NID: 1001246-231-364 B Newsademic.

Prepared for: Newsademic

Newsademic.com
The informative easy to read introduction to world news
™

10th October 2019

British English edition
Issue Number 364
In this issue
Tibetan dog’s
‘mountaineering gene’
Black Death’s beginnings
Saudi Arabia ancient site
survey
Mono Lake’s nematodes
Second interstellar visitor
spotted
70th anniversary in China
Octopuses in motion
Portugal’s prime minister
wins again
Australia’s fish rescue
Bolivia’s value added lithium
Reading Herculaneum’s
Soldiers on the Turkish-Syrian border, at the start of the offensive (Turkish Defense Ministry)
papyri
New Zealand’s Tuia 250

Turkey’s Syria offensive

Fuel subsidy demonstrations
in Ecuador
Greenland’s Inuit mummies
American troops have been operating Syrian towns near to the border. Soon
Cyprus - Turkey drilling
in north east Syria for several years. On afterwards, Turkish tanks and soldiers dispute
6th October, Donald J Trump, the USA’s crossed into Syria. Most people in this New honeyeater identified
president, made an unexpected an- part of the country are Syrian Kurds. Glossary Crossword and
nouncement. He declared that the troops Around 28 million Kurds live in the Wordsearch Puzzle
in Syria had been ordered to leave. The area where the borders of Turkey, Syria,
news surprised many people both in Iraq, and Iran meet. Around 14 million
lim l ac EE

America and other parts of the world. Kurds live in Turkey. This is roughly
e
tim
d s
ite ces
fo f FR

Mr Trump’s decision followed a tel- 18% of the country’s population. Kurd-

r a ul

ephone call with Turkey’s president, Re- ish people have their own language,
cep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey and Syria customs and culture. Yet, there has never 2
1

share a long land border, or frontier. Mr been a a Kurdish state. Other rulers have
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Erdogan has often said that he wants to always controlled the areas where the
have a ‘safe zone’, or corridor, in Syria. Kurds live. They are often described as a READING LEVEL 1
READING LEVEL 2

Following the border, it would be 480 people without a country.

