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The international newspaper for the younger reader
13th August 2009
British English edition
Issue Number 99
In this issue
EU seal product ban
Lost music discovered
OBITUARY Corazon Aquino
3D fossils
Pacific Islands Forum annual
meeting
Three amigos meet
Microsoft and Yahoo!
Gobi desert treasure
Canadian forest fires
Woodstock anniversary
Red supergiant photographed
Barcodes to Bokodes
Jury trials in Japan
Ocean rowing record
Official photograph of Bill Clinton and Kim Jong-il, taken in North Korea
Sudan trial postponed

NORTH KOREA PARDONS AMERICAN JOURNALISTS

Bill Clinton, the former president of the
USA, made an unexpected visit to North
Korea on 4th August. Soon after his ar-
rival North Korean officials announced
that two American journalists who had
been imprisoned there would be allowed
to return home.
The two journalists, Laura Ling and
Euna Lee, work for an American televi-
sion company. In March they travelled to
an area in China close to the border with
North Korea. The two women planned to
make a film about North Koreans who
try to leave the country to go to live in
South Korea.
The journalists and two other people
crossed a river that runs along the border
between China and North Korea, on 17th
March. Ms Ling and Ms Lee were then
captured by North Korean border guards.
The other two people managed to get
away. Later, North Korean officials said
NATOs new leader
Growing new teeth
Supreme Court Justice
two Americans had been arrested and appointed
that they would be charged with spying. East Asian typhoons
North and South Korea are two very Book review
different countries with a troubled his- Glossary and Sudoku prize
tory. They were a single country when competitions
Korea was taken over by Japan in 1910.
After Japan was defeated at the end of
the Second World War in 1945 Korea
Learning
became divided. The USA occupied the English as a
southern part and Russia occupied the foreign
north. Each set up a different type of
government. The USA introduced demo- language?
cratic elections. The Russians set up a
communist government under the leader Newsademic.com
Kim Il-sung.
Kim Il-sung died in 1994 and North
Korea is now run by his son, Kim Jong-il. Recommended
In 1950 North Korea invaded the
South. The United Nations (UN) us-
reading
ing mostly American troops supported for
the South, while China helped the North. TEFL and ESL
After three years of fighting a truce was
13th August 2009
signed that ended the Korean War.
Today the border between the two
countries, called the DMZ (Demili-
tarized Zone), is where the opposing
armies faced each other when the
fighting stopped.
CHINA
NORTH
KOREA
Pyongyang
Sea of
Japan
Seoul
Yellow
SOUTH
KOREA
Sea
JAPAN
Now South Korea has one of the
most successful economies in the
world. North Korea has remained
a closed country. Many people de-
scribe it as the worlds last Stalinist
state. This name is used to describe
countries that are run by a single
person as a dictatorship. They have
no elections, everything is owned
by the state and people can be eas-
ily imprisoned without a fair trial.
The term Stalinist comes from
Joseph Stalin, a former leader of the
Soviet Union.
North Korea spends a lot of its
money on its army and military
equipment. Most people living
there are poor and many do not
have enough to eat. Kim Jong-il, the
North Korean leader, says a large
army is needed to defend his coun-
try against a possible attack by other
countries such as the USA.
Some North Koreans try to es-
cape to South Korea. However, it
is impossible to cross the DMZ
because it is so heavily guarded.
Newsademic.com British English edition
Instead they attempt to cross the bor-
der into China. They hope to meet
people who are willing to help them
get to Beijing, the capital of China,
and then to South Korea. Those that
are caught get severely punished.
The two journalists who were ar-
rested were put on trial on 8th June.
They were found guilty of illegally
entering North Korea and sentenced
to 12 years of hard labour in a prison
camp. American officials protested.
They said the trial had been un-
fair and the two journalists should
be released.
Mr Clinton is the husband of Hil-
lary Clinton, a senior member of
the American government. He was
president of the USA from 1993 to
2001. Many people were surprised
to learn Mr Clinton had arrived in
Pyongyang, the capital of North Ko-
rea, on a private plane.
Soon after Mr Clinton and Mr
Kim finished a three-hour meeting it
was announced that the two Ameri-
can women had been pardoned.
They were allowed to fly back to the
USA with Mr Clinton.
Laura Ling and Euna Lee arrive back in the USA
Mr Kim said Mr Clinton had
brought a courteous message from
President Barack Obama. But peo-
ple who work for President Obama
insisted he did not send a message to
Mr Kim. They claimed Mr Clintons
trip had been a private visit.
Some people think North Korean
officials had contacted the journal-
ists families in the USA and said
North Korea would be prepared to
page 2
release the two women to Mr Clin-
ton. However, Mr Clinton must have
asked the American government for
permission to travel to North Korea.
All President Obama would say was
that he was very pleased both jour-
nalists had been released.
Recently North Korea and sev-
eral other countries, including the
USA and South Korea, have been
arguing about North Korea develop-
ing nuclear weapons. Many believe
Mr Clinton and Mr Kim must have
talked about this problem.
Some people criticised Mr Clin-
tons visit. They said it was a propa-
ganda victory for North Korea to get
such a well-known person to visit,
and that it would strengthen Mr
Kims Stalinist regime.
CANADA PROTESTS EU SEAL BAN
Canada is angry about a recent rul-
ing made by the European Union
(EU). The ruling was made after a
vote in the European Parliament on
27th July. It says no products made
from seals can be sold within EU
member countries.
Canada has a seal hunt every
year. Government officials insist
that all seal hunters in the country
have to follow very strict rules if
they wish to take part. These rules
are to make sure seals are killed in
a humane way. The rules also state
how many seals can be killed each
year so seal populations do not be-
come too low.
As it obeys all the rules about
seal hunting, Canada claims the EU
ban is illegal. Products made from
seal skin or pelts include water-
proof jackets and shoes, and seal fur
coats. Seal blubber the animals
thick layer of fat is also used to
make oil.
13th August 2009 Newsademic.com British English edition
Canada says it will ask the World
Trade Organization (WTO) to help
it argue against the EU ban. The
WTO is an international organisa-
tion that was set up in 1996. Part
of its job is to settle arguments and
disputes about international trad-
ing among its member countries.
Before going to the WTO, Cana-
dian officials will meet with repre-
sentatives from the EU to try to find
a solution.
Seals
Canada believes the EUs ar-
gument against seal hunting is
more about peoples emotions and
not about facts or the realities of
seal hunting. For example, it ac-
cuses some EU member countries
of showing pictures of white-coat
baby seals when discussing seal
hunting, even though these baby
seals have not been hunted for 20
years. Canadian officials say its un-
fair to use emotional pictures such
as these instead of arguing using
scientific facts.
Around 80% of Canadas seal
hunting industry is in the province
of Newfoundland and Labrador,
on the east coast of the country.
Many people living in this region
make their living by hunting seals
and selling the products made from
them. The banning of the sale of any
seal products in the EU will mean
the amount of money these people
can make could be greatly reduced.
