Rats are also known to trans-
Brown rats are frequently called mit bacteria that cause food-related
Norwegian rats. This name is mis- illnesses. Salmonella is one example.
leading. Brown rats are not native to
Nowadays, many cities have rat pop- Famously, 700 years ago, rats are
Norway. They are thought to have
ulations. Normally, during the day, believed to have spread the Black
originated from Mongolia and Chi-
they hide away in basements, cel- Death. A bacterium caused this dead-
na. Hundreds of years ago, these rats
lars, underground pipes, tunnels, and ly disease. Fleas probably passed it
would get on board wooden sailing
sewers. Rats are active at night when to humans. They picked it up from
ships. Then, the ships took them to
there are fewer people and less traf- the rats that they lived on. The Black
other parts of the world. Black rats
fic. They eat the food that humans Death may have killed 50 million peo-
are believed to have come from South
discarded, or throw away. Many cities ple in Europe. At that time, this was
Asia. These rats are not always black,
spend large sums of money trying to around 25% of the population. People
but they are darker than brown rats.
control rat numbers. who caught the Black Death devel-
Excluding their tails, black rats oped painful swellings on their bod-
In recent weeks, many towns and are about 20 centimetres (7.9 inches) ies. They turned black. Some people
cities have changed. Due to the coro- long. Brown rats are five centime- recovered, but most died soon after
navirus outbreak, they are ‘locked tres (two inches) bigger. The black becoming ill.
down’. There are few cars, trucks and rat’s face is more ‘pointed’ than the
buses on the streets. Most people Now, the streets of locked-down
brown rat. It also has bigger eyes and
stay in their homes. Many business- cities are empty. With nothing to fear,
ears and a longer tail. Brown rats can
es and shops are closed. As they are rats can be seen during the day. All
swim. If under water, they are able
shut, hotels, restaurants and cafés are searching for food. When hun-
to hold their breath for a long time.
are not buying or serving any food. gry, rats will form groups or armies.
Black rats avoid water. They are better
For rats, this is a problem. Their main They will then move to other areas.
climbers than swimmers. Both have
food source has disappeared. In some There, the rats will fight against that
sharp teeth. They never stop growing.
places, rats are behaving in ways not area’s ‘resident’ rats. To avoid starva-
often seen. tion rats will resort to cannibalism, or
eat other rats. Their ‘survival behav-
There are hundreds of rat species. iour’ is likely to continue until humans
The most common (and the ones begin to throw unwanted food away
found in towns and cities) are brown again. 
rats and black rats. These rodents
have many names. For example,
brown rats are also called Norwegian
(or Norway) rats, common rats, sewer
Black rat
Caption
What Antarctica may have looked like 90 million

years ago (Alfred Wegener Institut / James McKay)
The Alfred Wegener In- contained tree roots and

stitute (AWI) is a German countless spores and pol-
organisation. It operates len grains. All had been pre-
scientific research stations served in mudstone. This is
in many parts of the world. a mix of clay and silt that,
One is in Antarctica. The over time, has hardened.
AWI has a research ship, The pollen came from
or vessel. It’s called the conifer trees and more
Polarstern. (In English, the than 60 different plants or
name is ‘pole star’.) ferns. Therefore, 90 million
Two years ago, re- years ago, Antarctica was
searchers working on the far warmer than it is to-
research ship drilled into day. Then, the present-day
the seabed. Then, the Po- icy continent had swamps
Part of Antarctica photographed from an aircraft (NASA) larstern was close to the and rivers. It was covered
coast of West Antarctica. in temperate forests and
The drill was a long tube. dense vegetation.
When brought back up to Antarctica is bigger
the ship’s deck, the hollow than Europe and roughly
part contained a sediment twice the size of Australia.
An tar c tica’ s
and rock ‘core’. The deeper Its ice has accumulated,
the sediment and rock, the or built up, over many mil-
te mpe r ate
older it is. lions of years. In places,
Scientists have now it is 4.8 kilometres (three
fo r est s
studied the Antarctic core. miles) thick. If all the ice in
They were especially in- Antarctica suddenly melt-
terested in one section. It ed, sea levels, around the
was 27 to 30 metres (88.5 world, would rise by 61
to 98 feet) beneath the sea metres (200 feet). Around
floor. Ninety million years 70% of all the world’s fresh
ago, this part of the seabed water is ‘locked up’ in Ant-
was dry land. This section arctica’s ice.
Polarstern research vessel beside an Antarctic ice shelf

(J P Klages / Alfred Wegener Institut)
Today, Antarctica is the When describing the

coldest place on the plan- Earth’s 4.5-billion-year his-
et. It hasn’t always been a tory, geologists use a time-
deep-frozen land. About line. (Geology is the study
200 million years ago, the of rocks.) The geological
Earth’s landmasses were timeline is based on the age
joined. Scientists call the of rock layers. It is divided
land area in the north- into eons. These are subdi-
ern hemisphere Laura- vided into eras, or shorter
sia. Gondwana was the periods. Eras can contain
southern hemisphere’s a number of epochs. Each
landmass. Around 95 mil- eon, era or epoch lasted
lion years ago, Gondwana for many millions of years.
began to split up. Eventu- The period between
ally, it became what are 140 million and 66 mil-
now South America, Africa, lion years ago is called the result of a ‘greenhouse’ rain has fallen around the
Antarctica, Australia, and the Cretaceous. Dinosaurs climate. This is when the South Pole for about 80
New Zealand. lived on the Earth between volume of carbon dioxide million years.
Ninety million years 252 million and 66 mil- (CO2) in the atmosphere The site where the Po-
ago, the southern tip of lion years ago. Therefore, was far higher. larstern drilled into the
South America, Austral- 90 million years ago, or The mudstone section seabed is about 2,000 kilo-
ia and New Zealand were mid-Cretaceous, was their in the drill core shows what metres (1,200 miles) from
connected to Antarctica ‘heyday’, or high point. Antarctica’s mid-Creta- the South Pole. Ninety
by continental shelves. The dinosaurs died out 66 ceous climate was like. The million years ago, it was far
These are shallower areas million years ago. Their ex- researchers matched the closer, or around 900 kilo-
of the sea around a land- tinction marks the end of trees and plants with sim- metres (560 miles) away.
mass’s coastline. During the Cretaceous. ilar ones that grow today. Today, in winter, Antarcti-
ice ages, huge volumes of It’s known that the cli- The comparison suggests ca is dark for four months.
water were frozen in the mate during the Creta- that, 90 million years ago, During this time, the Sun
Arctic and Antarctic. Then, ceous was much warmer. Antarctica’s average annu- does not rise above the ho-
continental shelves were Warm periods in the Earth’s al temperature was 13ºC rizon. This has not changed.
dry land. history are thought to be (54ºF). Temperatures as Therefore, the trees and
high as this at the South plants of 90 million years
Pole are a surprise. In the ago were without ‘life-giv-
ing’ sunlight for one-third
mid-Cretaceous, there
(INDIA) of the year. They survived
must have been far more
because of the high tem-
CO2 in the air than previ-
(AFRICA)
peratures.
ously thought.
Scientists measure CO2
The warm temperatures
in the atmosphere by ‘parts
mean that Antarctica had
per million’. Currently, the
no ice sheet 90 million
(ANTARCTICA) amount of CO2 in the air
(AUSTRALIA) years ago. Therefore, sea is around 410 parts per
South
(SOUTH Pole levels were much higher. million (or roughly 0.04%).
AMERICA) Antarctica’s forests prob- The mid-Cretaceous was
(NEW ZEALAND) ably looked the like those thought to have had a lev-
that grow in New Zealand el of 1,000 parts per mil-
today. The continent must lion. The analysis of the
Land areas have had plenty of rainfall. mudstone in the drill core
Continental shelves
Drill site
Now, it is a ‘polar desert’. shows that this is likely to
Antarctica has very little be wrong. The more accu-
precipitation, or snow- rate CO2 figure, the scien-
fall: especially inland, or tists say, is between 1,120
The South Pole region 90 million years ago (Alfred Wegener Institute) far from the coastline. No and 1,680. 
Iftar meal served at the