kilometres (300 miles) long and 32 kilo-
metres (20 miles) deep.
As American troops were in north east
Syria, Mr Erdogan could not set up the
corridor. The American withdrawal gave
him the ‘green light’ to act. Three days
later, Turkish warplanes began attacking
In the 1970s, a militant Kurdish
group was set up in Turkey. It’s called
the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party). READING LEVEL 1 AND 2 APPS
At first, the group’s supporters wanted Ten easy-to-understand
Newsademic articles
an independent Kurdistan. In the 1990s, + interactive exercises,
updated every two weeks
fighting broke out between the PKK and + archive of 100+ stories
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the Turkish army. The conflict lasted for
 NID: 1001246-231-364 B Newsademic. Prepared for: Newsademic
10th October 2019 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 2
many years: 35,000 people died. In
2013, both sides agreed to a cease-
fire. Not all Kurds in Turkey support
the PKK. Turkey accuses the PKK
of operating military-style camps
across the border in Iraq. It claims
the PKK is a terrorist organisation.
In 2011, a civil war began in
Syria. It was between government
forces and several separate rebel
groups. Eventually, Russia agreed to
help Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s presi-
dent. After several years, his forces,
with help from Russian warplanes,
managed to defeat most of the rebel
groups. Today, the Syrian govern-
ment has regained much of the coun-
try. However, it does not control the
area near the Syrian-Turkish border.
When the Syrian civil war was
at its height, another militant group
seized north east Syria. It became
known as the Islamic State (IS), or
ISIS. Raqqa, a city in north east Syr-
ia, was its headquarters. Hundreds of
people from other countries travelled
to Syria to join ISIS. Many came
from European nations, with large
Muslim populations, and countries
in North Africa, such as Tunisia.
ISIS’s leader wanted to set up a
caliphate. Long ago, a caliphate was
a large Muslim area. A single person
ruled it. This individual, known as the
caliph, was both a religious and po-
litical leader. In 2014, ISIS captured
Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city.
When occupying new lands, ISIS
fighters were ruthless. They commit-
ted hundreds of atrocities. Captured
Shia Muslims, Christians and people
of other religions were treated very
harshly. The men were executed and
the women enslaved. ISIS leaders
boasted that their caliphate would
eventually include all the Middle
East and even parts of Europe.
In 2014, Barack Obama was
America’s president. He set up an
TURKEY
Corridor
(Safe Zone)
SYRIA
N
IRAQ
NO
AREAS CONTROLLED BY:
BA
Syrian regime
LE
Syrian Kurds
Syrian rebels
Syrian rebels
JORDAN & jihadi forces
anti-ISIS coalition. Many Euro-
pean and Arab nations joined. Some
agreed to help the forces in Iraq and
Syria fighting against ISIS. This as-
sistance included air strikes, weap-
ons, military equipment, training,
and money. In northern Iraq, an Iraqi
Kurdish force called the Peshmerga
fought against ISIS.
Mr Trump took over as the
American president at the beginning
of 2017. Before the election, Mr
Trump made several pledges. One
was to defeat ISIS. Another was to
stop America from becoming in-
volved in wars and conflicts in other
parts of the world. Mr Trump said
that he wanted to bring American
troops serving in war zones home.
The Iraqi army, with Ameri-
can help, recaptured Mosul. Then,
Raqqa, in north east Syria, was its
last stronghold. There, armed Syr-
ian Kurds had been fighting against
them. These Kurds are known as the
YPG (People’s Protection Units). To
beat ISIS, highly trained American
soldiers set up a new ‘army’ in north
east Syria. It was named the Syr-
ian Democratic Forces (SDF). The
majority of its members came from
the YPG. Therefore, it was a ‘Syrian
Kurd’ force.
America and several European
countries gave the SDF better weap-
ons. With help from American and
British warplanes, the SDF recap-
tured Raqqa. It finally defeated
ISIS seven months ago. During the
TURKEY
Area wher
e
Kurd
ish
pe
op
le
Raqqa liv
Mosul
e IRAN
SYRIA
IRAQ
conflict, 11,000 SDF members died.
After the fighting, the SDF set up
camps for captured ISIS supporters
and their wives and children. Many
of them came from Europe and other
countries. Their governments don’t
want them back. Some ISIS prison
camps are near to the Turkish border.
During the Syrian civil war, mil-
lions of civilians left. To get away
from the fighting, they crossed the
borders into Lebanon, Turkey and
Jordon. Most are still living in camps
in these countries. Over three million
Syrians moved to Turkey. Many have
been there for more than six years.
Mr Erdogan claims that the PKK
and the YPG Kurds are the same
organisation, or terrorist group. The
Syrian Kurds insist that this is not
true. Mr Erdogan says the corridor
in Syria will protect his country from
YPG attacks. The Syrian Kurds say
that they have no plans to do this.
Mr Erdogan also wants to move at
least one million Syrians from Tur-
key into the corridor. He says that
Turkish forces will look after the
ISIS prisoners in the corridor.
YPG and SDF leaders were angry
about Mr Trump’s decision to with-
draw the American troops. Many oth-
ers complained. It was wrong, they
said, to abandon America’s allies.
Turkey’s offensive in Syria has led to
fighting between the SDF / YPG and
Turkish forces. Yet, without Ameri-
can weapons and airpower, the Syr-
ian Kurds are a weaker force.  
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Tibetan mastiff
Tibetan mastiffs are large dogs.
They have lion-like manes and can
weigh 70 kilograms (150 pounds).
Unusually, Tibetan mastiffs can live
at high altitudes. Here, other dogs
would not be able to survive. At high
altitude, there is far less oxygen in
the air. Being able to exist in places
where there is a lack of oxygen is
known as ‘hypoxia tolerance’.
Tibetan mastiff
American researchers have re-
cently completed a study of the Ti-
betan mastiff’s genes. Their work
explains where the dogs’ hypoxia
tolerance comes from. The mastiffs
have lived on the Tibetan Plateau
for at least 3,000 years. Local peo-
ple use the dogs to guard their live-
stock, or farm animals, from wolves
and other predators.
The Tibetan Plateau is in Central
Asia. Most of it is within the region
of Tibet and Qinghai province. Both
are part of China. The plateau’s land
area is roughly the size of Western
Europe. Few people live there. Most
of those that do are farmers who
herd their animals.
The Tibetan Plateau is often
called the ‘Roof of the World’. The
world’s largest and highest plateau,
it is 4,500 metres (14,760 feet) above
sea level. The planet’s tallest peaks
in the Himalayas, Karakoram and
Pamir mountain ranges surround
it. The plateau’s landscape is de-
scribed as high-altitude arid steppe
(or grassland). There is not much
rain. Any precipitation usually falls
as hail. Winter temperatures on the
plateau can drop to -40°C (-40°F).
Tibetan mastiffs have a special
type of haemoglobin. This protein
is in the blood of all vertebrates, or
animals with backbones. Haemoglo-
bin carries oxygen from the lungs to
the rest of the body. One researcher
describes haemoglobin as being like
a ‘magnet’ that attracts oxygen. The
Tibetan mastiff’s haemoglobin, he
says, is an ‘extra-strong oxygen mag-
net’. The Tibetan mastiffs can extract
50% more oxygen from a lungful of
high-altitude air than other dogs.
Tibetan wolf
All dogs are descended from
wolves. It’s thought that they be-
came separate animals around
40,000 years ago. This may have
been around the time that wolf-like
dogs began to live with humans.
Early humans probably trained
dogs to help them hunt wild ani-
mals. Dogs and humans have there-
fore been living together for tens of
thousands of years.
The wolf is also known as the
grey wolf. It has many subspecies.
A species is an organism that can
freely interbreed. A subspecies is a
smaller population within a species.
Members of a subspecies share cer-
tain traits, or characteristics. Inter-
breeding between a subspecies and
its parent species is unlikely, but not
impossible. The grey wolf has 38
subspecies. Most are geographically
separated, or they live in different
parts of the world. The Tibetan wolf
is a grey wolf subspecies.
The Tibetan wolf can also survive
at high altitudes. It is believed to have
become a subspecies about 700,000
years ago. Then, one wolf experi-
enced a gene change, or mutation. The
change, or ‘new gene’, affected the
wolf’s haemoglobin. It became hy-
poxia tolerant. This trait was passed to
the wolf’s descendants. These wolves
could live at high altitudes. Some peo-
ple describe the hypoxia tolerant gene
as a ‘mountaineering’gene.
At some time in the past, a Ti-
betan wolf interbred with a domes-
ticated breed of dog. This dog’s off-
spring inherited the mountaineering
gene. Over time, these dogs became
Tibetan mastiffs. Long ago, nomad-
ic Tibetan herdsmen bred the dogs.
The mastiffs moved with the herds-
men’s flocks from place to place.
Traditionally, the dogs were tied
up during the day. This seemed to
‘build up’ their aggression. The ag-
gressive dogs were released at night
to guard the livestock. Today, many
farmers in other countries, such as
the USA, own Tibetan mastiffs.  
Black Death’s origin
Between 1346 and 1353, a deadly
disease affected many European
towns and cities. It became known
as the plague or the ‘Black Death’.
It is now known that a bacterium
called Yersinia pestis caused the dis-
ease. Scientists and historians have
often wondered where the Black
Death came from. A research team
from a German university decided
to try to find the answer.
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Excavated plague pit in France (Archeodunum SAS, Gourvennec Michaël)
Members of the team dug up the
graves of over 34 people. All were
known to have died of the Black
Death. The graves were in ten Euro-
pean countries. The researchers ana-
lysed the victims’ teeth. There are
many blood vessels in teeth. In old
skeletons, they are the most likely
place where the deadly bacterium’s
DNA can be found.
The Black Death spread across
Europe very quickly. Nowadays,
scientists think that rats were the
cause. They carried the bacterium
in their blood. Yet, the plague did
not harm them. Fleas that lived on
the rats sucked their blood. If these
fleas then bit a human, the bacteri-
um could be passed to them. There-
fore, rats and fleas spread the Black
Death. At the time of the Great
Plague, European cities had poor
sanitation. All had big rat popula-
tions. Wooden ships, sailing from
one country to another, may have
carried infected rats.
People who caught the plague
developed large painful swellings
on their bodies. They suffered
from a fever and vomited blood.
Soon, the skin around the swellings
turned black. (This is why it was
called the Black Death.) Some peo-
ple recovered. Yet the majority died
between two and seven days after
falling ill.
Picture from an old Bible showing a priest with
people who are suffering from the Black Death
At that time, nobody knew what
caused the plague. Most thought
that it was a punishment ‘sent’ by
God. In cities, due to the number
of deaths, few victims were buried
in single graves. Large holes were
dug outside the city walls. The dead
were thrown into them and covered
with soil. These mass graves be-
came known as plague pits.
Within eight years, the Black
Death may have killed as many
as 50 million people. Then, this
was around 25% of Europe’s
population. Over the next 500
years, there were further plague
outbreaks in Europe. In total, they
killed many millions of people.
Yet none of these outbreaks were
as devastating or widespread as
the Black Death.
The researchers studied the DNA
of the bacterium found in each of
the victims’ teeth. They also knew
the date and place of their death.
From this information, the research-
ers ‘backtracked’ to identify where
the bacterium most likely first ar-
rived. They believe it was a place in
Russia called Laishevo. This town
is on a tributary of the Volga, or Eu-
rope’s longest river. It flows south-
ward and empties into the Caspian
Sea. The Russian town’s location
suggests that the plague-causing
bacterium came from the East, or
Central Asia.
The researchers say that their
findings indicate that the bacterium
only entered Europe once. If true,
over time, the bacterium changed to
form several strains. These ‘flared
up’ at certain times to cause subse-
quent plague outbreaks. The origi-
nal, or first, strain that the research-
ers studied no longer exists.
Two years ago, some scientists
suggested that rats and fleas might
not have transmitted the plague.
They suspect that body lice were the
likely culprits. Body lice are small
wingless insects. They feed on hu-
man blood. When people live in
close proximity, body lice can move
from one person to another easily.
Strains of the Y. pestis bacterium
are still found in several countries in
Asia and Africa. Madagascar is one
example. Nowadays, if diagnosed
early, medicines can cure people
who catch the plague.   
Saudi ancient site survey
The Nabateans lived in what are
now parts of Israel, Jordan and
Saudi Arabia. They are believed to
have been Arabian traders who be-
came very wealthy. The Nabateans
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are best known for an ancient city
called Petra. Today, Petra is in Jor-
dan. Mada’in Saleh (also known as
Hegra) was another important Na-
batean site. It is in Saudi Arabia.
Not much is known about the
Nabateans. The Ancient Greeks
launched a military expedition
against them in 312 BCE. The rule of
their first known king began in 168
BCE. Most of their lands were taken
over, or annexed, by the Romans in
106 CE, or around 275 years later.
There are many unanswered
questions about the Nabateans. For
example, at first, they were nomad-
ic traders. For hundreds of years,
they never built a house or temple.
Then, they constructed an amazing
rock-cut city (Petra) within a long
barren canyon. Graffiti on the rock
walls suggest that most Nabateans