They complain the price of seal
pelts has already decreased. This,
they say, meant many people did
not take part in the hunt this year, as
the cost of hunting seals was higher
than the amount for which the pelts
could be sold.
While the hunters insist it is im-
portant for the population of seals to
be controlled others say seal hunt-
ing is cruel. Many were therefore
pleased with the EUs ban on the
sale of seal products. One group
said it hopes there will eventually be
a total ban of all seal hunting.
NEW MOZART MUSIC DISCOVERED
In July two short pieces of music
were discovered in an old music
book in Salzburg, in Austria. On 2nd
August a musician played them on
a piano. Yet they were no ordinary
pieces of music, and the piano was
a special one. The music was com-
posed by, and the piano belonged to,
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Many people consider Mozart to
be one of the worlds greatest com-
posers. He died at the age of 35 in
1791, but in his short life he wrote
more than 600 different pieces of
music. These include operas, mu-
sic for choirs, piano concertos and
chamber music. He first started
composing when he was only five
years old.
Mozart was born in the city of
Salzburg, in what is now Austria.
His father was also a musician and
taught his children to play music
and to speak foreign languages.
The house where Mozart lived
in Salzburg now belongs to the In-
ternational Mozarteum Foundation.
This organisation looks after places
associated with the composer, col-
lects items that belonged to him,
and encourages people to study
his music.
page 3
The two missing Mozart pieces
of music were discovered in a note-
book owned by the Foundation. The
notebook contains music pieces that
Mozarts father collected for his
daughter Mozarts sister. Many of
the pieces of music in the book were
written by Mozarts father. Experts
think he put them together to help
his daughter as she learnt to read
and play music.
But recently someone noticed
that two of the piano pieces in the
notebook, although written in the
handwriting of Mozarts father,
seemed very different from the style
of music he composed. The pieces
contain a few mistakes, which Mo-
zarts father had corrected.
After studying the pieces a one-
minute prelude and a four-minute
concerto experts now believe Mo-
zart composed them on the piano
while his father, sitting next to him,
wrote the notes down. They think
Mozart was around eight years old
when he composed the music.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
On 2nd August the two piano
pieces were played on Mozarts
piano in his old house the first
time they had been played in 200
years. Music experts said they were
amazed Mozart was able to com-
pose them at such a young age.
This isnt the first discovery of
lost pieces of Mozarts music. Last
year an unknown piece handwritten
by Mozart was found in a library in
France.
13th August 2009 Newsademic.com British English edition
OBITUARY CORAZON AQUINO 1933 2009
Housewife who became the first female president of the Philippines
Corazon Aquino was the first woman to be elected
president of an Asian country. She died of cancer
on 1st August, aged 76.
Corazon Cojuangco, known as Cory, was born on
25th January 1933. Her family was very wealthy
and Cory was the sixth of eight children.
Ms Cojuangco went to study in the USA after
finishing school. Soon after returning to the Phil-
ippines to study law she married Benigno Ninoy
Aquino. Ninoy Aquino was a young politician. Af-
ter their marriage he became governor of a region
of the Philippines and was elected to the Sen-
ate part of the countrys parliament in 1967.
When her husband began his political career,
Mrs Aquino gave up her studies to look after her
growing family.
At that time Ferdinand Marcos was the presi-
dent of the Philippines. He had been
elected in 1965. Many people ex-
pected Mrs Aquinos husband to be
a candidate in the 1973 presidential
election. By then President Marcos
would have completed two four-year
terms as president and would, by law,
not be allowed to stand again.
But in 1972, President Marcos said
he and the army were taking control.
He insisted this was necessary be-
cause the country was under threat from militant
groups. Mr Aquino and many other politicians that
opposed President Marcos were imprisoned.
In 1980 President Marcos agreed to release Mr
Aquino. He and his family were forced to leave the
Philippines so they went to live in the USA. Three
years later Mr Aquino decided to return. As soon as
he got off the plane in Manila, the capital city, he was
shot dead by a soldier at the airport. Many blamed
President Marcos for Mr Aquinos assassination.
A few days later Mrs Aquino arrived for her hus-
bands funeral. During the funeral over two million
people crowded into the streets of central Manila.
The funeral turned out to be the first of many mass
demonstrations against President Marcos, who
had been running the country as a dictator since
page 4
1972. Mrs Aquino took part in some of these street
protests wearing a bright yellow dress.
In 1985, in response to the demonstrations,
President Marcos surprised many people by say-
ing an election would be held in the following
year. Many Filipinos wanted Mrs Aquino to stand
against him. Yet she was reluctant, saying she was
a housewife and had no experience of politics. But
eventually she agreed to be a candidate.
Immediately after the election President Mar-
cos declared he was the winner, although many
people knew he had cheated and Mrs Aquino had
won. One group of soldiers, including several sen-
ior officers, mutinied. Thousands of people, many
wearing yellow clothes, surrounded the army base
to protect these soldiers against attack from other
military groups loyal to President Marcos.
The USA advised President Mar-
cos to leave the country and said
he could move to America. Presi-
dent Marcos agreed to go. He and
his wife Imelda who was later to
become famous for her huge collec-
tion of shoes went to live in the
USA. The mass demonstrations that
ended President Marcoss rule be-
came known as people power.
Soon after becoming president Mrs
Aquino forced senior people in the military and the
government who had supported President Marcos
to resign. She ordered the release of all those who
had been imprisoned for their political beliefs. Mrs
Aquino also arranged for the country to have a new
constitution the set of rules by which the country
would be run. This was to make sure the Philippines
would always have democratically-elected leaders.
When her term as president ended Mrs Aquino de-
cided not to stand for re-election. Instead she said
she wanted to become an ordinary citizen again.
On 4th August tens of thousands of people,
many wearing yellow, crowded into the streets
of Manila near the church where her funeral took
place. Cory Aquino was buried next to her husband
and leaves behind a son and four daughters.
13th August 2009 Newsademic.com British English edition
NEW TECHNOLOGY USED ON behaviour and habits. For example,
ANCIENT FOSSILS the scientists think the insect with
spikes might have developed them
Two ancient relatives of modern- to put off predators. The other ones
day spiders have been brought back grasping legs were at an angle that
to life using x-rays and computer could have allowed it to grab and
scanning technology. hold its prey before killing it.
The scientists are now plan-
ning to use their new method to
study other small fossils trapped in
rocks.
PACIFIC COUNTRIES MEET
3D images of 300 million year-old fossils
Members of the Pacific Islands
Scientists working in the UK Forum held their annual meeting
wanted to study the fossils of two between 5th and 6th August. The
small insect creatures that lived meeting took place in Cairns, in
around 300 million years ago. Nor- Australia. The members discussed
mally this would be done by break- many topics, including climate
ing open the rock the fossils are in. change and problems with the gov-
Yet doing this, especially when the ernment in Fiji.
insects are small and have long thin The Pacific Islands Forum is
legs, often damages the fossils. a group made up of independent
So instead of trying to break open countries in the Pacific Ocean. It
the rock the scientists used X-rays was started in 1971. At first there
and some specially-written compu- were seven members. The group has
ter software to make three-dimen- now grown to 16 member countries.
sional (3D) images of the trapped The Forum is led by a Secretary-
fossilised insects. General. The current Secretary-
X-rays are a form of radiation.