Intercontinental Hotel, in London
(or smoke), from sunrise

to sunset. They also say
prayers five times a day.
These things are meant to
give Muslims the time to
think about their faith and
to practise discipline and
patience. According to
Muslim beliefs, Ramadan
was when the Koran (or
Qur’an), the Holy Book of
Islam, was revealed to Mu-
hammad. For this reason,
many Muslims read the
Koran during the month
Ra m adan b egi ns
of fasting.
Some people can eat
and drink during the day
The ninth month of the about 11 days shorter than of the Prophet Muham- if their health might be
Islamic calendar is called the international calendar affected by not doing so.
mad. Muslims believe that
Ramadan. For Muslims, year. Therefore (in the in- Examples are: young chil-
he was God’s messenger.
or those who follow the ternational calendar), Ram- dren, the elderly, people
To fast throughout the
Islamic faith, it is a holy adan’s start and end dates who are ill, pregnant wom-
month of Ramadan is one
month. Ramadan is a change, or move, from en, and women who are
of the Pillars of Islam. breastfeeding a baby. Peo-
month of fasting. During year to year. For instance,
During Ramadan, ple who don’t fast use the
this period, Muslims do not last year, Ramadan began
eat or drink during daylight healthy and able-bodied month of Ramadan as a
on 6th May and ended on
hours. This year, depend- 3rd June. It takes about Muslims are expected to time to think of those who
ing on where in the world 33 (solar, or internation- fast, or not eat and drink do not have enough to eat.
people live, Ramadan be- al) years for the Islamic
gan on 23rd or 24th April. calendar to complete a A crescent moon (over the
full cycle, or return to the palm trees) at sunset marks
The Islamic calendar the beginning of Ramadan in
is what’s known as a lunar same season. Bahrain (Ahmed Rabea)
calendar. It is based on the The Five Pillars of Is-
cycles of the Moon. Tradi- lam are beliefs or acts
tionally, the start and end that Muslims must follow.
of Ramadan depends on Muslims are expected to
the sighting of a crescent believe in one God, to
moon. This marks the end pray, and to give to chari-
of one lunar month and the ty. They are also expect-
start of the next. Ramadan ed to make a pilgrimage
lasts for 29 or 30 days. This to Mecca at least once in
year, the month-long fast their lifetime. This should
ends on 23rd June. be done if their health
Nowadays, most coun- is good, and they have
tries use the Gregorian, enough money. Mecca is
or international, calen- in Saudi Arabia. It is the Is-
dar. A lunar year also has lamic religion’s holiest city.
12 months. However, it is Mecca was the birthplace
Suhoor meal
They may give donations to to which family members

charities that provide food and friends are invited. This
for less fortunate people. year, due to the coronavirus
There are two main problems, most large Ram-
meals during Ramadan. adan gatherings will not be
These are usually eaten held. Many mosques will
with other family mem- be closed.
bers. One, called ‘su- During a Muslim’s life-
hoor’, is served just before time, the month of Ram- in Norway (in the north of Currently, the world’s
dawn. The other, which adan will occur in both the northern hemisphere) population is about 7.7 bil-
is eaten just after sunset, winter and summer. This is lion. There are about 1.8
will need to fast for about
is known as ‘iftar’. Many because Ramadan ‘moves’ billion Muslims. After Chris-
types of food are eaten, by roughly 11 days each 20 hours. The fast of peo- tianity, Islam is the world’s
but as part of iftar dates are year. In some northern and ple in the Middle East second largest religion. To-
very popular. southern parts of the world, lasts for roughly 15 hours. day, by population, Indo-
At the end of Ramadan, winter days are much Muslims resident in Aus- nesia is the largest Islamic
there is a celebration called shorter than summer days. nation. In many countries,
tralia and New Zealand (in
Eid-ul-Fitr. This means the In these places, Ramadan the number of Muslims is
‘Festival of Breaking the is more difficult during the the southern hemisphere) increasing. This is because,
Fast’. At this time, a big summer months. This year, will not eat or drink for on average, Muslim fami-
meal, or feast, is organised for instance, Muslims living 11.5 hours. lies have more children. 
Greenland
NORWAY
Faroe
Islands
DENMARK
GERMANY
BELGIUM
SWITZERLAND CROATIA MONGOLIA
ITALY
USA SPAIN GREECE
IRAN CHINA
ISRAEL SOUTH
KOREA
SAUDI
Hawaii ARABIA
THAILAND E
OR
AP
NG
SI
RWANDA
INDONESIA
AUSTRALIA
SOUTH AFRICA
NEW ZEALAND
This map shows countries to which news stories refer in this issue. Visit www.newsademic.com for more detailed world maps.
EF5 tornado (Justin Hobson)
Easter is an important time in the