could read and write. Yet, there are
no written records of their kingdom,
or culture.
A large group of archaeologists,
or researchers, have begun a new
undertaking. It includes 60 people.
Researchers from Saudi Arabia
have organised the project. They
plan to survey the part of Saudi
Arabia that was within the Nabate-
an Kingdom. Today, much of it is
desert. Few people live there. The
area is roughly the size of Belgium.
(SYRIA) Nabatean
kingdom
around
(IRAQ) 60 BCE
Petra
(JORDAN)
Hegra
Re
(SAUDI ARABIA)
dS
ea
INDIAN
OCEAN
The researchers expect the project
to take two years.
Petra’s buildings were cut, or
carved, from rock cliffs and can-
yons. It is often called the Rose
City. This is because of the colour
of the stone from which it was
made. This type of rock is called red
sandstone. The entrance to Petra is Rock structure (said to be a tomb) at Mada’in
through a narrow gorge that is 1.2 Saleh, in Saudi Arabia (Richard Hargras)
kilometres (0.75 miles) long. The
gorge leads to Petra’s most famous
building. Known as the Treasury,
it was carved from the sandstone
cliff face. The building is said to
have been the mausoleum, or tomb,
of one of the Nabatean kings. The
facade, or front, of the building, is
intricately carved.
The Treasury is at one end of a
narrow rock valley. There are many
buildings, or rock-cut rooms, on ei-
ther side of the valley. Some have
simple carved fronts. Others look
like doorways in the rock face.
These ‘doorway only’ structures
are believed to have been tombs.
It’s thought that at the height of the
Nabatean kingdom, 30,000 people The Treasury at Petra (Boris Debic)
lived in Petra. After the Nabatean lands became
This part of the world has little part of the Roman Empire, there
rainfall. However, flash floods do were several powerful earthquakes.
occur. During these heavy down- These damaged Petra’s cisterns and
pours, the ground cannot absorb conduits. The city was abandoned
the water. It flows over the land and about 1,400 years ago. This was
down slopes. Then, as they quickly after its water storage system no
fill up, ‘walls of water’ rush down longer worked. Petra was unknown
the dry riverbeds. to Europeans until 1812. Then, an
At Petra, there are many cisterns explorer from Switzerland ‘redis-
and conduits. Cisterns are like large covered’ the ruined city. Today, tens
water tanks. Conduits are man- of thousands of tourists visit Petra
made waterways. They are designed every year.
to collect rainfall, which then flows In recent years, some people
into the cisterns. Like Petra’s build- have questioned the story of Petra.
ings, the cisterns and conduits were They do not think that the Nabate-
cut from the rock. Therefore, water ans constructed the rock-cut struc-
was collected during flash floods. It tures. These people believe that they
could then be used when there was were made thousands of years ear-
no rain. lier by an unknown more advanced
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civilisation. Many years later, they
claim, the Nabateans began using
the long-abandoned buildings. They
repaired the broken conduits and
carved some of the facades.
Aircraft and drones will carry out
the first part of the Nabatean survey.
Attached cameras will record the
entire landscape. The group’s lead-
ers hope to find more evidence of
Nabatean trade routes. They also
expect to discover new ancient sites.
Many of these sites, the leaders say,
are likely to predate, or be older
than, the Nabatean kingdom. Once
sites have been identified, research
teams will investigate them on the
ground.   
Mono Lake’s worms
Mono Lake is in the state of Califor-
nia, in the USA. In a natural basin,
the lake is endorheic. This means
that it has no river flowing from it.
The lake’s water is three times as
salty as the sea. It also contains ar-
senic. This toxic chemical is found
in the soil. Drinking water that con-
tains arsenic can cause cancer of the
skin or kidneys.
The roughly circular lake is 7.6
kilometres (4.7 miles) across. Mono
Lake is known for its tufa towers.
Made of limestone, they are natural
Mono Lake shore with tufa towers (Michael Gäbler). Inset: one of the lake’s new nematodes (Caltech)
formations. The towers, or columns,
can reach a height of nine metres (30
feet). They form under the water.
Falling water levels have exposed
the columns that can now be seen.
Only two creatures were known
to survive in the lake’s extra salty
and arsenic-rich waters. These ex-
tremophiles are a type of shrimp and
a fly that dives beneath the water.
Extremophiles are small organisms
that live in inhospitable waters or
other environments. These may be
very high temperatures or a mix of
toxic chemicals.
Researchers from an American
university have been working at
Mono Lake. They discovered a new
group of extremophiles: microscop-
ic nematodes. Nematodes are the
most numerous, or abundant, multi-
cellular creatures on the planet. A
handful of soil contains hundreds
Aerial view of Mono Lake (Ron Reiring)
of these tiny worm-like organisms.
Earthworms and nematodes are dif-
ferent. Earthworms have a circular
muscle in their bodies. They use it
to go forward. Nematodes do not
have these muscles. They can only
wriggle from side-to-side.
Most nematodes are between 0.1
and 2.5 millimetres long. So far,
around 25,000 have been recorded,
or described. Scientists suspect that
at least 15,000 are yet to be discov-
ered. Over half of the known nema-
todes are parasites. They live inside
other creatures. Non-parasitic ones
are known as ‘free-living’. Some
free-living nematodes can be five
centimetres (two inches) in length. A
few ‘giant’ parasitic nematodes have
been found inside whales. They are
over one metre (3.3 feet) long.
Nematodes live almost every-
where: at the tops of mountains, in
the deepest oceans, in deserts, in
fresh water, and in the soil. Nearly
all free-living nematodes are harm-
less. Some parasitic ones can cause
illnesses. Nematodes found in the
soil are an important part of the eco-
system. They feed on dead organic
matter, or plant material. This helps
to change it into the nutrients that
new plants need to grow.
At Mono Lake, the researchers
collected mud samples from three
places: the lakeside, where the soil
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was dry; the bottom of the lake; and
the inter-tidal area. The inter-tidal
area is sometimes dry and some-
times wet. This depends on the rise
and fall of the water level. The re-
searchers found nematodes in all
three samples. In total, they identi-
fied eight species. Three had been
recorded elsewhere. The other five
were new. Most of these nematodes
feed on bacteria.
One of the new nematodes is un-
usual. This yet-to-be-named micro-
scopic worm has three sexes: male,
female and hermaphrodite. The
males and females mate with each
other. The hermaphrodites repro-
duce by themselves. At first, females
give birth to males and females. Yet,
later in their reproductive cycle, the
females produce hermaphrodites.
The researchers think that these
nematodes have an advantage. They
can individually move to new areas
and create new populations.
The researchers now plan to
sequence, or map, the nematodes’
genomes (or their complete set of
genes). Once completed, they hope
to find out how these nematodes
survive in Mono Lake’s harsh envi-
ronment.  
Interstellar objects
Space scientists from around the
world have been focusing their
telescopes on an unusual object in
the night sky. It’s a comet. The So-
lar System has about 6,300 known
comets. This one is different. It came
from interstellar, or outer, space.
This is beyond the Solar System.
Unofficially, the interstellar ob-
ject has been named Comet Bori-
sov. Gennadiy Borisov was the first
person to see it. A telescope maker
and amateur astronomer, he lives in
Artist’s impression of the interstellar space object ‘Oumuamua (ESO)
Crimea. This former part of Ukraine
was recently taken over, or annexed,
by Russia. Mr Borisov first spotted
the comet about six weeks ago.
Asteroids are made of rock and
metal. A comet consists of rock
and ice. When far out in the Solar
System, a comet is completely fro-
zen. As it nears the Sun, it starts to
warm up. Then, the comet begins to
release a cloud of dust and gases.
These look like a long ‘tail’ trailing
behind it.
Two years ago, space scientists
recorded an interstellar object for
the first time. A telescope in Hawaii
detected it. This island group, which
is part of the USA, is in the mid-
dle of the Pacific Ocean. The space
scientists named the outer space
object ‘Oumuamua (pronounced
‘oh moo-uh moo-uh’). In the na-
tive Hawaiian language, it means ‘a
messenger from afar arriving first’.
The nearest ‘Oumuamua came to
the Earth was 60 times the distance
to the Moon.
After it was spotted, many space
telescopes followed the outer space
‘visitor’. A dark red colour, it is
made of metal. The unusual object
has a strange elongated, or cigar-
like, shape. It is between 100 and
1,000 metres (330 and 3,280 feet)
long, with a width and thickness of
about 40 metres (130 feet). An aster-
Comet ‘Oumuamua
Borisov
The Sun
Mars Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Paths of ‘Oumuamua and Comet Borisov
oid with this extreme length-width
ratio had not been seen before.
Asteroids and comets come from
distant parts of the Solar System.
Some take hundreds of years to or-
bit the Sun. ‘Oumuamua was travel-
ling at 137,900 kilometres (85,700
miles) per hour. Due to its speed,
the interstellar asteroid could not
be captured by the Sun’s gravity.
Therefore, unlike the comets and
asteroids within the Solar System, it
will never return.
When ‘Oumuamua was detected,
it was moving farther and farther
away. This meant that it had already
gone around the Sun and was on its
way back to outer space. Therefore,
scientists had only a short time to
study the interstellar object before it
disappeared.
Several scientists wonder if it
might be an alien spacecraft. Its
shape, they stated, could be a type
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10th October 2019 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 8
of solar sail. Most other space sci-
entists disagreed. They said that
there was nothing to suggest that
it was anything other than an odd-
shaped asteroid.
Planets, moons, stars, aster-
oids, and comets are given official
names. This is done by an or-
ganisation called the International
Astronomical Union (IAU). Aster-
oids and comets have a series of
numbers and letters. These show
a sequence number, what type of
object it is, and the approximate
date first seen. The IAU will also
consider proposed common names
such as ‘Oumuamua. Numbers and
letters identify most asteroids and
comets. Only a small number have
common names.
The IAU had to choose a new
designation for ‘Oumuamua. (As-
teroid are ‘A’ and comets ‘C’.) The
IAU chose ‘I’ for interstellar. ‘Ou-
muamua’s official name is 1I/2017
U1. The initial number 1 shows that
it is the first ever recorded. The ‘I’
is interstellar and 2017 the year it
was discovered. U1 explains when
in the year the object was spotted.
The IAU divides the months of the
year in two. A letter denotes each
half-month. A1 is the first half of
January, A2 the second half, B1 the
first half of February etc. U1 means
that ‘Oumuamua was first seen in
the first half of October.
Comet Borisov, is now moving
towards the centre of the Solar Sys-
tem. So, unlike ‘Oumuamua, scien-
tists will have a long time to study
it. The comet is expected to be clos-
est to the Sun around the beginning
of December. It will then start its
journey back to outer space. When
Comet Borisov is officially named,
its designation will begin with 2I.
This will show that it is the second
recorded interstellar object.  
70th anniversary in China
China’s official name is the Peo-
ple’s Republic of China (PRC). The
country’s national day is on 1st Oc-
tober. A holiday, it commemorates
the day in 1949 when the PRC was
founded. Each year, on this date, a
national-day parade takes place in
Beijing, the country’s capital. As it
celebrated the PRC’s 70th anniver-
sary, this year’s event was larger
than usual.
By land area, China is the world’s
fourth largest country. Only Russia,
Canada and the USA are bigger.
More people live in China than in
any other nation. Today, its popu-
lation is about 1.4 billion. China’s
civilisation began at least 6,000
years ago. Its language and script,
or writing, are the oldest still in use.
For many years, China was far more
advanced in science, technology
and mathematics than the rest of
the world. Chinese people invented:
paper, gunpowder, silk, porcelain,
printing, paper money, the magnetic
compass, and (possibly) ice cream.
In the past, a succession of dy-
nasties ruled China. These were like
royal families. The Qing Dynasty
was the last. It began in 1644. By
the early 1800s, this dynasty had
Xi Jinping, China’s president, at the PRC’s 70th anniversary parade (www.70prc.cn)
become very weak. In the mid and
late 1800s, foreign powers forced
the Qing government to sign trade
agreements. Most historians agree
that these were unfair. Countries
such as the UK, Japan, Russia,
France, the USA, Italy, and Austro-
Hungary based some of their sol-
diers in China.
Many Chinese people were angry
about the Qing Dynasty’s weakness.
In 1911, a revolution began. Sun
Yat-sen (1866 – 1925) led it. The
Qing government was overthrown.
This marked the end of 2,000 years
of dynastic rule. Sun became the
Republic of China’s first president.
Yet, within a few years, warlords,
or leaders of local armed groups,
had taken over much of the country.
The new government was unable to
control them.
The Chinese Communist Party
was set up in 1921. Mao Zedong
was one of its founders. Commu-
nism is based on the ideas of Karl
Marx (1818 – 1883). Marx was born
in Prussia, but spent much of his life
in the UK. (Prussia was a former
German kingdom.) In a communist
country, the state, or government,
owns nearly all the land, businesses
and buildings. No alternative politi-
cal parties are allowed.
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Nowadays, most countries are Hong Kong have taken part in street