When X-rays are directed at some- MI
thing such as the human body P FM
they can show a picture of what is PNG NR
SI T
inside it. Around 3,000 X-rays were
V
taken of the rock from many differ- F TO N
AUSTRALIA
ent angles. These pictures were then
transferred to a computer, where the
NEW
software built up a 3D image of the ZEALAND
fossils inside the rock. Pacific Islands Forum Members
The images showed that one Australia Tonga (TO)
of the spider-like creatures had New Zealand Federated States of
spikes on its back. The other had Kiribati (K) Micronesia (FM)
Palau (P) Marshall Islands (MI)
front legs that could grab or grasp
Solomon Islands (SI) Tuvalu (T)
something. Being able to find out Cook Islands (CI) Fiji (F) (suspended)
these small details about creatures Nauru (NR) Niue (N)
bodies means scientists can make Papua New Guinea Western Samoa (WS)
(PNG) Vanuatu (V)
better guesses about the creatures
page 5
General is Tuiloma Neroni Slade,
who is from Samoa. When the Fo-
rum holds its annual meeting, the
leader of the country in which it is
held acts as the Chair. The Chair
organises all the discussions. As this
years meeting was held in Cairns,
the Chair was Kevin Rudd, the
prime minister of Australia.
In May this year the members of
the Forum voted to suspend Fiji. This
was the first time a member country
had been suspended since the organi-
sation was set up 38 years ago.
In 2006, Frank Bainimarama, the
commander of Fijis military forces,
deposed the elected prime minister
a took over the run-
and
ning of the country.
The other members
of the Forum said
this was illegal. They
insisted that control of Fiji should
be handed back to a democratically-
elected leader.
At first Commander Bainima-
rama said new elections would be
held in the early part of 2009. Yet
recently he has announced that elec-
tions are now unlikely to happen
before 2014. Government officials
in Fiji are angry about their suspen-
PACIFIC
OCEAN
sion from the Forum. They say it is
not up to other members of the Fo-
K rum to tell Fijians how to run their
WS
CI
own country.
The members of the Forum think
Fiji is suffering because it does not
have a democratically-elected gov-
ernment. Traditionally Fiji has been
a popular place for holiday makers.
But since 2006 fewer people have
been visiting the islands holiday
resorts. Many countries have also
reduced the amount of trade they do
with Fiji. These changes have had a
bad effect on Fijis economy. Many
of its workers are now not able to
earn as much money as they used to.
13th August 2009
The Forum held several discus-
sions on climate change and trade.
It says climate change is a threat to
coral reefs and fishing areas in the
Pacific region. Many of the island
countries that are members of the
Forum are low lying and only a few
metres above sea level. If sea lev-
els rise because of climate change,
there is a danger that people will
no longer be able to live in these
countries.
THREE FRIENDS GET TOGETHER
The North American Leaders Sum-
mit took place between 8th and 11th
August in Guadalajara, the second-
largest city in Mexico.
The Summit is an annual meet-
ing of the prime minister of Canada
and the presidents of Mexico and
the USA. These official meetings
among the three countries first
began in 2005.
Just before the first meeting was
held in the USA the president of
America at the time, George W Bush,
described the three leaders as the tres
amigos (which is Spanish for three
friends). Since then the summit has
often been described as the three
amigos or three friends summit.
This years meeting was attended
by Stephen Harper, the prime min-
ister of Canada, Felipe Caldern,
the president of Mexico, and Barack
Obama, the president of the USA.
The three main subjects dis-
cussed were the current drugs
war in northern Mexico, increas-
ing trade among the three countries,
and the H1N1 virus often called
swine flu.
Many of the illegal drugs sold
in America and Canada are smug-
gled across the border from Mexico
into the USA. For over a year large
Newsademic.com British English edition
criminal drug gangs have been fight-
ing in the north of Mexico. Many
people have been killed and Presi-
dent Caldern has sent soldiers to the
area to help the police.
The leaders of Canada, Mexico and the USA
In the past the USA has offered
Mexico help by giving it money
to be used in its fight against the
drug gangs. However, recently the
two countries have disagreed about
the amount of money and when it
should be paid.
Canada and Mexico have more
trade with the USA than with any
other country. The USA and many
other countries have been affected
by financial problems over the past
NEWSCAST
LOST DOG COMES HOME Animal
rescue workers received a phone
call about a dog being kept in a
yard in Melbourne, in Australia.
The caller said the dog was being
badly treated. The rescue workers
took the dog away and discovered
she had a microchip an identi-
fication tag under her skin with
her owners details on it. The real
owners of the dog lived over 1,700
kilometres (1,060 miles) away.
They had lost her nine years ago.
Nobody knows what happened to
the dog during that time. But her
owners whose daughter was
eight when the dog was lost and is
now 17 said they were delighted
to get their pet back.
page 6
two years. These problems have
meant trade among the three coun-
tries has decreased.
The American government has
made a decision to spend large
amounts of money on rebuilding
things such as roads and bridges.
Many Americans believe contracts
for this work should be awarded to
American building companies. But
Prime Minister Harper reminded
President Obama they have a trade
agreement, which means Canadian
companies should be allowed to
compete for this work.
Recently, Mexican trucks have
been banned from working in the
USA. President Caldern is unhap-
py about the ban and asked Presi-
dent Obama to cancel it.
All three countries have been af-
fected by swine flu. In recent months
the number of cases has been de-
creasing. But medical experts pre-
dict the number of people catching
swine flu will greatly increase in the
autumn. The three leaders discussed
plans about how to deal with the vi-
rus if this should happen.
MICROSOFT AND YAHOO!
On 29th July the Microsoft and Ya-
hoo! companies announced that they
have made a ten-year agreement to
work with one another. Both com-
panies are based in the USA. Micro-
soft is the worlds biggest software
company and Yahoo! is one of the
worlds leading web portals.
Most experts agree that Micro-
soft wanted to make an agreement
with Yahoo! because it now needs to
compete with the Google Company.
Not very long ago Google and
Microsoft were very different. Micro-
soft made money from selling soft-
ware and Google sold online display
13th August 2009 Newsademic.com British English edition
advertising and pay per click adverts
on its internet search engine.
Yet recently each company has
started to get involved in the others
business areas. Microsoft has creat-
ed a new search engine called Bing
to compete with Google. Google has
launched an internet browser called
Chrome, which now competes with
Microsofts Internet Explorer. And
Google says in the near future it will
launch a new free operating system,
also called Chrome. This will com-
pete with Microsofts Windows op-
erating system.
