17th May 2012

British English edition

Issue Number 171
Newsademic.com
The informative easy to read introduction to world news
In this issue
Perus pelican and dolphin
mysteries
Losses at American bank
Nuclear power in Japan
Prisoners in Israel end
hunger strike
OBI TUARY Maurice Sendak
Greek election
Renationalisation in
Argentina
Arctic drilling protest
Putin returns in Russia
Templeton Prize
Scarborough Shoal
Buddha celebration
Sandwich anniversary
Prehistoric fleas
Oldest Mayan calendar
Attack on Somali pirates
Nano dental treatment
Mosquito argument
Famous picture sold
Glossary Crossword and
Wordsearch Puzzle
Nicolas Sarkozy (centre left) shakes hands with Frances new president Franois Hollande (centre right)
On 15th May Franois Hollande travelled
to the lyse Palace, in Paris, the capital
of France. This is the official home and
offices of the French president. There
he met Nicolas Sarkozy, who has been
the countrys leader since 2007. The two
men had a short meeting. Then Mr Hol-
lande was officially sworn in as the new
president of France.
A short time after taking over, Mr
Hollande was driven in an open-topped
car along the Champs-lyses, one of the
longest and most famous streets in Paris.
He then placed a wreath under the Arc de
Triomphe at the Tomb of the Unknown
Soldier. This is one of Frances most im-
portant war memorials, where those who
died in previous wars are remembered.
Presidential elections in France are
held every five years. The countrys con-
stitution, or laws by which it is governed,
say a person may be president for two
five-year terms in a row. After that he or
she must stand down.
France has a two-stage presidential
election process, or a run-off system. In
the first stage, or round, many candidates
usually take part. If nobody gets more
than 50% of the votes a second round is
held between the two people who got the
most votes in the first.
The first stage of the election took
place on 22nd April. There were ten
candidates. Mr Hollande won the most
votes, with 28.6%. Mr Sarkozy, who
got 27.2%, was second. The run-off, or
second round, was held on 6th May. This
time Mr Sarkozy came second again with
48.4% of the votes, to Mr Hollandes
51.6%.
In the days before the election the two
had argued about what should be done to
improve the economy. France is one of
the European Unions (EU) 27 member
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17th May 2012 Newsademic.com British English edition

page 2
countries. It is also part of the eu-
rozone, or the 17 EU countries that
use the euro as their currency.
The two most powerful countries
in the eurozone are France and Ger-
many. In recent years most eurozone
countries (as well as those that are
part of the EU but dont use the
euro) have borrowed large amounts
of money. Some are now finding it
difficult to borrow more and pay
what they owe back. The countries
worst affected by this debt crisis are
Greece, Portugal, Ireland and Italy.
However, many people predict the
crisis will soon start to affect oth-
ers larger countries, such as Spain
and France.
EU member eurozone countries
EU member non-eurozone countries
To try to solve the debt problems,
25 of the 27 EU member countries,
including France and Germany,
signed a treaty last March called the
European Fiscal Compact (known
as the fiscal pact). By signing it,
all the governments agreed to reduce
the amount of money they spend.
Reducing or cutting spending in this
way is often described as austerity,
or austerity measures.
Governments spend money on
hospitals, education, transport, roads,
military forces, the police, wages and
pensions for government workers,
and many other things. If a country
introduces austerity measures it is
not unusual for people who are paid
by the government to lose their jobs
or have their wages reduced.
One way governments get mon-
ey is from the taxes people and
companies pay. To get more money
from taxes, a government needs to
grow its economy. This is known
as growth or creating wealth.
Growth (or wealth) can be created
when privately owned, or non-gov-
ernment, companies open new of-
fices and factories, and people set
up new businesses. If a countrys
economy grows, a government will
be paid more money in taxes and
will not have to borrow so much.
The countries that signed the fis-
cal pact, including France, agreed
to spend less and encourage growth.
But many people now think this is not
possible. They argue that government
spending cuts and austerity are having
such a bad effect on some countries
economies that they are stopping any
growth from happening.
Mr Hollande insists austerity will
not work in France. He claims the
only way to increase growth is for the
government to spend more on large
projects. Examples of these are build-
ing roads, airports, and railways. Yet
to do this, France will have to borrow
even more money. Mr Sarkozy argues
this would cause an even bigger debt
crisis. He said France had agreed to
sign the fiscal pact, and government
spending must be cut.