democratic. They elect their lead- protests. Hong Kong was a British
ers. The majority have market colony for many years. In 1997, the
economies. They are often called UK government agreed to ‘hand’ it
Beijing capitalist nations. In the past, there back to China. Under British rule,
CHINA
was a rivalry of ‘communist or cap- people in Hong Kong had more
italist’. China is one of the modern freedoms than people in China. One
Hong world’s few one-party communist is the right to protest peacefully.
Kong
Taiwan
states. Its leaders are appointed The UK and China agreed that
and not elected. However, due to the people of Hong Kong would
A civil war broke out between the its ‘capitalist’ economy, many peo- continue to have these rights for 50
Communists and the Nationalists. ple argue that China is no longer a years after the handover. Many peo-
This was interrupted in the 1930s communist country. ple in Hong Kong now fear that they
when Japan invaded parts of China. are losing their freedoms. This is the
In 1945, after Japan’s defeat at the underlying reason for the demon-
end of the Second World War, the strations. On 1st October, protests in
civil war restarted. The communists Hong Kong became violent. Some
won. The Nationalists withdrew to demonstrators fought with the po-
Taiwan. In 1949, Mao set up the lice. More than 100 protesters and
modern-day PRC. Better known as 30 police officers were injured.  
Chairman Mao, he led the country
until his death in 1976.
Up until Mao’s death, China was Octopus motion
a poor country. Most people worked
in the fields. In the 1980s, China’s An octopus is an example of bilater-
new leaders introduced what’s Coin made for the PRC’s 70th anniversary al symmetry. Its left and right sides
known as a ‘market economy’. Nor- As usual, the 70th-anniversary are the same, or a mirror image of
mally, a communist country has a parade took place at Tiananmen each other. Animals (including hu-
‘planned economy’. This is when Square in Beijing, China’s capital. mans) with bilateral symmetry nor-
the government makes all the in- This square is one of the largest mally have a preferred direction of
vestment and business decisions. In open urban areas in the world. The motion. When looking forwards,
a market economy, individuals can name comes from the Tiananmen they prefer to travel forwards.
set up businesses and invest money Gate (‘Gate of Heavenly Peace’). It Octopuses are different. They
in new products and services. Farm- is on one side of the square. can change to moving backwards,
ers who grow extra crops can sell During the parade, around forwards, or from one side to an-
the surplus. 15,000 troops marched past Xi Jin- other very quickly. The marine
Since changing its economy, ping, China’s president. He spoke creatures do this without altering
China has been amazingly success- from the same spot that Chairman the direction that they face. Unusu-
ful. Its factories now make goods Mao announced the founding of ally, octopuses have no preferred
that are sold worldwide. Chinese the PRC 70 years ago. Over 550 direction of motion. Scientists from
people have become much more af- military vehicles, including mis- Germany and Israel have been stud-
fluent. The country has the world’s sile launchers, drove past. Military ying the common octopus. They
biggest high-speed train network aircraft and helicopters flew over- are interested in how the creatures
and a growing space programme. head. Tens of thousands of people carry out their movements.
Currently, China’s economy is the watched the parade. It was broad- There are at least 300 octopus
second biggest in the world. The cast on live television. species. Most live in the world’s
USA is the largest. China is ex- Not everyone in China celebrat- warmer seas and oceans. Research-
pected to overtake it within the next ed the PRC’s 70th birthday. Over ers divide octopuses into two
decade or two. the last six months, many people in groups. One lives in deeper waters.
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The other group prefers shallow
seas. This group also lives around
coral reefs.
Octopuses are cephalopods. This
name is a combination of two Greek
words meaning ‘head-foot’. Other
cephalopods include squid, cuttle-
fish, and nautiluses. All cephalo-
pods are invertebrates. This means
they do not have a backbone. If
threatened, cephalopods expel, or
squirt out, a dark liquid. It confuses
their attackers and looks like ink.
The word octopus means ‘eight-
foot’. These creatures have a large
head (also called a mantle), two eyes,
three beating hearts, four pairs of
arms, and a beak. One heart pumps
blood around the creatures’ bodies.
The other two circulate it through
each of their gills. Suckers cover the
undersides of octopuses’ arms. Oc-
topuses can squeeze into very small
spaces. Their bodies are very flex-
ible and do not contain a skeleton.
Some have a type of protective cov-
ering inside their mantles.
Octopuses swim headfirst with
their arms trailing behind. If caught,
they can shed, or lose, an arm. The
‘lost’ arm then re-grows. Many oc-
topuses can change colour. Some do
this to hide, or as a type of camou-
Common octopus
flage. Colour changes may also be
a way to communicate with others.
Octopuses have excellent eyesight.
They are known to be intelligent.
Most eat crabs and other shellfish.
In Asian and Mediterranean coun-
tries, octopus is a popular dish.
The world’s largest octopus lives
in the North Pacific Ocean. Called
the Pacific octopus, it can weigh
15 kilograms (33 pounds). The dis-
tance from the end of one arm to the
opposite one is over four metres (13
feet). It’s harmless to humans. The
Australian blue-ringed octopus is
much smaller. Yet, its bite can be
deadly. The blue rings that cover this
octopus’ body appear only when it is
threatened and about to attack.
Octopuses have short life spans.
Many live for just two or three years.
They breed only once. The male ex-
pires soon after mating. The female
produces thousands of eggs. It looks
after them. Then, after the larvae
have hatched, the female dies. Only
a small percentage of them survive
to become adults.
Like other creatures, the octopus
has a control system. This is part of
its nervous system. The scientists say
that an octopus does not send normal
commands, or signals, to move each
of its arms. As the arms can move
in so many ways, this would be too
complex. Instead, the octopus sends
signals only to the arms that push.
The arms then ‘decide’ in which di-
rection this should be.
The scientists plan to study the
octopus’ nervous system. They want
to discover which parts control its
movement. They believe that, in the
future, engineers who design robots
could make use of their work. 
Portugal’s election
In Portugal, António Costa leads
the Socialist Party. He became the
country’s prime minister in 2015.
Elections for Portugal’s assembly,
or parliament, take place every four
years. The latest was held on 6th
October. Mr Costa’s party won the
most seats. He will now lead the
country for a further four-year term.
Iberia, or the Iberian Peninsula,
is in Europe’s south west corner.
It is divided between Portugal and
Spain. In the past, Iberia was within
the Roman Empire. The Romans
never managed to defeat the tribes
that lived in what’s now known as
Germany and Eastern Europe. His-
torians call these Germanic people
Visigoths, or Goths. After Rome’s
collapse, these tribes took over
many parts of southern Europe in-
cluding the Iberian Peninsula.
Around 1,300 years ago, the
Moors occupied much of Iberia. The
ATLANTIC OCEAN
Azores PORTUGAL
Lisbon
SPAIN
Madeira
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Moors were Arabs and people who
lived in North Africa. They followed
the Islamic faith. The Moors ruled
much of what is now Portugal and
Spain for over 500 years. The King-
dom of Portugal was established in
1139. Over many years, Christian
forces from the north gradually re-
captured Iberia. They finally suc-
ceeded in ‘pushing’ the Moors out
of peninsula in 1492.
Prince Henry (1349 – 1460) was
the son of a Portuguese king. An ex-
pert sea captain, he organised expe-
ditions to new lands. These included
Madeira, in the Atlantic, and the
Azores off the west coast of Africa.
Henry became known as ‘Henry the
Navigator’. Over the next hundred
years, sea captains from Portugal
sailed to many ‘new’ parts of the
world. They set up trading routes and
colonies in South America, Africa,
India, and the Far East. Portugal be-
came the first global empire and one
of Europe’s wealthiest countries.
Portugal lost much of its wealth
and status in 1775. Then, a devas-
tating earthquake destroyed Lisbon,
the country’s capital city. In the
early 1800s, forces from France and
Spain occupied the country. A few
years later, Brazil, Portugal’s larg-
est colony, became an independent
country. In 1910, a revolution over-
threw Portugal’s monarchy. For the
next 60 years, authoritarian leaders
Portugal’s assembly, or parliament, building in Lisbon (Jose Manuel)
ran the country. Several governed as
dictators. In 1974, there was a mili-
tary coup, or takeover. Its leaders
reintroduced democratic elections.
Soon afterwards, the government
granted independence to Portugal’s
African colonies.
Macau is a city on the south
coast of China. It is close to Hong
Kong. Portugal took over Macau
in 1557. In 1999, it handed the city
back to China. Macau was Portu-
gal’s last overseas territory. This
event marked the end of what was
‘the world’s longest-lived colo-
nial empire’. Now, Portugal has no
overseas territories. Madeira and
the Azores are part of the country.
Both island groups are autonomous
regions. Their elected governments
make all local decisions.
Today, Portugal is a member of
NATO and the European Union.
NATO is a military alliance. Led by
António Costa, Portugal’s prime minister
the USA, it has 29 member coun-
tries. The majority are in Europe.
Portugal has a president and
prime minister. The president is
elected for a five-year term. This
person is the nation’s head of state
but has few powers. The prime min-
ister governs the country. Usually,
the prime minister is the person who
leads the party with most seats, or
elected members, in the parliament.
The parliament’s official name is
the Assembly of the Republic. The
building where the elected members
meet is in Lisbon. The assembly has
230 seats. The country’s two main
political groups are the Socialist
Party (SP) and the Social Demo-
cratic Party (SDP). In the election,
the SP won 106 seats: 20 more than
four years ago. The SDP got 77: a
drop of 12. To govern, a party needs
a majority, or over half of the total
number of seats (or 116).
Mr Costa is a former mayor of
Lisbon. After the election results
were announced, he spoke to news
reporters. Mr Costa said that he
would arrange a pact, or agreement,
with one or two of the smaller par-
ties. This, he explained, would en-
able his party to govern the country
with a majority. 
Darling fish rescue
The River Darling is in Australia.
Last year, over one million fish
died in parts of the river. Many
were a species called the Mur-
ray cod. The die-off was caused
by a lack of water. The fish that
died had become isolated in pools.
Here, there was not enough oxygen
in the water.
This year, local people warned
that due to similar low levels of
water, another die-off was likely.
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AUSTRALIA
g
ar
lin
D
M
u r ray
Murray-Darling
basin
Recently, a fish rescue operation
took place. Workers used electrostat-
ic equipment. It put an electric cur-
rent in the pools. The electric shock
stunned the fish, which then floated
to the surface. The ‘dazed’ fish were
collected and placed in special tanks
before they ‘come back to life’.
The government set aside A$10
million (£5.5 million) to pay for
the operation. It includes aerating
equipment. This adds extra oxygen
to the water. The rescued fish were
transported to a place farther down
the river. This is where it meets the
River Murray. Currently, more wa-
ter is flowing in the Murray. Aus-
tralia is in the southern hemisphere.
Here, the spring has arrived. Usu-
ally, there is more water in the Mur-
ray and Darling in the winter and
less in summer. Now, water levels
are very low before the summer
months begin.
The British explored the Mur-
ray and Darling Rivers around 200
years ago. Both were named after
senior British officials. The Murray
is Australia’s longest river. The area
drained by the two rivers and their
tributaries is called the Murray-Dar-
ling basin. The basin drains about
one-seventh of the country’s total
landmass. Much of its landscape is
flat. The rivers are slow-moving. The
Murray-Darling basin is the most
fertile part of Australia. It contains
about 42% of all the country’s farm-
land. Over 40% of Australia’s food
is grown there. The basin also sup-
plies water for some of the country’s
larger towns and cities.
There has been a lack of rain-
fall in this part of the country for
many years. Much of the land has
become very dry. The arid ground
quickly absorbed any rain that does
fall. Therefore, very little flows into
the rivers. Farms in the basin need
water to produce their crops. Some
crops, such as fruit trees, need large
amounts of water. Traditionally,
these farms have relied on irrigated
water. It comes from the rivers.
In recent years, many private
dams have been built on both riv-
ers. They capture water at times of
increased rainfall. This water is then
used during drier periods. The dams
have now become part of the prob-
lem. They are a reason for the lack
of water in the lower parts of the
rivers. This is where last year’s fish
die-off occurred.
Aerial view of the River Darling (Tim Keegan)
Murray cod
River gums grow only in Austral-
ia. These trees can live for hundreds
of years and reach a height of 20
metres (65 feet). They grow along
riverbanks. The trees can be seen on
either side of many watercourses in
the Murray-Darling basin. Where
the rivers have become pools, the
trees are in danger of dying. If this
happens, the riverbanks will col-