Last year Microsoft wanted to
buy the Yahoo! Company. It of-
fered to pay US$47.5 billion (30
billion). But the bosses of Yahoo!
decided not to accept Microsofts
offer. Many experts criticised this
decision. They said Yahoo!s search
engine business had fallen so far
behind Google that it would be sen-
sible to accept Microsofts offer.
Now, only a year later, the value of
Yahoo! is estimated to be US$22
billion (13.75 billion).
In the Microsoft-Yahoo! agree-
ment neither company will pay any
money to the other. Microsoft will be
able to use the Yahoo! search technol-
ogy in its Bing search engine. For the
first five years Yahoo! will get 88%
of the money Microsofts search en-
gine makes from search advertising
or pay per click sales.
While most experts think the
agreement is a good idea, they say
it will still be difficult for Bing
to attract as many people as the
Google search engine does. It is
estimated Microsoft and Yahoo!
will have 28% of internet searches
in the USA, against Googles 65%.
In the rest of the world Google is
even further ahead. It has 67% of
internet searches while Microsoft
and Yahoo! combined only have
11%.
MONGOLIAN BURIED TREASURE
A set of rare treasures has been dis-
covered buried in the Gobi desert,
in Mongolia. They were uncovered
by a museum-owner, Zundoi Altan-
gerel, and an amateur archaeologist,
Michael Eisenriegler. On 1st August
a live internet broadcast showed the
two men digging up boxes contain-
ing valuable Buddhist relics. The
boxes had been buried in the desert
over 70 years ago.
The treasures include statues, old
manuscripts, musical instruments,
holy texts called sutras, and cloth-
ing. They originally came from a
remote Buddhist monastery.
The Khamaryn monastery was
home to Danzan Ravjaa, a Buddhist
master. He lived from 1803 to 1856.
He was recognised as a Buddhist
incarnation. Danzan Ravjaa wrote
many poems and set up several
schools. Even today there are many
legends about him.
When Danzan Ravjaa died his
body was mummified and placed
inside a temple within the monas-
tery. Boxes containing treasures and
manuscripts were placed around
his body.
Mongolia became a communist
country in 1921, supported by Rus-
sia. Later the communists banned
people from following any religion.
In the 1930s the Mongolian army
page 7
arrested the monks and closed down
the monastery.
One of the monks, called Tuduv,
realised what was about to hap-
pen. He managed to take 64 boxes
of treasures and relics out of the
monastery and bury them in the
desert before the soldiers arrived.
Its thought there were as many as
1,500 boxes in the monastery. All
except those taken by Tuduv were
destroyed by the soldiers.
Tuduv managed to escape and
eventually became an animal herder.
He passed on the secret of where the
boxes were hidden to his grandson
Zundoi Altangerel.
In the early 1990s the communist
Russian-led Soviet Union collapsed.
Soon afterwards Mongolia became
an independent country with a
democratically-elected government.
The new government changed many
of the old communist rules. People
were allowed to practise religions
again. The Khamaryn monastery
was reopened in 1991. It is now
home to 20 monks.
Zundoi Altangerel with one of the statues
Mr Altangerel then decided to
dig up 20 of the boxes. He set up
a museum, called the Danzan Rav-
jaa Museum, where the contents
of the boxes could be displayed.
The museum is in the town of
Sainshand, 400 kilometres (250
miles) from Ulaanbaatar, the capital
of Mongolia.
In 2008, while travelling around
Mongolia, Mr Eisenriegler heard
13th August 2009
about the museum and the story
behind the relics. He persuaded Mr
Altangerel to dig up some more of
the boxes.
Mr Altangerel says he now plans
to dig up the remaining boxes. His-
torians are studying the manuscripts
that have been found, to discover
what life was like in the monastery
over 150 years ago.
FOREST FIRES IN CANADA
British Columbia (BC) is a province
in the west of Canada. Local offi-
cials say this summer could be one
of BCs worst ever for forest fires.
Forest fires happen during most
summers in many parts of the world.
When the weather gets very hot it is
easy for forest fires to start. Areas
such as BC have a lot of thunder-
storms in the summer months, and
lightning can easily start fires. When
forests are very hot and dry they
burn easily. So when a fire starts it
can spread very quickly.
Forest fire
Areas and countries that have
forest fires make plans and prepa-
rations to deal with them. Officials
send warnings to people to leave
their homes when the area they live
in is threatened by fire. It is also
possible to prevent, slow down or
stop a forest fire by lighting another
one on purpose. This is called a
back burn. The back burn gets rid
Newsademic.com British English edition
of dead plants and leaves on the
ground. When a forest fire reaches
the burnt area, there is no fuel so it
goes out, or can be easily controlled.
Other provinces in Canada have
helped by sending firefighters to
BC. Several forest fires are still
burning and firefighters are work-
ing hard to control them. More than
4,000 people have been involved in
the firefighting efforts.
Due to the dry forests the BC
authorities have announced a camp
fire ban. On 6th August, officials be-
gan visiting parks and forests where
people go camping. Anyone found
to have lit a campfire was fined. One
official said the campfire ban was
important and people should un-
derstand how dangerous campfires
can be when the forest is very dry.
He said the firefighting teams were
busy fighting fires caused by light-
ning and should not have to worry
that people might accidentally start
even more fires.
Fire experts from Australia and
New Zealand have travelled to BC.
They have been asked to help so Ca-
nadian fire experts can have a break
from working. Officials say it is im-
portant for those organising the fire-
fighting to make the correct decisions,
so they need to be able to take a rest.
A BC official said although
the fires are very serious, the fire-
fighting effort has been a success.
So far no lives have been lost and
very few buildings have been
destroyed.
ANNIVERSARY CONCERT CANCELLED
A lack of money has meant plans to
hold a free music concert in the USA
have had to be cancelled. The concert
was to be held to mark the 40th an-
niversary of the Woodstock Festival.
page 8
The Woodstock Festival took
place between 15th and 18th August
1969. It has become known as one
of the most significant moments in
the history of modern music.
The 1969 event was planned as an
outdoor music and arts festival. Resi-
dents of the town of Middletown, in
the state of New
York, where the
festival was origi-
nally planned, op-
posed it. The or-
ganisers said they
expected about
50,000 people
to attend. So the
Woodstock poster
town passed a
law that said special permits had to be
given to hold events with a crowd of
over 5,000.
A hotel owner in the town of
Bethel, about 70 kilometres (44
miles) from Woodstock, already had
a permit to hold outdoor music con-
certs. Yet the land he owned was not
large enough. So he arranged to rent
some land from a local farmer.
News about the festival quickly
spread. On the day it started more
NEWSCAST
UNUSUAL PASSENGER People trav-
elling on a flight from Abu Dhabi,
in the UAE, to Cairo, the capital of
Egypt, were startled when some-
ones pet crawled out of a luggage
bag and began walking up the aisle
of the plane. The pet was a baby
crocodile. People in the plane said
the crocodile was about 30 centi-
metres (12 inches) long. A crew
member caught the crocodile and
the flight continued safely. None
of the passengers admitted to own-
ing the escaped reptile. When the
plane landed, the crocodile was
taken to Cairo Zoo.