Christian calendar. Easter Day is a
Sunday. The following day, or Easter
Monday, is a holiday in many Chris-
tian countries. This year, Easter Sun-
day and Monday were 12th and 13th
April. During these two days, over
130 tornadoes touched down in ten
American southern states. More than
30 people died. It was the USA’s dead-
liest tornado outbreak for six years.
A tornado is a fast-spinning col-
umn of air. It connects a powerful
storm cloud to the ground. Torna-
does are also known as whirlwinds.
Their wind speeds can exceed 322
kilometres (200 miles) per hour. A
tornado’s path along the ground can
be more than 1.6 kilometres (one
mile) wide and 80 kilometres (50
miles) long. Usually, they move over
the ground for several kilometres be-
fore they weaken and disappear.
Americans often call tornadoes
‘twisters’. A large, powerful twist-
er can be very destructive. The
fast-spinning air column will destroy
everything in its path. Twisters can
‘suck up’ free-standing items, ani-
mals, and even people. After being
spun around, items lifted into the air
are dropped some distance away.
Nobody fully understands what
causes tornadoes. It can be difficult to
predict where and when they might
appear. There are more tornadoes
in the central part of the USA than
anywhere else in the world. Here,
they seem to form when cool, dry air
pushing down from the north meets
a mass of warm, moist air coming up
from the south.
Most tornadoes in America oc-
cur in the states of Texas, Oklahoma,
Kansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota.
This area became known as ‘Tornado
E aster
Alley’. These central states are within
the Great Plains. This is a broad ex-
tornadoes
panse of flat grassland that (in Amer-
ica) is called prairie. Tornado Alley
and the Great Plains are between the
CANADA
Rocky Mount
ND
MN
SD MN Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana,
Tennessee, and Kentucky are expe-
ai n s
IA
s
NE riencing far more tornadoes than
ta i n
SD South Dakota
NE Nebraska
USA IL IN
previously. The strongest tornadoes
un
KS Kansas
Mo
OK Oklahoma KS MO
TX Texas in the recent Easter outbreak were in
an
MN Minnesota
hi
Old TN l Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Al-
ac
IA Iowa Tornado OK pa
MO Missouri Alley AR Ap SC abama, Georgia, and South Carolina.
AR Arkansas
LA Lousiana MS AL GA
IL Illinois TX One twister badly damaged an
TN Tennesee LA
MS Mississippi airport in Louisiana. Of all the Easter
IN Indiana
AL Alabama FL tornadoes, the most destructive was
GA Georgia New Gulf of
FL Florida MEXICO Tornado Mexico in Mississippi. An EF4, it had a wind
SC South Carolina Alley
speed of 310 kilometres (190 miles)
per hour. Unusually, its path was 3.6
Rocky Mountains in the west and the tornadoes. The EF scale has six cat- kilometres (2.25 miles) across. This
Appalachian Mountains in the east. egories. They range from EF0 to EF5. twister was the third widest ever re-
The majority of tornadoes appear The EF scale is a measurement of a corded in the USA. A photograph
in the spring and summer. Yet, they tornado’s wind speed and the damage from a house, which this tornado
can occur during any of the seasons. it causes. An EF0 tornado has a wind destroyed, was found 283 kilometres
On average, in the USA, around 1,200 speed of 85 miles (137 kilometres) (176 miles) away. 
twisters are recorded each year. per hour. It may damage some roofs
Weather stations in the central part and gutters and break tree branches.
of America send out tornado warn- An EF5’s wind speed is over 322 kilo-
ings and alerts. Many ‘Tornado Alley’
metres (200 miles) per hour. These
towns have warning sirens. Twisters EF3 tornado damage in Mississippi (NOAA)
tornadoes destroy everything in their
can form with little warning. After a
paths. Homes and buildings may be
siren goes off, people may only have
wrecked and power lines destroyed.
about ten to 15 minutes to get to a
place of safety. An EF5 can pick up cars, trucks and
even trains. These are deposited up
In Tornado Alley, most buildings to 1.6 kilometres (one mile) away.
are made in a certain way. They are
designed so that roofs, walls and Over recent years, Tornado Al-
the foundations are more secure- ley seems to be moving, or ‘drifting’,
ly fixed together. Many, but not all, eastwards. Tornadoes are still com-
have storm shelters or safe rooms. mon in the ‘old’ Tornado Alley, but
These are cellar-like, or underground, the states of Mississippi, Alabama,
rooms where people can hide. Safe
rooms above ground are usually in
the middle of the house. They have
extra strong walls. Even if other parts
of the house are destroyed, these
storm shelters should withstand the
swirling winds.
There are several scales for re-
cording a tornado’s strength. The USA
uses the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale. A
Japanese-American called Tetsuya
Theodore ‘Ted’ Fujita (1920 – 1998)
created this scale in 1971. It was en-
hanced, or improved, about 13 years
ago. Fujita studied severe storms such
as hurricanes, thunderstorms and Tornado damage at Monroe Airport, in Louisiana (City of Monroe)
Queen Margrethe the Second, with her family, waves to onlookers on her 70th birthday in 2010 (Bill Ebbesen)
Currently, people in many countries is the Kingdom of Denmark. It shares

have been staying in their homes. a land border with Germany. The
Many companies are closed and the country is made up of a large penin-
streets are empty. This is due to the sula and an archipelago of more than
S ing in g
coronavirus pandemic. In many plac- 440 islands. The peninsula is called
es, at pre-set times, people come Jutland. Nearly all the land is low-ly-
out of their homes to clap and cheer. ing. There are no mountains and only
for th e This is to show their appreciation for
emergency workers. They are the
a few hills. Copenhagen is Denmark’s
capital city. It is on Zealand, the coun-
qu e e n doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers,
and care home workers.
try’s largest and most populous island
Denmark has a long history. Its roy-
On 16th April, in Denmark, tens of al family has ruled this part of Europe
thousands of people stood outside for about 1,000 years. The kingdoms
their homes for a different reason. of Denmark, Sweden and Norway
At 11 o’clock, they sang the country’s were where the Vikings came from.
birthday song and waved Danish flags. As well as being warriors and raiders,
The event was broadcast on live tele- the Vikings were great explorers and
vision. It was organised to wish Den- merchants. In Northern Europe, the
mark’s queen, Margrethe the Second, period between 700 and 1100 is of-
a happy 80th birthday. She watched ten called the Viking Age. The Vikings
the countrywide performance from a also fought amongst themselves.
room in Fredensborg Palace. This is
In the late 1300s, Denmark was a
where Queen Margrethe lives in the
powerful nation. Queen Margrethe
spring and autumn.
the First (1353 – 1412) united Sweden
Fredensborg Palace on the island People from Denmark are called and Norway with her country. This ar-
of Zealand, in Denmark (Glån) Danes. The country’s official name rangement was known as the Kalmar
Greenland
Union. It included much of what is the country. Yet he or she has few
Faroe
now Finland (then, this was part of Islands powers. The elected government,
Sweden) and Norway’s overseas terri- DENMARK led by the prime minister, makes all
tories such as Greenland, Iceland and the important decisions. Greenland
the Faroe Islands. The union lasted and the Faroe Islands remain a part
until 1520 when Sweden left. Norway of Denmark. Both have their own
broke away in 1814. Yet, Greenland, governments, but they are within
Iceland and the Faroe Islands re- the Danish Realm, or the Kingdom of
mained under Danish rule. Denmark. Each elects two members
Christian the Fourth (1577 – 1648) to Denmark’s Folketing, or parliament.
was one of Denmark’s best-known SWEDEN Margrethe married a French diplo-
kings. His 59-year reign is the long- mat in 1967. Known as Prince Henrik,
est of all the country’s monarchs. For he died two years ago. Margrethe has
much of the king’s rule, Denmark was two sons and eight grandchildren.
stable and prosperous. Christian en- For most of the year, she lives either
DENMARK
larged the navy and expanded trade Jutland at the Amalienborg Palace, in Copen-
Copenhagen
to other parts of the world. He also hagen, or the Fredensborg Palace,
Zealand
founded a number of merchant, or in Zealand.
trading, cities and built several im- Baltic Sea
pressive buildings. Many celebrations were planned
GERMANY for Margrethe’s 80th birthday. Tradi-
As a neutral country, Denmark tionally, they would include: waving
was not involved in the First World his wife had three daughters. Mar- from a balcony at the Amalienborg
War (1914 – 1918). In the year that grethe is the oldest. She was crowned Palace, travelling through the capital
the conflict ended, Iceland became in a horse-drawn carriage and sev-
queen after her father’s death in 1972.
a separate country. However, it con-
Margrethe became Denmark’s first eral large banquets. Because of the
tinued to have close ties with Den-
mark for another 30 years. Denmark female monarch since the reign of pandemic, all were cancelled. On
planned to remain neutral again after her namesake, Margrethe the First, her birthday, many people send the
the Second World War began in 1939. about 550 years ago. queen flowers. This year, she request-
However, Nazi Germany launched ed for them not to be sent. Instead,
Today, Denmark is home to 5.8 she asked people to send flowers to
a surprise attack. Denmark’s small
million people. It is a constitutional those more ‘in need’, especially the
army, navy and air force were quick-
ly overwhelmed. Then, Christian the monarchy. The king or queen leads elderly who live in care homes. 
Tenth was the king. He agreed to sur-
Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen,
render as long as Danes would con- Denmark’s capital city (Mattias Hill)
tinue to govern the country.
Margrethe the Second was born
in occupied Denmark, in 1940. King
Christian was her grandfather. Dur-
ing the first two years of occupation,
every day, the king rode his horse
through the streets of Copenhagen.
He did this on his own, or without
bodyguards. His horse rides became
a symbol of resistance to the German
occupation. British soldiers liberated
Denmark immediately after Germa-
ny’s defeat in 1945.
King Christian died two years af-
ter the war’s end, aged 76. His son,
or Margrethe’s father, Frederick the
Ninth, succeeded him. Frederick and
So u th
Kore a’ s The Covid-19 pandemic began in
China at the beginning of the year. It
Moon Jae-in is South Korea’s
president. He won the country’s
pand em ic next spread to other nearby countries