lapse. Then, over time, the soil on
either side of the river is likely to be
washed away.
Many people welcomed the fish-
rescue operation. However, most
agree that it is a short-term solution,
or fix. The lack of water in the rivers
is the problem. They say that, even
in times of drought, better regula-
tion and control of the dams would
alleviate the difficulties. 
Bolivia’s lithium
At the end of last year, two compa-
nies agreed to set up a partnership,
or joint venture. One is an organisa-
tion known as YLB and the other
is a German company called ACI
Systems. Bolivia’s government
owns YLB. The two companies
agreed to build a lithium processing
plant and a factory in Bolivia. The
factory will use the lithium to make
electric car batteries.
The plant and factory are being
constructed near the Salar de Uyuni.
It is in a province of Bolivia called
Potosi. On 7th October, many people
who live in Potosi began a series of
demonstrations. The protesters de-
manded more royalties from the pro-
cessing plant and factory. A royalty
is a payment. An organisation pays it
to the owners of the land from which
it is extracting minerals (or oil).
The Salar de Uyuni is a huge salt
flat. Salt flats, or salt pans, are dried-
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up desert lakes. These lakes form in
basins. They have no outlet to the
sea. Due to high temperatures or a
lack of rainfall (or both), more water
evaporates from the lake than flows
into it. Salt and minerals dissolved in
the water are left behind. They form
a solid white flat surface, or crust.
The Uyuni salt flat is in the Alti-
plano, or Andean Plateau. The Andes
Mountains run down the western side
of South America. The Altiplano is
where the Andes are at their widest.
Most of the plateau is in Bolivia. In
the north, it extends into Peru and in
the south into parts of Chile and Ar-
gentina. Much of the plateau is 3,700
metres (12,100 feet) above sea level.
This area has several salt flats.
Lithium is silver grey. The metal
is so soft that it can be cut with a
knife. Lithium is a rare element.
In recent years, it has become very
valuable. This is because lithium is
USA
Hawaii
ECUADOR
Galapagos
Islands
Tahiti
BOLIVIA
This map shows countries to which news stories refer in this issue. Visit www.newsademic.com for more detailed world maps.
needed to make electric recharge-
able batteries. Nowadays, these bat-
teries are used in mobile phones and
electric cars. Most of the world’s
big carmakers now plan to produce
more and more electric cars.
Seawater and many rocks con-
tain lithium. Yet, in these places, it
is in very low concentrations. Extra
salty water, or brine, is one of the
best sources of lithium. This type of
Salar de Uyuni salt flats in Bolivia
water is found beneath salt flats. Bo-
livia’s Salar de Uyuni is the world’s Bolivia became an independent
biggest salt flat. It covers an area nation 180 years ago. Until then,
of 10,582 square kilometres (4,086 it had been ruled by Spain. About
square miles). Companies in Ar- 60% of Bolivians are indigenous
gentina and Chile began extracting people, or native Indians. The
lithium from their salt flats several others are mixed race. They have
years ago. The area that encompass- both Spanish and native Indian
es the salt flats in Bolivia, Chile and ancestors. These people often call
Argentina is known as the ‘Lithium themselves ‘mestizo’.
Triangle’. This part of South Amer- Traditionally, in Bolivia, mestizo
ica is thought to contain 75% of all people are wealthier than native In-
the world’s known lithium. dians. They also have better jobs as
Greenland
RUSSIA
UK
GERMANY
ITALY
PORTUGAL TURKEY
SYRIA CHINA
Tib
JORDAN SAUDI et
ARABIA
Hong Kong
Wallace’s
Line
BRAZIL INDONESIA
MADAGASCAR
AUSTRALIA
NEW ZEALAND
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BRAZIL
PERU
BOLIVIA
Salar de
Uyuni
CHILE
Lithium
Triangle
ARGENTINA
well as important government po-
sitions. Evo Morales has been Bo-
livia’s president for over ten years.
He is the first indigenous person to
be elected as the country’s leader.
Since becoming the president, Mr
Morales has tried to help the native
Indian people.
Important minerals are found in
many less developed countries. Bo-
livia is an example. Often, the mined
minerals are exported, or sold, to
other countries. There, they are pro-
cessed and used in factories to make
the final products. Economists and
business people often use the phrase
‘value added’. This is the amount by
which an item increases in value at
each stage of its production.
When minerals are exported, all
the value added is in the country that
buys them. It makes more money
from the minerals than the coun-
try from where they came. Also,
workers have good-paying jobs in
factories that make the items. Mr
Morales wanted to ensure that much
of the ‘value added’ from Bolivia’s
lithium remained in the country. He
also wants to create more jobs for
local people. This is why he chose
the German company for the part-
nership. Unlike other companies,
PERU
BOLIVIA
CHILE
PACIFIC
OCEAN ARGENTINA
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
Bolivia’s president, Evo Morales
it was willing to build a car battery
factory in Bolivia.
The protest organisers in Potosi
say that they will continue their
demonstrations. Mr Morales hopes
to be re-elected as Bolivia’s presi-
dent. The election is in a few weeks.
Mr Morales dismissed the protests.
He claimed that political opponents
were organising them.  
Herculaneum papyri
About 300 years ago, a group of
men began to dig a well. They
were working near the city of Na-
ples, in Italy. The men discovered
a Roman building. It had been
buried in volcanic ash. About 15
years later, workmen uncovered
a large Roman villa nearby. The
buildings were part of a Roman
town called Herculaneum.
The workmen who found the Ro-
man villa discovered some scrolls.
Eventually, around 1,800 were re-
covered. The scrolls are made of
papyrus. This type of paper is made
from water plants called reeds.
However, the scrolls could not be
unrolled. They look like burnt logs.
The papyrus had been carbonised
by hot volcanic ash. It came from
an eruption of Mount Vesuvius, a
nearby volcano. Now, scholars in
the UK plan to use a synchrotron to
read two of the scrolls.
The Mount Vesuvius eruption in
79 CE is best known for the destruc-
tion of Pompeii. The site of Pompeii
is about 225 kilometres (140 miles)
from Rome. In Roman times, be-
tween 10,000 and 20,000 people
lived there. Many wealthy residents
of Rome owned summer homes in
Pompeii. It is about eight kilometres
(five miles) from Mount Vesuvius.
The eruption covered Pompeii
in a layer of ash and volcanic rock
4.3 metres (14 feet) deep. Several
nearby towns, such as Hercula-
neum, were also destroyed. Super-
heated clouds of ash and poison-
ous gases raced down the sides of
Vesuvius. Known as pyroclastic
flows, they killed most people be-
fore the buildings were buried. The
eruption is thought to have caused
16,000 deaths.
After the disaster, the Romans
abandoned Pompeii and Hercula-
neum. They were not rebuilt. Over
time, their locations were forgot-
ten. Pompeii was ‘rediscovered’ in
1738. About ten years later, a mili-
tary engineer from Spain began ex-
cavating the site. Over the last 100
years, large parts of Pompeii and
Herculaneum have been excavated.
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One of the ‘carbonised’ Herculaneum papyri
(DRI / University of Kentucky)
The ash preserved much of Pom-
peii. Buildings that have been uncov-
ered include: temples, houses, shops,
restaurants, public baths, fountains,
and a large amphitheatre. Many
buildings have wall paintings, or
frescos. An aqueduct brought water
to the city. Wealthy people’s homes
even had running water. Today, much
of what is known about Roman citi-
zens’ day-to-day lives comes from
Pompeii and Herculaneum.
While excavating Pompeii, work-
ers found ‘holes’ in the hardened
ash. These spaces are where bodies
had decomposed. The holes were
filled with a liquid plaster that soon
hardened. This created a detailed
cast, or outline, of the body. The cast
was then dug out of the ash. Over
the years, plaster casts were made of
many Pompeii residents who died
in the eruption. Most people in Her-
culaneum seemed to have got away
before the pyroclastic flows arrived.
The Herculaneum villa, where
the scrolls were found, was large
and luxurious. It has become known
as the Villa of the Papyri. As well
as its library of scrolls, it contained
frescoes and many bronze and mar-
ble statues. The villa faced the sea.
Historians think that it belonged to
a member of Julius Caesar’s family.
Caesar (100 BCE – 44 BCE) was
one of the Roman Empire’s most
famous leaders and successful mili-
tary commanders.
Since the scrolls were first dis-
covered, some people in Italy,
France and the UK have tried to
unroll them. In most instances,
they were only able to read a small
amount of text. The remaining parts
of the papyri were badly damaged
or destroyed. Most scrolls seem to
have been written in Ancient Greek.
They are believed to be the thoughts
of different philosophers. Today,
most of the carbonised scrolls are
kept in a Naples museum.
A synchrotron is a type of
particle accelerator. It is a very
large, circular, tube-shaped device.
A synchrotron uses electromag-
netic fields to make tiny parti-
cles go around the device faster
and faster. Eventually, they travel
at almost the speed of light. The
synchrotron creates intense light
beams. These can act like power-
ful microscopes. There are about
60 synchrotrons in the world. The
devices are used to study both
small and large objects in great
detail. They can also ‘look’ be-
neath their surfaces.
Part of the uncovered Villa of the Papyri,
in Herculaneum (Erik Anderson)
What the Villa of the Papyri may have looked
like, with Mount Vesuvius in the background
The scholars hope that they will
be able to record the written text
without unrolling the scrolls. If suc-
cessful, they will be the first people
in 2,000 years to read them.  
Tuia 250
Gisborne is in New Zealand. On 5th
October, a fleet, or flotilla, sailed
into its harbour. Thousands of
people gathered in the city to wel-
come the ships. The event marked
an anniversary. Two hundred and
fifty years ago, a British ship called
HMS Endeavour arrived in this part
of New Zealand. James Cook was
its captain.
The flotilla was made up of Eu-
ropean and Pacific island sailing
ships and boats. It included a replica
of HMS Endeavour and a Polyne-
sian double-hulled canoe known as
a waka hourua. Captain Cook and
his crew were the first Europeans to
land in New Zealand.
Cook was born in 1728. As a
young man, he worked on ships
that carried, or transported, coal.
Cook joined the navy and became
an expert cartographer, or map-
maker. In 1768, he was appointed
as the captain of HMS Endeavour.
(HMS stands for His or Her Maj-
esty’s Ship. Cook’s ship was also
known as HMB Endeavour. The
‘B’ stands for Bark, or Barque. This
was a type of sailing ship with three
or more masts.)
British navy commanders or-
dered Cook to sail to the island of
Tahiti, in the Pacific Ocean. There,
he was to record the transit of Ve-
nus. This is when the planet Venus
can be seen to move across the face
of the Sun. Transits of Venus hap-
pen four times every 243 years.
British scientists wanted to record
 NID: 1001246-231-364 B Newsademic. Prepared for: Newsademic
10th October 2019 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 16
Captain James Cook, painting by Nathaniel
Dance-Holland (1735 – 1811)
the time of the same transit from
different parts of the globe. From
this information, they hoped to
calculate the distance between the
Earth and the Sun.
To get to Tahiti, Cook sailed
across the Atlantic Ocean. He went
around Cape Horn, or the southern
tip of South America. On his return
voyage, Cook sailed around New
Zealand. He mapped the coast of its
two main islands. Cook then turned
towards Australia. European ex-
plorers had reached northern parts
of Australia before. In 1770, Cook
and his crew were the first Europe-
ans to see, and land on, Australia’s
east coast.
Maori people from Polyne-
sia were the first to land in New
Zealand. (Polynesia is the name
given to over 1,000 small islands
in the central and southern Pacific
Ocean.) The Maori arrived in New
Zealand only 800 years ago. There-
fore, it was the last large land area
(with a favourable climate) to be
settled by humans. The Maori call
it Aotearoa.
When Cook landed in New Zea-
land he met a group of Maori. The
sea captain had brought a guide
from one of the Pacific islands with
him. An expert seafarer, the guide
helped to steer the British ship past
the many Polynesian islands. He
was able to converse, or talk, with
the Maori people. During Cook’s
first meeting with them, at least
eight Maori were shot dead. This in-
cident is said to have been the result
of a misunderstanding.
In the early 1800s, large num-
bers of Europeans began to arrive
in New Zealand. Most came from
the UK. In 1840, Maori leaders
and officials from the UK signed
an agreement. This is known as the
Treaty of Waitangi. The treaty of-
ficially made New Zealand part of
the British Empire. In return, the
government of the UK said that it
would protect the Maori’s rights to
their lands.
The 250th commemorations will
last for six months. During this peri-
od, the flotilla will sail around New
Zealand’s two main islands. The
commemorations have been named
Traditional waka hourua double-hulled canoe
(NZ Ministry for Culture and Heritage)
HMB Endeavour replica
‘Tuia 250’. (Tuia is the Maori word
for ‘weave’ or ‘bind’.) Not everyone
is happy about the events. Some
Maori groups have decided to boy-
cott them.
After Europeans began arriving
in New Zealand, some of the Maori
were treated harshly. Over time,
many lost their lands. Some New
Zealanders argue that the 250th an-
niversary should not be celebrated.
This, they say, is because of what
happened after Cook’s arrival.
Officials say that Tuia 250 is
not meant to be a celebration.
The planned events, they explain,
are a commemoration of all
New Zealanders’ joint, or shared,
history. 