13th August 2009 Newsademic.com British English edition page 9

and more people arrived. It is esti- of Orion. The astronomers used a that encompasses the orbits of Mer-
mated as many as 500,000 people new method of producing extremely cury, Venus, Earth and Mars.
attended. News reports showed pic- clear images of very distant objects. The astronomers new process-
tures of huge traffic jams and warned ing system is able to take pictures
people not to go to the concert. that have a very high resolution.
There were many problems dur- The photographs show Betelgeuse
ing the festival because so many has a large plume of gas extend-
people went to it. Volunteers flew ing out into space from its surface.
in extra food, medical supplies and There also appear to be enormous
even doctors. The event became gas bubbles just under the surface of
memorable because, despite all of the giant star.
the problems, it was peaceful. Giants such as Betelgeuse lose a
In 1969, the USA was involved in lot of mass very quickly. Astrono-
the Vietnam War in south east Asia. mers are not really sure why this
The war had lasted a long time and is, but they know it means the most
many younger people in the USA massive stars die very quickly com-
didnt support it. At the time large pared with smaller ones. Betelgeuse
numbers of young American men is a dying star. It is estimated that
had to join the military. This was every 10,000 years Betelgeuse loses
The Orion constellation
known as the draft. Some of those an amount of material gas and dust
drafted were killed in the war. To take the pictures the scientists of the same mass as our Sun.
During the Woodstock festival used the VLT, in Chile, in South The astronomers think the new
some performers sang anti-Viet- America. The VLT which stands pictures could give the answer
nam War songs. The event became for Very Large Telescope was to why giant stars lose so much
a symbol of peace and a protest set up by 14 European countries to material every year. The gas bub-
against the war in Vietnam. study stars as they are seen from the bles might be causing this mate-
An arts centre has been built southern hemisphere. The telescope rial to be thrown out into space in
where the Woodstock Festival took is positioned on the top of a high plumes such as the one photo-
place. The centre opened in 2006. mountain in the Atacama Desert. graphed on Betelgeuse.
One of the groups that played at the The star the astronomers have
photographed is called Betelgeuse
festival in 1969 gave a concert at the
centre when it opened. (pronounced Bet-el-jooz). It is the
Some small concerts are planned second-brightest star in Orion and
to mark the 40th anniversary of one of the brightest in the night
Woodstock, and several books have sky, so it is easy to spot. The star is
been published. These tell the story many thousands of times brighter
than our Sun but it doesnt look
of the festival and the things it came
to symbolise. Yet no sponsor could as bright to us because it is so far
be found to provide the money away. Betelgeuse is estimated to be
Picture of Betelgeuse taken using the VLT
needed to pay for a free music event about 600 light years away from the
similar to the original Woodstock Earth. A light year is the distance a Astronomers think Betelgeuse
festival. single beam of light could travel in will collapse and explode, possibly
one year. within the next 1,000 years. This is
Betelgeuse is known as a red super- known as a supernova. Scientists say
SUPERGIANT PHOTOGRAPHED giant the name given to the biggest when Betelgeuse becomes a super-
stars. It is several hundred times more nova it will appear to be as bright as
French and German astronomers have massive than our Sun. If Betelgeuse the Moon in both the daytime and the
released new pictures of one of the were at the centre of our solar system night sky for a period of a few weeks
stars that make up the constellation it would extend over the whole area or months, before it disappears.
13th August 2009 Newsademic.com British English edition page 10

FROM BARCODES TO BOKODES by Dr Carol Ballard

Black-and-white striped barcodes may soon sports, RFID tags are attached to the numbers on
disappear. Scientists in the USA have announced competitors chests to record accurately how long
they have developed a new system to replace the person takes to run a race. In many countries,
them. Called bokodes, they are much smaller than transport systems use RFID tags for payment of
barcodes, but can store a lot more information. road tolls. Some schools even attach RFID tags to
Using barcodes for automated checkout students uniforms and belongings.
counters in shops was first thought of in 1932. The new bokodes can hold thousands of times
Yet it took 40 years to fully develop the idea. A more data than barcodes and RFID tags. Each
supermarket in Ohio, in the USA, was the first bokode is circular and only three millimetres
shop to use barcodes in 1974. (0.12 inches) in diameter. It contains a light-
Items can be sold quickly using barcodes. Be- emitting diode (LED) an electronic light source.
fore barcodes were invented, people had to read This is covered with a tiny mask and a lens. The
and type in an items price to the cash register, light shines through the mask so its brightness
which took much longer. At first barcodes were depends on the angle from which it is viewed.
only used in supermarkets. However, it was soon Unlike barcodes, bokodes can be read from a long
realised that, as they can store data that identifies way away. Even cameras on mobile phones can
an item, barcodes could have many other uses. read the information on them.
They are now used for many things, The developers think bokodes
such as tracking stock in warehous- could replace barcodes in many
es, identifying library books, and for places. For example, someone food
tracing luggage at airports. shopping could read the information
A barcode scanner is needed to stored on bokodes with a mobile
read the data stored on a barcode. phone camera. This could give the
Most scanners use a beam of light items price, nutritional value, use
that can read the black-and-white by date and even recipes in which it
striped pattern. The scanner sends can be used.
this data to a computer that can be A bokode Bokodes may be useful in class-
programmed to carry out different tasks. For ex- rooms. Students could use individual bokodes to
ample, in a supermarket it would add the price of interact with large teaching displays. Shops and
the item to a shopping bill and then order another restaurants could put bokodes on their windows
item to replace the one that had just been sold. and on large advertisements. A camera placed to
In libraries, barcodes can record the names and read such bokodes could display the information
addresses of people who borrow books and the on peoples computers.
computer can then calculate any fines if books Currently the main disadvantage of bokodes is
are returned late. that they are expensive to make. They cost around
Other tracking systems, such as radio frequency US$5.00 (3.00) each. This is because of the LED
identification (RFID) tags, have been developed and lens and the need for a source of power.
that are similar to barcodes. Most RFID tags have However, the developers believe they will soon be
an electric circuit for storing and processing data, able to make reflective hologram bokodes. These
and a small antenna for sending and receiving will be much cheaper as they will not need a
radio signals. power source.
RFID tags are currently used for several pur- As bokodes can provide a very simple way of
poses. For instance, some countries such as Ma- storing and accessing large amounts of informa-
laysia, Norway, Japan, the UK and the USA issue tion, the developers are sure their new invention
passports with RFID tags. In some competitive will soon replace both barcodes and RFID tags.