Germany has the largest and most
successful economy in the eurozone.
In recent years, Mr Sarkozy and the
German chancellor, Angela Merkel,
have worked closely together. Like
Mr Sarkozy, Mrs Merkel believes aus-
terity is the right answer. Just before
the election, she admitted she hoped
Mr Sarkozy would be re-elected.
As soon as it was announced that
Mr Hollande had won the election,
many people predicted his ideas
about growth and austerity would
cause problems between France
and Germany.
As the two countries are the big-
gest economies in the eurozone,
their differences could affect the
other 15 countries. Yet many people
in other eurozone countries agree
with Mr Hollande.
On his first day as president,
Mr Hollande travelled by plane to
Berlin, the capital of Germany, to
meet Mrs Merkel. This was a way
of showing the importance of the
relationship between the leaders of
France and Germany. Before his
visit, the German chancellor had
said she would welcome him.
In the weeks ahead many expect
Mr Hollande to ask for changes
about growth to be made to the fis-
cal pact. Most predict that Mrs Mer-
kel is unlikely to agree. This could
cause difficulties in France, as many
of those who voted for Mr Hollande
did so because of his promise to
change the treaty.
SEABIRD AND DOLPHIN DEATHS
IN PERU
In April, thousands of dead peli-
cans began to wash up on beaches
in Peru. At around the same time,
the bodies of dead dolphins also
appeared along the shoreline. Ex-
perts think they now know what
killed the seabirds, although the
cause of the dolphin deaths remains
a mystery.
When animals die in large num-
bers like this it is often called a die-
off. Around 5,000 dead seabirds
have been found. Most are pelicans.
These birds live off small fish such
as anchovies, which they catch in
their large beaks.
17th May 2012 Newsademic.com British English edition

page 3
Off the west coast of South
America there is a strong ocean
current. Called the Humboldt Cur-
rent, it brings colder waters from
the southern tip of Chile to northern
Peru. Large shoals of small fish live
in these colder waters not far from
Perus coastline. The shoals attract
many seabirds, including pelicans.
Recently, in the seas near Peru,
unusually warm ocean currents have
been pushing from the north to the
south. The sea temperatures in this
area have therefore become warmer
than usual. Fishing companies,
which catch anchovies, have noticed
that small fish seem to have disap-
peared. Scientists say this is because
these fish have now moved deeper
into the ocean where it is colder.
Pelican
People investigating the dead
birds have noticed most of them
were young about three or four
years old and their stomachs were
empty. Young pelicans are not able
to dive as deeply as adult birds can.
So it seems the younger pelicans,
unable to reach the fish they need to
eat to survive, have starved to death.
Pelican die-offs like this in Peru
have been recorded before. The last
one happened in 1997 1998.
The dolphin die-off is more dif-
ficult to explain. So far about 900
dead dolphins have been found.
This is a very large number for a
dolphin die-off. Experts say the tim-
ing of the pelican and dolphin deaths
is probably a coincidence. The
dolphins, they explain, definitely
did not starve to death. Instead, they
may have been killed by a virus.
Others think pollution might
have caused the deaths. Fertilizers,
they say, have been washing into the
sea from the land. Another possibil-
ity is mining operations. These can
leak heavy metals such as lead and
cadmium into rivers.
One conservation group blames
shock waves from underwater
sound, or acoustic, explosions. Re-
cently, a company has been search-
ing for oil in a nearby area. It has
been setting off underwater explo-
sions and making recordings of the
sound waves they produce. These
recordings can indicate if there are
oilfields under the seabed.
Experts studying the bodies of
the dolphins say they do not believe
sound waves killed them. They have
also done tests on some of the dol-
phin bodies. These seem to show
that pollution was not the cause of
their deaths either.
LOSSES AT JPMORGAN
JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank
in the USA, and one of the biggest
in the world. On 10th May its boss,
Jamie Dimon, admitted one depart-
ment of his bank had recently lost
around US$2 billion (1.25 billion).
This year, JPMorgan Chase is
expected to make a profit of over
US$10 billion (6.2 billion). So the
two billion dollar loss will not cause
the bank to fail, or go out of busi-
ness. However, whats happened is
embarrassing for the bank. It may
even cause the government of the
USA to change the rules about what
American banks are allowed to do.