Fuel subsidy protests
On 4th October, Ecuador’s govern-
ment declared a two-month national
state of emergency. Now, the army
can be ordered to help, or assist,
the police. During a state of emer-
gency, a government can restrict
broadcasts of television channels
and radio stations and what news-
papers print.
The emergency was declared be-
cause of nationwide street protests.
They began after the government
announced new cuts, or spending
reductions. The cuts include an end
to fuel subsidies. The protestors
blocked Ecuador’s major highways.
Traffic entering the larger cities
was stopped.
For many years, Spain controlled
this part of South America. Ecuador
finally became a self-governing, in-
dependent nation about 180 years
ago. Today, it is home to 16.3 mil-
lion people. About 2.7 million live
in Quito, the country’s capital. Qui-
to is in the Andes Mountains. It is
 NID: 1001246-231-364 B Newsademic. Prepared for: Newsademic
10th October 2019 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 17
the world’s highest capital city and
the one nearest to the Equator. The
world-famous Galapagos Islands
are a part of Ecuador.
Lenin Moreno was elected
as Ecuador’s new president two
years ago. The country has many
economic problems. It has large
supplies of oil. Yet, more than
50% of the money that Ecuador
makes comes from oil. The coun-
try has few businesses that earn
money from other nations. Ec-
uador is therefore too dependent
on its oil. Unemployment, or the
number of people without jobs, is
very high.
Due to the country’s financial
difficulties, Mr Moreno has been
speaking with the International
Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF
was created over 70 years ago.
Its headquarters is in Washington
DC, the USA’s capital city. The
IMF has 189 member countries.
Each contributes money to the or-
ganisation. The amount depends
on the size of its economy. The
USA provides the most money.
The IMF monitors its members’
economies. Its main job is to offer
Demonstrators in Quito, Ecuador’s capital city (Todo Noticias)
advice and loans to countries that
have financial difficulties.
On Mr Moreno’s request, the
IMF agreed to loan Ecuador US$4.2
billion (£3.4 billion). Over time,
the country will have to repay the
money. Usually, if countries receive
an emergency IMF loan they must
agree to strict rules. The IMF sets
them. For example, it may insist that
a government reduces its number
of workers. Certain government-
owned assets, such as railways,
electricity companies and airports,
might have to be sold. The IMF
may also force the government to
increase taxes.
To meet the IMF’s demands, Mr
Moreno announced several auster-
ity measures. These are cuts that
reduce the amount of money that a
government spends. Many govern-
ment workers in Ecuador will now
have 50% fewer holidays, or vaca-
tion time. The pay of others is to be
reduced by 20%.
Currently, fuel subsidies cost
Ecuador’s government US$1.3 bil-
lion (£1.06 billion) each year. A
subsidy is a payment made by the
government to keep the price of
Lenin Moreno, Ecuador’s president
something lower than its real cost.
In Ecuador, fuel prices have been
subsidised for over 40 years. The
government pays fuel companies
large amounts of money. They then
sell the fuel at a low price. Be-
cause of the subsidies, Ecuador’s
fuel prices are among the lowest
in South America. Scrapping the
fuel subsidies meant that the price
of petrol suddenly increased by
over 50%. The cost of diesel more
than doubled.
On 7th October, because of the
roadblocks in Quito, Mr Moreno
moved his government operations
to Guayaquil. On the coast, it is
Ecuador’s largest city. Two days
later, demonstrators managed to
get inside the parliament building
in Quito. The police used tear gas
to drive them out. The protestors
have occupied two of the country’s
oil fields and shut a main pipeline.
This has disrupted fuel supplies to
the whole country,
The demonstrators are demand-
ing the reinstatement of the fuel sub-
sidies. They also want Mr Moreno
to resign, or stand down. The presi-
dent has said that he will not bring
back the subsidies. Nor will he re-
sign. However, Mr Moreno did sug-
gest that the United Nations (UN)
or the Roman Catholic Church be
invited to be a mediator. Hopefully,
they would find a way to end the
subsidy dispute and the protests.  
 NID: 1001246-231-364 B Newsademic. Prepared for: Newsademic