such as Singapore, Taiwan, Japan,
last presidential election three years
ago. The next will be in five years.
elec tio n and South Korea. Within the next two

months, the virus had been detected
In South Korea, presidents serve for
only one five-year term. South Ko-
in almost every nation. Governments rea’s second most important election
arranged lockdowns and banned is for its 300-seat National Assembly,
large gatherings and public events. or parliament.
Many countries hold elections at National Assembly elections take
set times and on set dates. A presi- place every four years. The latest was
dential election may take place every due to be held on 15th April. Govern-
four, five or six years. Elections for ment officials decided not to post-
parliaments are often held four years pone it. Therefore, South Korea was
apart. Each country has its own rules. the first major country to hold a na-
Due to the pandemic, several have tion-wide election since the Covid-19
already postponed, or delayed, im- pandemic began.
portant elections. They fear that an Today, South Korea is a mod-
election may further spread the vi- ern and successful country. It is the
Moon Jae-in, South Korea’s president rus. It would bring many people world’s 12th largest economy. Sam-
(Cheong Wa Dae) close together. sung and Hyundai are two well-
National Assembly building in Seoul, capital of South Korea
RUSSIA
known multinational companies, country and its infrastructure was

or conglomerates. Both are South bomb-damaged and wrecked.
Korean. The country has no natural The border between North and
resources. Considering its turbulent South Korea is where the two op- NORTH
KOREA
past, the nation’s success is remark- posing armies faced each other at SOUTH
able. Seventy years ago, Seoul, the the end of the war. It’s known as the KOREA JAPAN
CHINA DMZ
capital city, and large areas of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). This nar-
country, were in ruins. row strip of land is covered in mines PACIFIC
OCEAN
Previously, North and South Korea and barbed wire. Today, thousands of
were one country. It was taken over North and South Korean soldiers still
face each other on either side of the the virus. The government quickly in-
by Japan in 1910. Thirty years later,
DMZ. A formal peace treaty, between troduced new procedures and rules.
Japan launched a surprise attack on
the two countries, is yet to be signed, Thousands of tests were carried out
America’s large naval base in Hawaii.
each day to find out who had the vi-
This incident marked the start of the or formalised.
rus. People who had contact with
Second World War in the Pacific. Af- At the time of the Korean War, positive cases were traced. They had
ter Japan’s defeat in 1945, American North Korea was a one-party com- to remain in isolation for 14 days.
troops occupied the country and the munist state. It still is. South Korea People’s temperatures were recorded
southern half of Korea. Russian sol- had several military leaders. They too at railway stations and airports. There
diers moved into the north. The USA governed as dictators. Its first mul- have been less than 300 Covid-19
wanted Korea to become a demo- ti-party elections were held about 30 deaths in South Korea. Compared to
cratic country. Russia had plans for it years ago. Today, North and South other countries, this is a very low fig-
to be a one-party communist state. Korea are very different. The North ure. The country’s success in restrict-
The country was divided into North remains a closed, secretive country ing the virus has been done with no
and South. with an inefficient economy. Elec- nation-wide lockdowns. Many peo-
The Korean War broke out in 1950. tricity blackouts are frequent. Many ple say that all countries should fol-
It began when North Korea invad- North Koreans do not have enough low the ‘South Korean model’.
ed the South. The conflict lasted for to eat. Across the DMZ, in South Ko-
Extra rules were introduced for the
three years. The United Nations (UN), rea, there are more high-speed in-
National Assembly election. People
with mainly American troops, helped ternet connections than in any other
wore gloves and facemasks. When
the South. China supported the country.
queuing to vote, everyone stood a
North. The war ended in a ceasefire, After China, South Korea was the ‘safe’ distance apart. Other coun-
or truce. By that time, much of the first country to be badly affected by tries were interested to learn how the
election was undertaken. Many sci-
entists say that the world will have to
live with Covid-19 for at least another
12 months. If so, other countries may
not just follow South Korea’s ‘anti-vi-
rus’ procedures. They may also copy
its ‘virus-elections’ arrangements.
The National Assembly re-
sults were formally announced the
day after the vote. Mr Moon’s par-
ty won easily. News reporters de-
scribed the outcome as a ‘message
of approval’ for the president and
his government. 
South Koreans queue at a safe distance to vote
Rhinoceros with red-billed oxpeckers (Harvey Barrison)

The red-billed oxpecker is a bird.
B ir d al arm s
About the size of a starling, they are
found only in parts of East Africa.
Red-billed oxpeckers are best known
Red-billed oxpecker on an African buffalo (sharpphotography.co.uk) for their feeding habit. They mainly
eat ticks, or tiny blood-sucking crea-
tures. The birds can be seen perched
on large animals such as impalas, ze-
bras, giraffes, buffalos, rhinoceroses
(or rhinos), and cattle. There, they pull
out ticks, which have burrowed into
the animals’ skin.
Researchers from Australia and
the USA have carried out some ex-
periments with black rhinos and red-
billed oxpeckers. The birds help the
rhinos by removing the ticks. The
experiments’ results suggest that ox-
peckers assist the rhinos in a different
way. They act as an alarm bell, or ear-
ly warning signal.
Red-billed oxpeckers have ol-
ive-brown feathers. Their under-
sides are a lighter colour. The birds
have distinctive red bills (or beaks)
and yellow rings around their bright
red eyes. The birds have short legs.
Red-billed oxpecker at
the entrance to its nest
(Gerrie van Vuuren)
Their toes, or claws, are powerful.