Over the years JPMorgan has
taken over several other banks. One
of these was called Chase Manhat-
tan. The name was then officially
changed to JPMorgan Chase, al-
though many people still use the
JPMorgan name. Today the bank
works in cities all around the world.
Like some other large interna-
tional banks, JPMorgan has two
main parts. One is the retail bank (in
some countries this is known as a
high street bank), and the other, an
investment bank.
The retail bank is where people
and companies hold their accounts
and keep their money. The invest-
ment bank offers services to make
extra money for wealthy customers
and large companies. It does this
by investing their money in shares,
or stocks, funds and bonds. It also
trades (or buys and sells) shares,
bonds, and more complicated prod-
ucts, or financial instruments
called derivatives.
It was a department at JPMor-
gans offices in London, the capital
of the UK, which lost the money. It
has been trading derivatives. This
NEWSCAST
MUSEUM CORRECTION Can you
imagine writing to the bosses of
an important national museum,
to tell them they have their facts
wrong? Thats what a 13-year-old
in the USA did after visiting the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in
New York City. On display was
a map that showed the borders
of the Byzantine Empire when it
was at its largest. But the teenager
knew the Empire also included
parts of Spain and Morocco, and
the map didnt show this. So he
wrote a letter to the museum. The
boy got a reply saying he was cor-
rect and had been the first person
ever to notice the mistake.
17th May 2012 Newsademic.com British English edition

page 4
department uses the banks own
money to buy and sell these instru-
ments, so JPMorgan has not lost any
customers money.
In 2008 many banks in the USA
and European countries got into
trouble. They too had been trading
complicated financial instruments. In
some cases the losses were so big that
countries governments had to rescue
these banks to stop them from closing
down. To do this they had to lend the
banks huge amounts of money. For
some banks, it could be many years
before this money is repaid.
JPMorgans headquarters in New York City
If a company loses a lot of mon-
ey it may have to shut down. Yet if
a large bank closes down many of
its customers might lose the money
they have in the bank. The closure
of a large bank can also have serious
effects on a countrys economy and
on other banks as well. This is why,
in 2008, governments were forced
to rescue many of the banks that got
into trouble.
The problems in 2008 started
many discussions about what banks
should be allowed to do. One idea is
to keep retail banks and investment
banks apart. Then if an investment
bank made big mistakes and lost a
lot of money it might have to close.
Retail banks would not be allowed
to trade in these types of financial
products. Therefore the money kept
in them by ordinary people and com-
panies would be safe.
The losses will not cause a big
problem for JPMorgan, because it
is so big and wealthy. However, if a
smaller bank were to make the same
mistakes, a government might have
to rescue it to stop it from losing eve-
ryones money and closing down.
Some people predict because of
JPMorgans recent problems govern-
ments may now decide to change the
rules. This would mean retail and in-
vestment banking would have to be
kept completely separate.
On 14th May JPMorgan an-
nounced several people who worked
in the department that made the los-
es would be leaving the bank.
NUCLEAR SHUTDOWN IN JAPAN
For many years, Japan has relied
on nuclear power for some of the
electricity it needs. Around 30% of
the electricity the country uses has
been made, or generated, by nuclear
power stations. This changed on 5th
May, when the last of Japans 54 nu-
clear reactors was shut down.
The nuclear power stations have
been closed for maintenance and nor-
mal repairs. This means they could be
restarted again at any time. However,
because of a nuclear accident in the
country last year, the Japanese gov-
ernment has not yet decided whether
to restart the power stations or shut
them down permanently.
In March last year a tsunami, or
giant wave, caused by an under-
sea earthquake, struck the Fuku-
shima power plant. This nuclear
power station is next to the sea.
The tsunami damaged the plants
cooling systems.
Some of the reactors at the power
plant began to overheat. Several ex-
plosions followed. These led to dan-
gerous leaks of radiation. Around
100,000 people living within 20
kilometres (12.5 miles) of the power
station were ordered to leave their
homes. Much of this area has been
contaminated by the radiation. Most
of the people have not been able to
return home.