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10th October 2019 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 19
Greenland mummies
An ice sheet covers three-quarters of
Greenland. Part of the Kingdom of
Denmark, it is very sparsely popu-
lated. Only 55,000 people live there.
Around half are residents of Nuuk,
Greenland’s capital. The Greenland
National Museum is in Nuuk. It
opened about 50 years ago. One of
the museum’s displays is called the
Qilakitsoq mummies.
Qilakitsoq is the name of an old
abandoned Inuit settlement. It is far
to the north of Nuuk. The Inuit are
the aboriginal, or native, inhabitants
of the Canadian Arctic. They also
live in northern Alaska and Green-
land. In 1972, two brothers discov-
ered the deserted settlement. They
were hunting for birds.
The brothers noticed a pile of
stones. After lifting some of them,
they realised that the stones covered
a grave. Inside were several bodies.
They looked as if they had recently
been buried. The brothers replaced
the stones. Later, they told the au-
thorities in Nuuk what they had
found. A team of researchers trav-
elled to the site to investigate.
The researchers uncovered two
graves. They were about one me-
tre (3.3 feet) apart. Bodies in the
graves had been placed on top of
each other. They were six women,
a young boy, and a six-month-old
baby boy. Greenland’s freezing
temperatures had preserved the
bodies and their clothes. Later,
the researchers were able to work
out that the eight people had died
around 1475, or about 550 years
ago. More recent DNA tests show
that the bodies belonged to two
family groups. One female was
not related to either group. The
researchers think that this person
probably married into the family.
Qilakitsoq mummies Greenland National Museum, in Nuuk (David Stanley)
Most noticeable was the baby
boy’s body. The boy was found
to have a genetic disorder called
Down’s syndrome. Children born
with this disorder are slow to de-
velop and have learning disabilities.
Long ago, living in Greenland’s
harsh climate was difficult. Eve-
ryone had to work for the group to
survive. Daily activities included
hunting, fishing, searching for ed-
ible plants, building shelters, cook-
ing, and making clothes.
Then, it was Inuit tradition to
leave young children with serious
medical problems outside. There,
they would quickly die of the cold.
This may have been what happened
to the baby boy. The baby was found
on top of his mother. Another pos-
sibility is that after the mother died,
no one could look after her baby.
When still alive, the boy was placed
in the grave with his mother.
One of the older women was dis-
covered to have been blind and deaf.
She had a tumour. This may have
been what killed her. Five of the six
women had tattoos on their faces.
The tattoos were black lines. Some
were dotted. The cause of their
deaths has puzzled scientists. The
Inuit did not bury men and women
separately. Therefore, graves that
contained only women and chil-
dren are unusual. Some people have
Greenland National Museum, in Nuuk (David Stanley)
suggested that they may have died
of food poisoning, drowning or even
freezing to death. Scientists have
not been able to work out if they all
died at the same time.
Apart from the woman with the
tumour and the baby boy, the others
seemed to be in good health. Tests
show that their diet was 75% sea-
food and 25% reindeer and plants.
In total, they were dressed in 78
items of clothing. These were made
mainly from seal and reindeer skins.
The discovery of the graves was
important. It provides information
about how the Inuit people lived
500 years ago.
The eight bodies found in the
graves have become known as
the Qilakitsoq mummies. Four of
them, including the baby boy, can
now be seen in Nuuk’s national
museum.  
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Cyprus drilling dispute
Several years ago, undersea gas
fields were discovered in the eastern
Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of
Israel. Further exploration for gas
fields is now taking place around
Cyprus’ southern shoreline.
A months ago, the government
of Cyprus spoke with two European
oil and gas companies. It permitted
them to search an area of the sea-
bed about 80 kilometres (50 miles)
from the shore. Recently, two drill-
ing ships from Turkey appeared off
Cyprus’ southern coast. A Turkish
warship escorted them.
On 7th October, one of the drilling
ships, called Yavuz, moved to the sea
area that the European companies
are due to search. The government
of Cyprus demanded that the Turk-
ish ships leave the area. The Turkish
drilling operations, it says, contra-
vene, or break, international law.
Cyprus is a former British colo-
ny. It became an independent coun-
try in 1960. The island’s population
is a mixture of people who origi-
nally came from Greece and Turkey.
Turkish Cypriots live mainly in the
north of the island. Greek Cypriots
reside in the south. The UK govern-
ment has two military bases in the
Greek part of Cyprus.
Violence broke out between
Turkish and Greek Cypriots in 1964.
To control the clashes, British peace-
keeping soldiers divided Nicosia,
the island’s largest city. They used
barbed wire to separate the Turks in
the north and Greeks in the south.
In 1967, a group of senior military
officers, or junta, deposed Greece’s
democratically elected government.
Seven years later, Turkey sent an
invasion force to Cyprus. It landed
on the north of the island. The Turk-
ish government wanted to stop a
GREECE
CYPRUS
Mediterranean Sea
LIBYA EGYPT
militant Greek group taking over
the island. It feared that this group
would allow Greece’s military junta
to control Cyprus. Turkey’s leaders
argued that the invasion was neces-
sary. The soldiers, they said, would
protect the Turkish people who lived
on the island.
The UN persuaded the two sides
to agree to a ceasefire. However,
the island has remained divided.
A border, or buffer zone, was set
up across the island. Known as the
Green Line, it goes through the cen-
tre of Nicosia. UN peacekeepers
were sent to Cyprus to make sure
that nobody crossed the line. Today,
45 years later, UN peacekeepers still
control the buffer zone. The south-
ern part of the island is now called
the Republic of Cyprus (or just Cy-
prus). Turkey calls the northern part
of the island the Turkish Republic of
Turkish drilling ship Yavuz
TURKEY
Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus
Green
Line
Nicosia
Republic of Cyprus
Northern Cyprus. Yet, only Turkey
recognises it as a separate country.
Countries with a shoreline, own
the area of sea next to their coast.
Nowadays, the United Nations
(UN) decides which countries own
parts of the world’s seas and oceans.
It has a set of laws, or rules. Called
the United Nations Convention on
the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), they
began in 1982. The laws say that
each country owns the area of sea
200 nautical miles (370 kilometres)
from its coastline. This 200-mile
limit is known as a country’s Exclu-
sive Economic Zone (EEZ). Where
countries’ EEZs overlap, the divid-
ing line is of equal distance from
each country’s coastline.
A continental shelf is a shallower
area of sea. Thousands of years ago,
during ice ages, these areas were dry
land. There are continental shelves
around most coasts. Many are narrow.
Yet some extend for hundreds of kilo-
metres. The UN rules say that coun-
tries can claim ownership of conti-
nental shelves (and any resources
under them) beyond the 200-nautical
mile line. However, they can only do
this if the shelf stretches out from, or
is connected to, their own coastline.
The Turkish government says
that any gas found in the seas around
 NID: 1001246-231-364 B Newsademic. Prepared for: Newsademic
10th October 2019 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 21
Cyprus should benefit the whole is-
land. It does not recognise Cyprus’
EEZ. The government of Turkey
insists that the Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus has the right to
drill off the island’s coast. This, it
claims, is because Turkey’s conti-
nental shelf extends beyond Cyprus.
Cyprus is a member of the Euro-
pean Union (EU). EU leaders have
urged Turkey to withdraw its drill-
ing ships. Three years ago, the UN
arranged talks between the leaders
of the Greek and Turkish parts of
Cyprus. They discussed the possibil-
ity of reuniting the island. The talks
failed. Some people believe that the
UN should ‘use’ the drilling dispute
to restart the reunification talks. 
 with bright red feathers on their
New honeyeater
A team of ornithologists has been
working on a small island. Called
Alor, it is part of Indonesia. Ornithol-
ogists are scientists who study birds.
The team is made up of scientists
from Singapore, Indonesia, Austral-
ia, and Belgium. Recently, they an-
nounced the discovery of a new bird
species. It is a type of honeyeater.
Alfred Russel Wallace (1823
– 1913) was a British naturalist.
(Naturalists are people who study
animals and plants. They mainly do
this by observation.) Wallace de-
vised a theory of evolution around
the same time as, if not before,
Charles Darwin. However, Darwin
was the first person to publish a
book about the subject.
Wallace spent many years work-
ing in Brazil and parts of South East
Asia, such as Malaysia and Indone-
sia. He and Darwin frequently wrote
letters to each other. Wallace was
happy to help Darwin with his work.
He often sent specimens to him.
While working in South East
Asia Wallace noticed that an imagi-
nary line divided the region. On the
western side were animals that are
mostly found in Asia. On the other,
or eastern, side the animals appeared
to come from Australia. Thousands
of years ago, sea levels in this part
of the world were much lower. The
areas of sea around today’s islands
used to be dry land. However, at that
time, a deep-sea channel divided the
region. It acted as a barrier to the
animals on either side. Today, this
divide, which separates Asian and
Australian animals, is known as
‘Wallace’s Line’.
Newly discovered honeyeaters on Alor Island, in
Indonesia (Philippe Verbelen)
There are over 150 types of hon-
eyeaters. All except one live on the
eastern, or Australian, side of Wal-
lace’s Line. The honeyeater species
that doesn’t is found on the island of
Bali. This island is very close to the
line. Honeyeaters are mainly found
in New Guinea and Australia. A few
live in New Zealand and on several
Pacific islands.
Honeyeaters are small or me-
dium size birds. Despite their
name, they do not eat honey. The
birds feed on nectar. Honeyeaters
have curved bills, or beaks. Their
tongues have a brush-like tip. This
helps them to retrieve the nectar
from deep inside flowers. Nectar
is not their only food. Most hon-
eyeaters also eat insects. Several
eat more insects than nectar. Many
honeyeaters have an even more var-
ied diet. These birds will feed on
pollen, berries and the sugary sap
produced by certain plants.
Hummingbirds are also known to
feed on nectar. These birds live in the
Americas. Hummingbirds’ wings
beat very quickly. This allows them
to hover, or remain in the same air
space, while they feed. Honeyeaters
do not do this. They quickly move
from leaves and branches. Often,
the birds have to stretch or hang up-
side down to reach the flowers.
The new honeyeaters are grey
heads. The scientists spotted them
in several areas of the island. The
birds seem to prefer nectar from the
flowers of three types of tree. One
is the Eucalyptus alba. These trees
grow to a height of 18 metres (60
feet). As well as nectar, the scien-
tists observed the birds eating fruit
from the trees. They were also seen
searching for insects beneath the
bark on the trees’ trunks. The birds
are the only honeyeaters that live on
the island.
In total, the scientists saw 20 of
the new honeyeaters. They were
also able to record their birdsong.
The scientists have named the new
species Alor myzomela.  
Newsademic.com
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Instructions:
Issue 364 j Find 19 of the 20 crossword answers in the word
search. Words can go vertically, horizontally, diagonally