13th August 2009 Newsademic.com British English edition
RETURN OF TRIAL BY JURY IN
JAPAN
A jury trial has taken place in Ja-
pan. It was the countrys first trial
of this type for over 60 years. The
trial, which finished on 6th August,
ended when the jury found a man
guilty of murdering his neighbour.
A jury is a group of people select-
ed to take part in a court case when
someone is accused of committing
a crime. The jury listens to all the
evidence in court and decides if the
person who has been accused the
defendant is guilty or not guilty.
Some historians say the first jury
trials took place in Ancient Greece.
Others say they date to the 1100s in
England. Countries that dont hold
jury trials usually rely on one or
more judges to decide if someone is
guilty or not guilty of the crime of
which they are accused.
Many countries that have jury tri-
als base their justice systems on the
one used in England. In these coun-
tries, it is considered a persons right
to be tried by jury. The number of
jury members, or jurors, differs from
country to country. For example, in
the UK it is 12, and in Italy six. Nor-
mally members of the jury have to
be between 18 and 70 years old and
must not have a criminal record.
In English law when a jury finds
someone guilty of a crime, a judge
decides on the punishment. If a jury
cannot decide whether a person is
guilty or not guilty, the judge may or-
der another trial with a different jury.
Japan has experimented with tri-
als by jury in the past. The military
government stopped them in 1943.
Since then it has been up to a judge,
or judges, to decide if someone is
guilty. While there are fewer people
convicted of crimes in Japan than
in many other countries, it is very
page 11
NEWSCAST
and that these should be decided by
judges who have legal training. Oth-
MONEY FOR A RAINY DAY A Ger- ers believe juries are very important.
man airline has come up with a They say this is because police evi-
new plan to encourage people to dence is not always correct and that
choose to fly on holiday on its citizens should be able to play a part
planes. The company, Lufthansa, in the justice system.
has offered people sunshine in-
surance money back if it rains
while they are on holiday. People OCEAN RECORD
pay an extra fee when booking
their flights. Then for every day A teacher from the UK has become
on which more than five millime- the first woman to row on her own
tres (0.2 inches) of rain falls, they across the Indian Ocean. Only three
receive a payment as compensa- other people have managed to row
tion. Passengers could receive up solo across this ocean before.
to 200 (170) if they are very Sarah Outen, who is 24 years old,
unlucky with the weather on their rowed from Perth, on the west coast
holidays. The airline says the in- of Australia, to the island of Mauri-
surance has been very popular tius. She arrived in Mauritius on 3rd
with passengers. August. The trip was 6,400 kilome-
tres (4,000 miles) long and took 124
rare for a judge to find a person days to complete.
not guilty.
In Japan, the jury members are
called lay judges, or citizen judges.
Six members of the public took part
in the jury trial. The jury heard the
trial alongside a panel of judges.
The jury are allowed to question
the person on trial. They are also al-
lowed to decide on the punishment
Sarah Outen and her boat, Serendipity
if they find the person on trial is
guilty. Japan has the death penalty, Ms Outen set off from Perth
which means a jury is allowed to in February. Soon afterwards, she
sentence someone to death. had to abandon the attempt. This
Thousands of people queued to get was because some of the electrical
tickets to see the trial, which was held equipment on her boat did not work
in Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Mil- correctly. After this was fixed she
lions more watched it on television. set off again.
The 72-year-old defendant admitted During her successful trip she
he had killed his 66-year-old neigh- lived on dried foods. If the sea was
bour after they had an argument. The not too rough she was able to cook
jury found him guilty and decided he a hot meal. Ms Outen also took
should spend 15 years in prison. 500 chocolate bars with her, for
Not everyone in Japan agrees extra energy, and four litres (seven
with the new jury trial system. Some pints) of sun cream. She posted
say citizen judges will not be able updates on her website throughout
to understand complicated cases, her trip.
13th August 2009
Just before Ms Outen arrived in
Mauritius her boat, called Serendip-
ity, was hit by several large waves.
The boat turned over and she was
thrown into the sea, although she
was still attached to the boat by a
rope. The upturned boat dragged her
across some coral reefs. This badly
injured her foot. After she managed
to get back to the boat she turned
it over again but soon realised all
her communication equipment had
been lost.
Ms Outen set off some flares,
which she hoped would be seen
by her support team. She knew her
team was waiting for her to arrive
in Mauritius. As soon as her sup-
porters saw the flares they went out
in a boat. Once they had found Ms
Outen they guided her back to the
shore. This meant Ms Outen was
able to row the final part of her
record-breaking journey.
CANADA
British
Columbia
U. S. A.
MEXICO
CHILE
This map shows countries to which news stories refer in this issue. Visit www.newsademic.com for more detailed world maps.
Newsademic.com British English edition page 12
Ms Outen had not seen another Hussein says it is important to
person for 124 days. She said she bring everyones attention to a law
was very happy to see all the peo- she believes is being used to treat
ple who came out to meet her. They women unfairly.
included her mother, who had trav- In Sudan laws govern how wom-
elled to Mauritius. en are allowed to dress. They must
While Ms Outen was a student at wear headscarves and can be arrest-
university her father died. She dedi- ed for wearing whatever is thought
cated her trip to her father and kept of as indecent clothing.
a picture of him on her boat. She Ms Hussein was arrested at the
also raised 11,000 (12,800) for beginning of July. She says the
a charity that supports people who police came into the restaurant she
have arthritis, a disease that affects was in, and arrested 13 women who
the joints. were all wearing trousers.
Ms Outen is now the youngest Ten of the women are reported
woman to row solo across any ocean to have accepted the punishment
in the world. the authorities ordered. They were
flogged, or beaten, ten times, and
had to pay a fine. Ms Hussein and
TROUSER TRIAL two other women decided they
wanted to have a trial instead of just
A woman in Sudan who was arrest- accepting the punishment.
ed for wearing trousers wants her The problem, say Ms Hussein and
case to be tried in a law court. Lubna her supporters, is that the law states
DENMARK
Newfoundland
and Labrador U. K.
GERMANY
AUSTRIA MONGOLIA
NORTH
ITALY KOREA
CHINA SOUTH JAPAN
KOREA
EGYPT AFGHANISTAN
TAIWAN
SUDAN PHILIPPINES
FIJI
MAURITIUS
Route
taken by
Sar ah Out AUSTRALIA
en
13th August 2009 Newsademic.com British English edition
women can be arrested for wear-
ing indecent clothing, yet it does
not say exactly what this means.
So some officials might decide
trousers are indecent, while others
dont think so. This means women
dont know what they may and may
not wear. Ms Hussein believes the
clothing law is just being used to
harass women.
Lubna Hussein
Officials said Ms Hussein did not
have to be put on trial. This is be-
cause she worked for the United Na-
tions (UN). UN workers in Sudan
have immunity against these types
of laws. However, Ms Hussein de-
cided to deliberately give up her job
with the UN. She said she did this
so the authorities would have to put
her on trial.