This helps them grip an animal’s skin
and not fall off when it moves. Red-
billed oxpeckers mate for life. They
build their nest in a hole in a tree. It is
lined with hair from their hosts, or the
animals that they ‘ride’ on.
A red-billed oxpecker’s beak is
pointed and slim. When removing
ticks, the bird uses its bill like a pair
of scissors. As well as ticks, the ox-
peckers feed on other parasites that
suck blood. Flies, fleas and lice are
examples. The birds may eat over 100
blood-full ticks in a day. Their pre-
ferred food seems to be blood. The
birds will peck at an animal’s wound
and eat the blood. Therefore, they
prevent the injury from healing. The
open wound attracts more parasites.
Therefore, overall, do these birds help
or hinder their hosts? Some people
argue that, like the ticks and other
bloodsuckers, the birds are parasites. then used in some traditional Chi- usually failed to see the research-
nese medicines. These are supposed ers until they were very close. Yet,
The rhinoceros is what’s known to cure serious illnesses. Medical those ‘hosting’ the birds did so every
as a mega-vertebrate. It is one of doctors and scientists insist that this time. As the researchers crept to-
the world’s largest mammals. They is untrue. wards them, the oxpeckers began to
are easily recognised by their horns. make loud noises, or calls. The rhi-
These stick up from the front of their Today, in the wild, black rhinos
nos understood that this was a warn-
snouts, or noses. Two types of rhino number around 5,500. They are
ing. They became more vigilant, or
live in Africa: white rhinos and black found in South Africa, Namibia, Zim-
watchful. The rhinos either ran away
rhinos. Their names are misleading. babwe, and Kenya. The researchers
or walked towards the researchers
Both animals are grey. The best way carried out their experiments with 11
to investigate the ‘danger’. The birds
to tell them apart is their different black rhinos. All live in a national park
sounded their alarm when the re-
mouths. The white rhino is a grazer: in South Africa. Here, the land is flat
searchers were about 61 metres (200
it eats grass. It has a square-shaped and open. Rhinos are known to have
feet) away.
mouth. This means that, when eat- poor eyesight.
ing, a white rhino can keep its mouth In recent years, red-billed oxpeck-
The researchers approached the
near to the ground. Black rhinos are er numbers have declined in some ar-
animals on foot over 80 times. Those
browsers. Their mouths are hooked- eas. Here, farmers treated their cattle
without any oxpeckers on their backs
shaped. This helps them to pull, or with pesticides, or chemical mixes, to
strip, leaves from trees and bushes. kill ticks and other bloodsuckers. This
Nowadays, all rhino species are mistakenly passed the poison to the
endangered. Poaching, or illegal birds. Now, some South African black
hunting, is the problem. The animals rhino groups have no, or very few,
are killed for their horns. Worth large oxpeckers. It might be a good idea,
sums of money, they are unlawfully the researchers say, to bring more of
sold to people in China and several the birds to this area. 
South East Asian countries. There, Red-billed oxpecker on an impala
they are ground up. The powder is (sharpphotography.co.uk)
Female leatherback turtle digging

in the sand (USFWS)
Yet, sea turtles do come

to the surface to breathe.
These males never leave
the sea. Females only do so
to lay their eggs.
There are seven sea tur-
tle species. Leatherbacks
are the biggest. The others
are: loggerheads, hawks-
bills, flatbacks, and Pacific
green, Kemp’s ridley, and
olive ridley, sea turtles. A
fully-grown leatherback
can be three metres (ten
feet) long and weigh 700
kilograms (1,543 pounds).
Of the seven, Kemp’s ridley
is the smallest turtle. They
and night-time lights. The are 60 centimetres (two
beaches are quiet, dark and foot) long and weigh about
L eat he r backs deserted. Therefore, the
sea turtles have reclaimed
40 kilograms (88 pounds).
re tu rn
Most sea turtles’ shells
these nesting sites.
are made from hard bony
Leatherbacks, and other plates. These are outside
sea turtles, do not lay their the turtles’ skin. Leather-
eggs on any beach. The backs are different. They
For many people, the coro- shoreline has to be sandy have mini-plates. These
navirus pandemic is both and clear of debris, such are below the large crea-
an annoyance and a fear. as washed-up tree branch- tures’ thick leathery skin.
Some endangered animals es and trunks. The beach This explains their name.
‘might disagree’. Leath- must be dark and quiet. If touched, a leatherback’s
erbacks are one. Wildlife There needs to be deep ‘shell’ feels like hard rub-
workers in Thailand have sand above the high-tide ber. These turtles are the
been monitoring a beach. mark. Also, coming from world’s fourth largest rep-
There, the large sea turtles the sea, the beach should tile. (The three biggest are
have made 11 nests. The have a gentle slope, or gra- all crocodiles.) Leather-
last time they did this was dient. backs have a wide range.
20 years ago. In Florida, in They can be found as far
There are freshwater
the southern USA, there north as Alaska and as far
and seawater turtles. Both
are 76 leatherback nests on south as the southernmost
spend most of their lives
one beach: far more than tip of New Zealand. Other
in water. Freshwater turtles
the previous year. sea turtles could not sur-
have webbed feet. These
Due to the pandemic, vive in these colder waters.
help them to swim. How-
beaches in many countries ever, freshwater turtles of- Unlike other sea tur-
are closed. The two in Thai- ten climb out of the water tles, leatherbacks dive to
land and Florida have been to sit in the Sun. A sea tur- deep depths. They do this
shut. There have been no tle’s legs are more like flip- to feed on squid and sea
sunbathers, swimmers, pers. They spend much of urchins. During these deep
parties, music, motorboats, the time under the water. dives, the turtles can hold
Size of leatherback turtle compared to a human
their breath for 85 min- hour. Leatherbacks can