The damaged Fukushima nuclear power station
Earthquakes are quite common
in Japan. All nuclear power stations
in the country are supposed to have
been specially designed to withstand
powerful earthquakes. However, the
accident at Fukushima (which was
caused by the tsunami, and not the
violent shaking of the earthquake)
has made some people wonder if
this is true. Many now think it might
be best if Japan stopped using nu-
clear power.
After the accident, whenever re-
actors at power plants closed down
for normal maintenance the govern-
ment ordered the electricity com-
panies not to restart them. The last
one to shut down is in Hokkaido,
the most northerly of Japans four
main islands.
Not all nuclear plants were shut
down immediately after last years
earthquake. However, the loss of
the Fukushima plant and the shut-
down of several others meant the
17th May 2012 Newsademic.com British English edition

page 5
government had to warn people
about possible electricity shortages,
often called blackouts.
The government asked people to
conserve, or reduce the amount of
electricity they used. Many com-
panies closed during the day and
reopened at night and at weekends.
This meant there was less demand
for electricity all at the same time,
and major shortages were avoided.
As all the nuclear reactors in the
country have now been shut its like-
ly there will be blackouts this year.
Parts of Japan are very hot during the
summer and most buildings are air-
conditioned. For quite a small coun-
try Japan has a very large population.
There are many big crowded cities in
the country. This means there is usu-
ally a large demand for electricity,
especially in the summer.
Japan will now have to generate
more power from burning coal and
gas. Much of this will be imported
from Australia. Electricity bills for
both homes and businesses are also
expected to become more expensive.
The nuclear accident in Japan
has had an effect on other parts of
the world. Some countries, such as
Germany, are now also planning
to close all their nuclear power
plants.
HUNGER STRIKE ENDS
On 14th May around 1,600 Pales-
tinian men, who are in prisons in
Israel, agreed to end their hunger
strike protest. The prisoners, who
have been refusing to eat anything,
stopped their protest after Israeli
officials agreed not to hold people
in prison without formally giving a
reason for doing so.
The problems between Israel and
the Palestinian people have been
going on for many years. They first
began when the new state of Israel
was set up in 1948 with help from
the United Nations (UN) and the
USA. Soon afterwards, a war started
between Israel and the surrounding
Arab countries. Israelis call it the
War of Liberation.
During the war over 700,000
Palestinians were forced to leave
their lands and homes. Most went to
live in refugee camps. After the war
ended they were not allowed to re-
turn. Many of the Palestinians who
now live in the Gaza Strip and West
Bank are descendants of people who
lost their homes in 1948.
Mediterranean
Sea
EGYPT
JORDAN
SYRIA
ISRAEL
Jerusalem
Gaza Strip
West
Bank
In more recent years several more
wars have broken out between Israel
and nearby Arab countries, which
support the Palestinians. In 1994,
after peace talks, the Palestinian
Authority (PA) was set up. Although
it is not officially a country, the PA
means that Palestinians living in the
West Bank and Gaza Strip are able
to govern themselves.
However, this did not solve the
problem. Since the set up of the PA
there has been frequent fighting be-
tween militant Palestinian groups
and Israeli soldiers. Today there are
about 4,500 Palestinians in Israeli
prisons. Israel accuses them of ei-
ther carrying out attacks or planning
to do so.
A hunger strike is a way of re-
sisting something you dont agree
with in a non-violent way. As it can
put a persons life in danger, it is a
very serious way of protesting. It
can make people feel guilt and want
to change their actions. Most peo-
ple on hunger strike will drink liq-
uids to keep them alive, but not eat
any food.
The first two prisoners began
their hunger strike at the end of Feb-
ruary. By the time the hunger strike
was over, both men were thought
to be close to death. In the middle
of April, hundreds more prisoners
joined the hunger strike. They too
refused to eat anything.
As the hunger strike continued,
demonstrations were held in Gaza
and the West Bank in support of the
prisoners. Many think Israel agreed
to the changes because it was wor-
ried that the two men who had been
on hunger strike the longest were
about to die.
To end the protest, Israel agreed
to do several things. Anyone who
is taken to prison must now be for-
mally charged, or told the reason.
Prisoners from Gaza will now be al-
lowed visits from family members.
Israel also agreed to discuss the use
of mobile phones and televisions in
the prisons. Officials from Jordan
and Egypt helped to get Israel to
agree to the changes.