Ms Hussein says it is important
to have a trial so people in other
countries learn about what hap-
pens to women in Sudan. She sent
invitations to newspaper journal-
ists and foreign diplomats to come
to her trial. Ms Hussein has also
asked them to see her being beaten
if she is found guilty. Many people
crowded around the court to support
Ms Hussein.
What women are allowed to wear
in Sudan is based on a strict form of
Islamic law known as Sharia law.
However, Ms Hussein insists beating
women is not a part of true Sharia
law, and says the Koran the Islamic
holy book does not say women
should be treated in this way. She
believes the Sudanese authorities are
just using their version of Sharia law
to treat women unfairly.
Many people think the Suda-
nese government is embarrassed by
Ms Husseins trial, especially as it
has been reported in many foreign
newspapers and on television broad-
casts. On 4th August the judge said
he had decided to postpone Ms Hus-
seins trial until September.
NEW NATO LEADER
Anders Fogh Rasmussen is a former
prime minister of Denmark. On 1st
August he officially became the new
Secretary-General of NATO.
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty
Organization) was first set up by
the USA in 1949. The organisations
headquarters are in Brussels, in Bel-
gium. Many European countries be-
came members. Canada also joined.
Now NATO has 28 members.
Normally the military command-
er of NATO forces is an American,
while the Secretary-General comes
from a European country. Mr Ras-
mussen took over as Secretary-Gen-
eral from Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, a
politician from The Netherlands.
Members of NATO sign an agree-
ment saying they will send military
forces to help if another member
country is attacked. Currently there
are NATO troops in Kosovo, a small
European country once part of Ser-
bia, and in Afghanistan. The 14,000
NATO-led troops in Kosovo are
there to keep the peace, but those
in Afghanistan are taking part in
a war.
In 2001 the USA was attacked
by a militant group called al-Qaeda.
This group had military training
bases in Afghanistan and was sup-
ported by the Taliban. At the time the
page 13
Taliban, a group that insists on what
many consider are very strict Islamic
rules, was in control of Afghanistan.
After the USA was attacked it led
an invasion of Afghanistan to try to
capture the leaders of al-Qaeda. In
2003, other NATO member coun-
tries agreed to send troops to Af-
ghanistan to help the USA and the
new Afghan government stop the
Taliban from seizing control of the
country again.
The war has caused disagree-
ments and arguments among some
NATO member countries. Most
people think Secretary-General
Rasmussens first job will be to try
to solve these arguments. The disa-
greements are mostly about how
many troops NATO member coun-
tries should send, and what their
troops should and shouldnt do.
Most of the fighting against the
Taliban and al-Qaeda is happening
in the south of Afghanistan. Troops
from the UK, the USA, Canada, The
Netherlands, Denmark and Esto-
nia have been involved. NATO has
about 62,000 troops in Afghanistan.
Most of them are from the USA and
the UK.
New NATO leader, Anders Fogh Rasmussen
So far countries such as France
and Germany, that have troops in
the north and west of the country,
have refused to get involved in the
fighting in the south. Others have
decided not to increase the number
of troops they have in the country.
The Canadian parliament has voted
13th August 2009 Newsademic.com British English edition
that all its troops in Afghanistan are
to be withdrawn by the end of 2011.
Mr Rasmussen visited Afghani-
stan between 5th and 7th August.
He said NATO members must send
more troops. These, he said, are
needed to take part in the fighting,
to continue to train the new Afghan
army, and to rebuild the places dam-
aged by the war.
GROWING NEW TEETH
Scientists in Japan say they have
successfully grown replacement
teeth in mice.
The scientists used tiny bundles
of cells they called germs. All
living things
are made up of
cells. The cells
that make up
different parts
of the body
contain coded
information that
tells them their
purpose. For
example, a hair
cell has differ-
Green spot showing ent information
new tooth growing from a cell in
a muscle. The germs the scientists
made contained tooth cells.
The shape of our teeth is related
to what they are used for. Meat-
eating animals have teeth that can
bite and tear. Animals that only eat
plants have teeth that grind as they
chew. Teeth are made of a hard
whitish substance called enamel. In-
side the enamel is a softer substance
called dentin. These two outer lay-
ers protect a series of nerves and
blood vessels inside the tooth.
People can lose teeth for many rea-
sons. Humans are supposed to grow
two sets of teeth in their lifetimes.
NEWSCAST
WORLDS LONGEST WEDDING DRESS?
A newly-married couple in
China hopes to set a new record
for the worlds longest wedding
dress. The grooms family helped
to make the dress, which was
2,162 metres (7,083 feet) long.
They sewed 9,999 silk roses on
the dress. The wedding guests are
said to have taken three hours to
unroll and decorate it. The couple
will now submit a video of the
record attempt to the Guinness
Book of World Records. The cur-
rent record for the worlds long-
est wedding gown is 1,579 metres
(5,180 feet).
The milk teeth we have as children
fall out naturally and are replaced
by adult teeth. But there are other
reasons that people can lose their
teeth. Sometimes teeth have to be
removed because they, or the gums
surrounding them, have become in-
fected. Teeth could also be knocked
out in an accident. Once an adult
tooth has been removed, nothing
will grow back in its place.
In the experiment the germs of
teeth cells were implanted into the
gums of mice. The scientists had put
a brightly-coloured substance inside
the cells. This colour would show
up if the teeth that grew contained
the right coding for real teeth in-
cluding the nerves and blood vessels
inside. The scientists said the teeth
that grew in the mouths of the mice
from the germs were exactly the
same as normal teeth.
The scientists say their research
means in the future it may be pos-
sible to regrow human teeth. The
scientists also think their work
could be the first step to being able
to grow other body parts such as
page 14
new organs. Their idea, they say, is
to be able to make the human body
grow organs that could replace ones
that have been damaged because of
illness or injury.
SUPREME COURT JUSTICE
APPOINTED
On 8th August Sonia Sotomayor of-
ficially became a justice of the Su-
preme Court of the USA.
The Supreme Court is the most
senior court in the USA. It is al-
lowed to make changes to, or re-
move, American laws that it thinks
are wrong or unlawful. It can make
important judgments on things such
as freedom of speech and the rights
of American citizens. For example,
the Supreme Court has ruled on the
right of Americans to carry guns,
abortion, and allowing American
states to carry out the death penalty.
A person appointed to the Supreme
Court is called a justice.
Sonia Sotomayor
Ms Sotomayor is the third woman
to become a Supreme Court Justice.
She is also the first Hispanic justice.
Ms Sotomayor comes from a poor
family. Her parents emigrated to the
USA from Puerto Rico before she
was born. Ms Sotomayor studied law
at university and became a judge.
The Supreme Court has nine jus-
tices who vote to make decisions.
A majority of the justices have to
agree for a vote to be passed.
13th August 2009 Newsademic.com British English edition
Once appointed, justices can
remain a member of the Supreme
Court for the remainder of their
lives. But they may resign or retire
if they wish to. One justice, David
Souter, recently decided to retire, so
Ms Sotomayor will take his place.