utes. When on, or near to, swim across the Pacific
the surface, a leatherback Ocean, or 9,700 kilometres
eats jellyfish. It also con- (6,000 miles). These turtles
sumes seaweed. Each day, lay their eggs on beaches
a leatherback eats twice its in Indonesia and feed on
own body weight. Discard- jellyfish off North America’s
ed plastic bags are a prob- west coast.
lem. Leatherbacks mistake
Female and male leath-
them for jellyfish. The tur- years. Soon afterwards, the sea. About ten nights
erbacks are solitary, or live
tles can die if they swallow in the middle of the night, later they return, make
on their own. They meet
plastic bags. Fishing nets they crawl up on to a sandy nests and lay more eggs.
only to breed. This hap-
are another danger. beach. Using their flip- This may happen as many
pens close to where the
Leatherbacks are fast females plan to lay their pers, the turtles dig shallow as 11 times. Each nest con-
and long-distance swim- eggs. Often, they return to bowl-like holes, or depres- tains between 100 and 150
mers. Some have been the same beaches, but not sions. After laying the eggs, eggs.
recorded swimming at 35 always. Females mate only they bury them in the sand. In the past, local people
kilometres (22 miles) an once every three to four The turtles then return to dug up most of the eggs.
They were eaten. If undis-
turbed, leatherback eggs
begin to hatch after 60 days.
The baby turtles, or hatch-
lings, then crawl towards
the sea. This is when they
are most vulnerable. Sea-
birds and crabs eat many.
Some reptiles and mam-
mals go onto the beach to
feed on them. Only about
25% of the hatchlings make
it to the sea. There, other
marine creatures prey on
them. Only six percent of
the hatchlings will survive
for the first 12 months.
Leatherback numbers
have greatly declined.
Nowadays, each year,
about 35,000 females
make nests and lay eggs.
In 1980, or 40 years ago,
this number was 115,000.
Hopefully, as the large sea
creatures have returned to
some beaches, local peo-
ple will protect them. 
Leatherback turtle hatchlings

crawling into the sea
dle. The zooids that catch

prey have tentacles. They
sting and catch small fish
and crustaceans. These
are then eaten. A siphono-
phore does not swim like a
fish. However, it will ‘hold’,
or maintain, roughly the
same position. Therefore,
it waits for its prey to swim
close by. Siphonophores
are bioluminescent. They
can create their own light.
There are several types
of siphonophore. One of
the better known is often
Some of up to 30 possible new sea creatures found off western Australia (Schmidt Ocean Institute) mistaken for a stinging jel-
lyfish. This marine creature
‘ Lo ngest ani mal’

is usually called a Portu-
guese man o’ war (also
known as the man-of-war).
They are named after an
The Schmidt Ocean Insti- are ‘colonial organisms’. that they are unable to do old type of warship, or gal-
tute is based in the USA. Siphonophores are not a themselves. For instance, leon. These ships carried
A wealthy American busi- single life form but a col- some digest food, some many guns, or cannon. The
nessman set it up about ten lection of thousands of catch prey, some swim, and jellyfish-like creature has a
years ago. The institute’s individual creatures, or others reproduce. gas-filled float. A ridge on
main interest is oceanog- parts. They all live togeth- A siphonophore does top of it looks like a sail.
raphy. This is the study of er. The tiny, individual parts not have a brain. Nor do The float is about 30 centi-
how the oceans work, such are called zooids. Zooids the individual zooids. The metres (12 inches) long.
as their currents and tides, are not self-sufficient. creatures can grow to Like a jellyfish, the man-
and the creatures and They cannot live on their great lengths, but are very of-war has long tentacles.
plants that live within them. own. Each depends on thin. They are about the Around nine metres (30 feet)
The institute operates two other zooids to do things diameter of a broom han- in length, they contain ven-
research ships.
One of the ships has re- Record-breaking siphonophore filmed off Western
cently been working with Australia (Schmidt Ocean Institute)
scientists from an Aus-
tralian museum. Using a
remotely operated vehicle
(ROV), they explored some
underwater canyons. They
are near the Ningaloo
Coast, in Western Australia.
After one deep-sea dive,
the ROV was returning to
the ship. Then, at a depth
of 650 metres (2,132 feet),
its camera recorded some-
thing odd. It was an ex-
tra-long siphonophore.
Siphonophores are
unusual creatures. They
G l aci al
Feather boa pyrosome
arc haeolog y
i n Norway
900-year-old shoe found at the
Lendbreen pass in Norway
(secretsoftheice.com)
om. It can paralyse small fish Another marine creature

and other prey. A sting from called a pyrosome is similar
a man-of-war’s tentacles is to a siphonophore. They
are also made up of individ-
not likely to kill a human, but
ual zooids. Pyrosomes also
it is very painful. Some liken
create their own light, or bi-
the pain to being stung by oluminescence. Some are
100 bees at the same time. like long thin cones. They
A man-of-war sting leaves have a big enough open
red marks, or welts, on the end for a diver to swim in-
skin. These can last for three side. These creatures are For ten years, in the sum- mountain pass, the ice and
days. A man-of-war has four often called ‘feather boas’. snow preserved them,
mer months, a team of re-
‘Boa’ is the Latin for a snake.
types of zooids. One forms searchers has been work-
A feather boa is like a long In recent years, average
the float. The others make ing in a high mountain
fluffy scarf. Made of feath- temperatures in Norway
up parts of the creature pass, in Norway. It is about (and many other coun-
ers, boas were a popular
320 kilometres (200 miles) tries) have warmed. Are-
that sting, feed (or digest) item of ladies clothing
north of Oslo, the country’s as of snow and ice in the
and reproduce. around 100 years ago. To-
capital city. Long ago, this country have been gradu-
day, some entertainers use
pass seems to have been ally shrinking. In 2006, the
Portuguese man o’ war feather boas as part of their
a busy route for trade and melting accelerated around
stage acts. The deep-sea
travel. In total, the team has the mountain pass. Walk-
pyrosome feather boas can
recovered around 1,000 ers began to find many old
grow to 18 metres (60 feet)
artefacts. A description of items. Before, these arte-
in length.
their work, and what they facts were covered by the
During the underwater found, was recently pub-
canyon exploration, the year-round ice and snow.
lished. The research team organ-
ROV collected many ma-
Traditionally, research- ised an annual survey, or
rine creatures. Up to 30
ers, or archaeologists, dig search, of the area around
may be new species. It will
into the ground to find the mountain pass. Usually,
take the scientists several
ancient artefacts. Typical- when they returned each
years to confirm if they are.
ly, they uncover bones, summer, larger patches
The siphonophore filmed
carved stones, pieces, or of snow had melted. The
by the ROV is about 45 me-
shards, of pottery, and researchers named their
tres (150 feet) long. This is
metal parts of weapons. work ‘glacial archaeology’.
three times the length of a
blue whale. Blue whales are Most of the artefacts found To find out the age of
the largest animals to have by the team in Norway are organic material, scien-
ever lived on the Earth. very different. They in- tists use a procedure called
They are bigger than the clude: pieces of clothing, carbon dating. Many items
largest known dinosaur. leather goods and items found along the mountain
The researchers have de- made from wood. Normal- route were carbon dat-
scribed the giant Ningaloo ly, over time, these organ- ed. The results revealed
Coast siphonophore as the ic items would decay, or some interesting patterns.
‘world’s longest animal’.  rot away. Yet, high on the The artefacts were not
TERRITORIES AND VOYAGES OF THE VIKINGS
GREENLAND ICELAND
) N
EDE
)
AY
RW
(SW
(NO
OSLO
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
(DENMARK)
900-year-old knife found at the
Lendbreen pass in Norway NEWFOUNDLAND
(secretsoftheice.com) (VINLAND)
Black Sea
dropped, or lost, over an
even period. There were
very few artefacts from
some periods, but many Mediterranean Sea
more in others. In times of
‘few artefacts’, there was
probably less human activ- raiders, they were great rivers. Often, instead of re- long. Many history books
ity, or even a smaller pop- explorers and merchants. turning, many Vikings set- state that Christopher Co-
ulation. The weather may In Northern Europe, his- tled in distant lands. lumbus (1451 – 1506) was
have been colder. Then, torians call the period be- the first European to cross
Vikings were the first
tween 700 and 1100 the the Atlantic Ocean in 1492.
fewer people would have people to arrive in Iceland.
Viking Age. Vikings were This is untrue. The Vikings
used the route. There, they set up villages
also known as Norsemen, preceded him by about
and farms. They travelled
The earliest artefacts or ‘people from the north’. 500 years.
farther west to Greenland.
are about 6,000 years old.
The Vikings are famous The Vikings are well known The ice and snow melt
Later items show that the
for being great seafarers. for their sagas. These are in the pass has revealed
mountain pass was busiest
As their power grew, they legend-like stories of sea large amounts of horse
from the years 700 to 1100.
travelled longer and longer voyages and battles from dung. Horses were used to
The majority of items were
distances in their sailing long ago. Some Viking sa- pull wooden sledges along
accidentally dropped or
boats. These were known gas mention a place called the route. These were load-
thrown away around 1,000
as longships. Famous Vi- Vinland. It’s now known ed, or laden, with goods
years ago. This was the
king leaders sailed around that Vinland was the coast- destined for the coast.
height of the Viking Age.
the western coast of Eu- al area of North America. They probably included
The Vikings came from rope and into the Medi- A few Viking groups lived dairy products, fodder (or
what are now Norway, terranean Sea. Using their in what’s now Newfound- food for farm animals), and
Sweden and Denmark. As ships, they also travelled land about 1,000 years reindeer skins and antlers.
well as being warriors and along Europe’s lengthiest ago. They did not stay for These goods were prob-
ably transported to Viking
Researchers surveying an area uncovered by the melting ice settlements in overseas
(secretsoftheice.com) lands. They may have gone
to Iceland and Greenland.
The researchers say that
last summer’s melt was
more ‘extreme’ than usu-
al. Most of the ground and
rock of the mountain pass
has now been surveyed.
They believe that only a
few ‘yet-to-be-discovered
items’ remain. 
Isr a el’ s u ni ty gov ernment