Glossary Puzzle continued

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down the 20th (or missing) word under the puzzle.

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MISSING WORD ANSWER =

Issue 363 answers

C O M M I T M E N T S I V I T C A P
H O Y R L N O I S R U C X E H M J R
R R N U U G S E G A D N E P P A B E
O R K F L M G Q R O G H Y B R I D S
N B L K R M K U T E K X U A Q W K T
O R F M R O M I S S I O N A R Y R I
L N X U U Z N R S D G N X H R B N G
O M P T Z I B T V Q E Q T S N J V I
G B V I O B T R A D B T W E Z Z B O
I P R N K N F R E T R P A A R J I U
C A A I F H Z P G J I Y B C O R A S
A X L E A E L U G F R O D G I U E J
L W J D Z O Z T E R M I N U S D I D
M M H H Y S E V I T N E C N I J N L
X C A M O U F L A G E X O X U J I I
R D E J U G W Y U V K F O R G E D D
V N O R I N S P I R E D P K R A B M
T E M P T A T I O N S J W P W U Z J

I N F L A T I O N
 NID: 1001246-231-364 B Newsademic. Prepared for: Newsademic

10th October 2019 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 23

Issue 364 Instructions: j Complete the crossword. The answers are

highlighted in orange in the news stories. There are 25

Glossary Puzzle
words highlighted and you need 20 of them to complete the
crossword. k Once you have solved the crossword go to
the word search on the next page c
1 2 3

8 9 10

11

12

13 14

15 16

17

18

19

Across Down
2 Adjective  Describes a place that is difficult to live in
4 Noun Plural  People who study ideas about the meaning of things such as
life, knowledge, logic and beliefs
6 Noun Plural  Terrible crimes
9 Noun  A person who takes part in a sport or other activity unpaid
11 Adjective  Describes animals or plants that have been brought under
human control for transport, food, power or companionship
14 Adjective  Having the power to make your own decisions
15 Noun  The systems for taking waste products and dirty water away from
buildings to protect people’s health
16 Noun  A large attack
17 Adverb  Describes making something using a lot of small parts or details
arranged in a complicated way
18 Adjective  Describes a person or people who has or have a lot of money
19 Verb  Protest by refusing to deal with a particular person or business, or to
take part in something
1 Noun Plural  Rivers or streams flowing into larger
rivers or lakes
2 Verb Separated or positioned far away from other
places
3 Noun  Rain, snow, sleet, or hail that falls to the ground
5 Noun  A person who helps others resolve
disagreements
7 Noun Plural  People or animals who have done
something wrong or are responsible for a crime
8 Verb  To break down or rot away
10 Adjective  Describes something that has been left with
no intention of returning to it
12 Verb  Make easier
13 Noun  Describes actions taken to save money,
especially living more simply and strictly controlling
spending