Justice Souter had been a member
of the Supreme Court since 1990.
A person must be nominated, or
recommended, to be a justice by the
president of the USA. Ms Sotomay-
or is President Barack Obamas first
nomination to the Supreme Court.
Once the president has made a
nomination, the person must ap-
pear before several members of the
American Senate elected officials
of the American Congress, or parlia-
ment. The person has to explain why
he or she is a good choice for the Su-
preme Court, and answer questions.
These meetings are called confirma-
tion hearings. The 100 elected mem-
bers of the Senate then vote to de-
cide if the person nominated should
become a Supreme Court Justice.
Although it is unusual, the Sen-
ate has turned down the presidents
nomination for the Supreme Court
in the past. In 1987 President Ron-
ald Reagan nominated Robert Bork.
He was rejected because the Senate
disagreed with some of his opinions
on the law. When this happens the
president continues to make nomi-
nations until the Senate approves
one of them.
TWO TYPHOONS HIT EAST ASIA
Two large typhoons have caused
flooding and damaged many build-
ings in Taiwan, China and Japan.
Typhoons are very powerful
tropical storms that occur in the
western Pacific Ocean. They bring
strong winds and very heavy rainfall
that can affect large areas. Similar
storms in the Atlantic and eastern
Pacific Ocean are known as hurri-
canes. In the Indian Ocean they are
called cyclones.
NORTH
KOREA
JAPAN
SOUTH
KOREA
CHINA
Typhoon
Etau
Typhoon PACIFIC
Morakot OCEAN
TAIWAN
In East Asia typhoons normally
form between July and September.
This period of the year is known
as the typhoon season. When these
storms form they are given a nick-
name. The two typhoons in East
Asia were named Morakot and
Etau. Morakot is a word in the Thai
language meaning emerald.
Climate and weather experts
study satellite pictures to spot ty-
phoons forming far out in the ocean.
Once these storms reach a certain
strength, with a swirling mass of
cloud and an eye in the middle,
they are tracked. The experts try
to work out in which direction the
storms will travel so people can be
warned before they arrive.
The two typhoons formed over
the Pacific Ocean. When over the
sea, typhoons pick up speed. After
hitting land they gradually slow
down and disappear. Typhoon
Morakot struck Taiwan on 8th Au-
gust. It crossed over the middle of
the country. Then, when it was over
the sea again, it picked up speed be-
fore hitting the coast of China.
In Taiwan the typhoon brought
over two metres (6.6 feet) of rain.
Large areas were flooded. One river
washed away the foundations of
an eight-storey hotel. The building
collapsed into the river. Fortunately
page 15
everyone had left the hotel before it
fell down.
The heavy rains caused huge
mudslides, which have buried many
villages. Rescue workers used heli-
copters as many roads have been
blocked. Thousands of troops have
been sent to the worst hit areas. The
Taiwanese government has asked
other countries for help. It is feared
that hundreds of people may have
been killed by the mudslides.
Typhoon Morakot caused flood-
ing and mudslides in China too.
Before it struck China the authori-
ties ordered over 1.5 million people
living near the coast to leave their
homes. People moved further inland
and stayed in schools, hospitals, gov-
ernment offices and other peoples
houses. The Chinese authorities said
the storm had killed six people.
Typhoon Etau first hit the south-
ern islands of Japan on 8th August.
For three days the storm travelled
along the eastern coast of the coun-
try before moving out into the Pacif-
ic Ocean again. Japanese authorities
said many areas of the country had
been flooded and some buildings
had been damaged. Officials said
the storm had killed 14 people and
another 17 were missing.
Newsademic.com
Editor: Amber Thody
Acknowledgements:
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13th August 2009 Newsademic.com British English edition
B O O K
HAVE YOU READ ? Dusk is the first bat on
Earth. Or thats how it
seems, in this strange ad-
venture set between the
end of the Age of Rep-
tiles and the beginning of
the Age of Mammals.
Young Dusk is an
odd creature among his
kind, which are known
as chiropters. Dusk has
two fingers instead of
three on each hand, and
has membranes between
his fingers that are dif-
ferent from the other
chiropters. These mem-
branes enable him to fly farther than anyone he knows,
flapping like a bird but his father does not approve.
Dusks sister Sylph tries to imitate him, and this too is
frowned upon by the other chiropters. Dusk is evolving,
though no one seems to realise it.
The chiropters in this book are the ancestors of the
modern bat. They have their own rules and behaviours.
They do not fly like the other winged beasts of that
world, such as the quetzals (the last of the winged rep-
tiles) or birds. The chiropters live on an island, isolated
from the much more dangerous mainland. They stay
among the trees, catching their prey and resting. They
never venture above the treetops.
Something terrible comes. Four-legged carnivores
called felid are on their way across the mainland to
the island. They are coming to kill not only the saurians
(the last dinosaurs), but also the chiropters.
Carnassial is one of the wolf-like felid, which can
hunt both on land and in trees. He too is evolving. Un-
like many of his kind, he has a taste for fresh meat and
saurian eggs, as his back teeth are able to shear and shred
meat from bones. Even his parents do not like this wild
new change in their young one. Carnassial is also the first
of his kind and others are mimicking his ways.
The island chiropters have broken a pact they made
with the felid to wipe out the saurians. The chirop-
ters havent done their part. When the felid arrive and
slaughter forty chiropters, the island is no longer safe.
page 16
R E V I E W
We follow Dusk and his colony as they leave the
island and seek out a new home. Their journey onto
the mainland is exciting and fascinating we learn of
changes in the strange world along with Dusk and his
kind. They meet other chiropters, who shun them for
their abandonment of the pact.
I like the moments in the book when we see the last
hangers-on of the age of dinosaurs: young Dusk finds a
winged quetzal dying of some mysterious skin disease
spreading throughout the remaining reptilian species. I
also loved reading about the terrible new animals of the
Earth, such as diatryma, an enormous flightless bird that
hunted down prey across open grasslands. I enjoyed the
dilemma of Dusk and his sister, whose changing behav-
iours put them at risk.
Author Kenneth Oppel has created the chiropter spe-
cies, of which there is no scientific evidence, but which
is a clever way of showing how bats may have evolved.
To help readers further imagine the beasts in the story
there is a helpful illustrated glossary at the end of the
book. Kenneth Thompsons illustrations are excellent,
showing these ancient beasts in action. Theres also an
interview with the author, who explains why and how
he made up the chiropters.
This story has a gruesome factor it is a story of
wild beasts of an ancient world, hunting and killing at
will. Best for readers of ages ten and older, its an ad-
venturous read, but dont read it while you eat!
Darkwing is the prequel to Oppels Silverwing Tril-
ogy: Silvering, Sunwing and Firewing.
Darkwing by Kenneth Oppel, illustrated by Keith
Thompson. HarperCollins
Reviewed by Craig Purdon
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13th August 2009 Newsademic.com British English edition page 17

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