Over the next few months, Mr Ne-
tanyahu and Mr Gantz tried to form
ruling coalitions. Both failed. Presi-
dent Rivlin suggested that they gov-
ern jointly. This is what’s known as a
unity government. As both men re-
fused to do so, another election was
called. This vote was held two months
ago. It was Israel’s third election with-
in 12 months. This time, Likud won 36
seats and Blue and White 33.
President Rivlin was unhap-
py about holding a fourth election.
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister Benny Gantz He once again asked Mr Netanyahu
and Mr Gantz to work together. By
Benjamin Netanyahu is Israel’s long- parties. In Israel, the government, or this time, the coronavirus problem
est serving prime minister. He has ruling coalition, needs a minimum of had arrived in Israel. Acting as care-
held this position since 2009. He was 61 seats in the Knesset. taker prime minister, Mr Netanyahu
also prime minister between 1996 ordered a lockdown in the country.
Israel has an election system No one who was not a citizen was al-
and 1999. Mr Netanyahu leads a po- called proportional representation
litical party called Likud. (In Hebrew, lowed to enter Israel.
(PR). This means that the number of
Likud means ‘the consolidation’.) seats a party wins depends on the to- Eventually, Mr Gantz dropped his
About 15 months ago, Benny opposition to working with Mr Ne-
tal percentage of people who vote for
Gantz became Mr Netanyahu’s main tanyahu. The two men drew up an
it. Any party that gets over a thresh-
political rival. He is a former senior agreement. They signed it on 20th
old of 3.25% of the votes wins at least
Israeli army commander. Mr Gantz April. It finally ended 17 months of
three Knesset seats. It is not unusual
has not been a politician for long. political deadlock during which there
for over 40 parties to take part in an
He leads a group of parties that are were three elections. As part of the
election. Often, at least ten parties
known as Blue and White. (Israel’s agreement, Mr Netanyahu will re-
pass the threshold.
flag is blue and white.) This is a di- main as prime minister for the next 18
In recent years, the Knesset has months. Mr Gantz will then take over
versified group. However, all are ‘an-
been made up of many parties, most for the following 18 months. The two
ti-Netanyahu’. They want to end his
of which have only a few seats. This men will jointly run a group that deals
term as prime minister.
can make coalition-building very dif- with the coronavirus problem.
The state of Israel is a parlia- ficult. For example, if a small party
mentary democracy. The country’s Many Blue and White members
agrees to support Likud, it would ex- and supporters were unhappy about
parliament is called the ‘Knesset’. pect something in return. This could
(This Hebrew word means ‘gather- Mr Gantz‘s decision. He said that
be a senior government job for its it would be wrong for the political
ing’ or ‘assembly’.) The Knesset has
leader. Alternatively, the small party stalemate to continue at the time of
120 elected members, or seats. The
might insist that Likud adopts one or an emergency. 
Knesset building is in the city of Jeru-
more of its policies.
salem. Members of the Knesset elect
An election for the Knesset was
The informative easy to read
Israel’s president. This person is the

374
IN THIS ISSUE
Editor:
held 13 months ago. At that time,

president
country’s head of state, but he has

unveiled
Rebecca
many people thought that Blue and

anniversary
limited, or few, powers. (Israel is yet

solved
Watson
Trump
H 366-day year
White and Benny Gantz would win.

to choose a woman president.) Reu-

ritual
antibiotic
Virus outbrea k spreads
Newsademic
H Pleistocene horned lark
Yet, both Likud and Blue and White

Wordsearch Puzzle
ven Rivlin is the current head of state.

and watching, news reports parts of E e
visiting peo- E ss tim
frequently. Newsreaders spoke
about ple’s homes. The workers R ce
F ll acmited
is published
a new flu-like virus that had appeared record the
or fu li
that a per- ra
explained that it was a coronavirus. fo
got 35 seats.
Each day, the newsreaders listed with 1
In
gath-
Newsademic 2
Newsademic
In Israel, if a government wants to

The informative
easy-to-read introduction to
People
world news
had died.
every other
their
READING LEVEL
As the standing prime minister,

pass new laws, more than half of the

READING LEVEL 1 AND 2 APPS
week, or
stopped. People in the city were listening to
new coronavirus. with the vi- www.newsademic.com/apps
Mr Netanyahu attempted to arrange

rus were being identified in
other
Knesset’s members (or a minimum of fortnightly,

NEWSADEMIC.COM
61) must vote for them. Yet, so far, in a coalition with several other parties. throughout the year.
Israel’s 72-year history, no single par- He failed to get enough support for For further details and
ty has ever won more than 50% of the 61 seats. Another election had to be subscription prices please visit
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leading parties always has to form a This time, Blue and White got 33 and © 2020 Newsademic
coalition with several other smaller Likud 32.
Iss ue 378 g los sary pu zzle

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 4
5 6 7 8
9 10
11
12
13 14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Across Down
1. Adjective: Something that stands out because it is really 2. Noun Plural: Possible series of events
good
4. Noun: A change from one thing to another, or
3. Adjective: Describes something that is easy to recognise
because it is different from other things the process by which this happens
6. Noun: The act of making something stronger or more solid 5. Noun: Examination to see the similarities and
9. Adjective: Enough to meet the needs of a situation, but not differences between two things
fully completed a task
7. Noun: A person with the same name as another
12. Noun Plural: Deep gorges, normally with rivers running
through them 8. Noun: Systems and services such as transport
14. Noun Plural: Illnesses causing symptoms such as rashes or and power supplies that enable a country or
breathing problems when a person comes in contact with organisation to work effectively
certain foods or substances
10. Adjective: Describes a climate that is neither
16. Adjective: At risk of being damaged, attacked or hurt very hot nor very cold
emotionally
18. Noun: A group of signs and symptoms that when put 11. Adjective: Unstable due to conflict or disorder
together indicate, or are characteristic of, a disease or other 13. Noun: A point of entry or beginning
illness
15. Noun: A temporary organ found in female
19. Noun: An organisation involved in scientific, educational or
social work mammals while they are pregnant
20. Noun: An expression of gratitude 17. Noun: A decorative design or pattern
Issue 378 glo s sary puzzle (continued)

Find 19 of the 20 crossword answers in the wordsearch. Words can go
vertically, horizontally, diagonally and back to front. After finding the The informative easy to read
374
19 words write down the 20th (or missing) word under the puzzle. IN THIS ISSUE
president
unveiled
E R U T C U R T S A R F N I D M S N
anniversary
solved
Trump
V V C E V F P F X U A A N L S M B O
H 366-day year
ritual
antibiotic
Virus outbr eak sprea ds H Pleistocene horned lark

Wordsearch Puzzle
I Q I I K W D B I L F S U C L F J I
and watching, news reports parts of E s e
visiting peo- E es tim
frequently. Newsreaders spoke
about ple’s homes. The workers R cc d
a new flu-like virus that had appeared record the F ll amite
or fu li
that a per- ra
explained that it was a coronavirus.
fo
Each day, the newsreaders listed with
S K X T B C E A L L T F E E I I A T
1
In
gath-
Newsademic 2
Newsademic

The informative
easy-to-read introduction to
People
world news
had died.
their
READING LEVEL
S F D M C V A E L I Y N I K F T M I
stopped. People in the city were
listening to READING LEVEL 1 AND 2 APPS
with the vi-
E H F N Z N R I T T A X C C N O E S
new coronavirus.
rus were being identified in www.newsademic.com/apps
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Issue 377 glossary puzzle answers

1 2 N A I R A T I R O H T U A C Y W A C
S Y M B O L I C
3 4 O O G Z L Z C H E X Z T P O W Y D A
A N M
U T A I B I C Q H Q H U R P L Y Q P B V T
MISSING WORD: LIBERATED
5
I T E L T K C T M L G K O U Y W G D N E E A
6
P R E C A U T I O N H
7
H G N P Z O V C S T N E G R U S N I M R S
S O O R O M T N A Y E D K B A C X X A N X S T
U H C N L E R M M S L N R C F J A R
8 9 10
C G U E R R I L L A A U C
A R I X T R O S X E D P R E R E X R L U V J E R O
11 12
C T R T D E P L E T I O N N Y N A D C B P U I G B I M Y D I P
13 14
O V A D V E R S A R I E S D S S O S T L Y E U A N S W J E R E D E H
15
N A S C R C R H U C E R I O D K T Y Z N N S P R Y S E
16 17
C N M T T L I B E R A T E D E M M X I S P A E M F F R I L Y L E M P
E D A R I A E B D P A A C M A G B R F S O E B R P Y U C
N A R O O N E U T R O Q B R O E J H U T I T R B T I G
T L T P N K I
18
T H W A L Q S X M I N U S C U L E W
R I Y H M I N U S C U L E O
19
Y D T I Z R R H O J Q D I X R F N O
I N S U R G E N T S N
R E C Q R C A N P R E C A U T I O N
C M
D E H S I R U O N L A M Z T H L J H

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NID: 1001538-151-378 B Newsademic

The informative easy to read introduction to world news

House. In Washington DC, this is the

Organization (WHO). Mr Trump ex-

Press conferences are usually organ-

way that the organisation had han-

Virus outbre ak spread s

dled the coronavirus outbreak. He

whole country. Newspaper reporters

claimed that the WHO had ‘failed in

who erings have been cancelled.

and television news channel hosts

its basic duty’. Most countries help

are invited. After the president has

to fund the WHO. Currently, the USA

spoken, they can ask questions.

pays more than any other. Its most

For several weeks, Donald J recent payment was US$400 million

Underside of the yellow-bellied three-toed skink

lives near a section of Aus- and produce live young at

Rwanda’ s ‘kind -he arted dic tator ’

smartphone made in Africa him are badly treated,

Sta r ’ s s pi ro graph orb i t

Albert Einstein in 1947

Nightingale in Spain (Carlos Delgado)

Olives (Nick Fraser)

Nightingales are secre- two areas of the country

Rats chew on wood to stop their

What Antarctica may have looked like 90 million

The Alfred Wegener In- contained tree roots and

Polarstern research vessel beside an Antarctic ice shelf

Today, Antarctica is the When describing the

Iftar meal served at the

(or smoke), from sunrise

They may give donations to to which family members

EF5 tornado (Justin Hobson)

Easter is an important time in the

Currently, people in many countries is the Kingdom of Denmark. It shares

pand em ic next spread to other nearby countries

elec tio n and South Korea. Within the next two

National Assembly building in Seoul, capital of South Korea

known multinational companies, country and its infrastructure was

South Koreans queue at a safe distance to vote

Rhinoceros with red-billed oxpeckers (Harvey Barrison)

Their toes, or claws, are powerful.

Female leatherback turtle digging

Yet, sea turtles do come

Size of leatherback turtle compared to a human

their breath for 85 min- hour. Leatherbacks can

Leatherback turtle hatchlings

dle. The zooids that catch

‘ Lo ngest ani mal’

om. It can paralyse small fish Another marine creature

TERRITORIES AND VOYAGES OF THE VIKINGS

Isr a el’ s u ni ty gov ernment

Israel’s president. This person is the

held 13 months ago. At that time,

country’s head of state, but he has

many people thought that Blue and