The agreement was made on
14th May, the anniversary of the
formation of the state of Israel.
Palestinians call the next day, 15th
May, Nakba. This translates as the
catastrophe. Each year Palestin-
ians mark Nakba by remembering
those who lost their homes over 60
years ago. Usually many Palestin-
ians take part in demonstrations on
Nakba. Many people therefore be-
lieve Israeli officials wanted to end
the hunger strike before these took
place.
17th May 2012 Newsademic.com British English edition

page 6
Maurice Sendak was a childrens book author
and illustrator. He is perhaps best known for his
book Where the Wild Things Are, published in 1963.
Mr Sendak was born in New York City, in the
USA. His parents were Jewish and had emi-
grated to America from Poland. Mr Sendak was
the youngest child in the family. He had an older
brother, Jack, and a sister, Natalie. When he was
a child he had several illnesses. At these times
he was unable to go to school. While at home,
he read books his sister got from the library, es-
pecially comic books. He also did a lot of draw-
ing. Mr Sendak and his brother made storybooks
using cuttings from magazines and newspapers
as well as their own drawings. They also lis-
tened to the stories their father
told them.
After Mr Sendak left school,
he got a job drawing the back-
grounds for a comic strip. He
also worked for several depart-
ment stores as well as FAO
Schwartz, a well known toy
shop. Mr Sendak had once de-
signed and built some mechani-
cal wooden toys with his brother and sister. He took
them to show the owners of FAO Schwartz. While
they thought the toys would be too expensive to
make, they were impressed by Mr Sendaks artis-
tic talents and gave him a job designing their win-
dow displays. While working at the toy shop in the
daytime, Mr Sendak studied at an art college in
the evenings.
He soon illustrated his first childrens book, The
Wonderful Farm by Marcel Ayme. Then he began
to get more jobs illustrating books, which he called
his apprenticeship. He studied the work of many
other childrens book illustrators too.
Where the Wild Things Are was the first book
Mr Sendak both wrote and illustrated. It tells the
story of Max, a boy who misbehaves and is sent
to bed without any supper. His mother, disgusted
with his behaviour, calls him a wild thing. Then
Maxs imagination takes him to a distant land pop-
ulated with wild things huge and fierce-looking
monsters. They recognise him as their king and
he tames them all. They have a wonderful time
together (called a wild rumpus in the book) but
Max realises he wants to be where he is loved,
and goes back home to his parents where his
supper is waiting for him.
Where the Wild Things Are won an important
childrens book award called the Caldecott Medal
in 1964, and has been enjoyed by millions of par-
ents and children. It was made into a film in 2009.
However, when the book was first published,
some critics said the illustrations and the ideas in
the book were too scary and grown up for children
to really understand and cope with.
This is a criticism that was often given about
Mr Sendaks books and illustra-
tions. But he was very dismiss-
ive of adults who said children
could not understand his themes
and ideas. He said he refused to
lie to children. He believed chil-
dren are very familiar with fear
and anxiety, and one way they
deal with these emotions is by
fantasy and imagination.
Mr Sendak also designed the stage sets and
costumes for several operas and ballets, espe-
cially in more recent years. He stopped writing
childrens books for around 30 years. But in 2011,
he published a new picture book, Bumble-Ardy,
about a pig who throws himself a birthday party
that gets out of control. He wrote and drew it dur-
ing the final illness of his partner, Eugene Glynn,
who died in 2009.
During his lifetime, Mr Sendak wrote or illus-
trated over 80 books.
At the time of his
death he had been
working on another,
called Jacks Book.
His brother, who
was also a childrens
book author, inspired
it. Jacks Book will be
published next year.
MAURICE SENDAK 1928 2012
Author and illustrator of books for children
OB I T U A RY
Maurice Sendak
17th May 2012 Newsademic.com British English edition

page 7
ELECTION IN GREECE
On 6th May people in Greece voted
to elect the 300 members of the
countrys parliament. For several
years the country has had serious
financial difficulties. Many hoped a
new government could start to solve
these problems. However, the result
of the election was inconclusive.
Greece is one of the 27 member
countries of the European Union
(EU). In 2001 it changed its cur-
rency, the drachma, to the euro.
At the time the countrys economy
was doing well. Today 17 EU mem-
ber countries use the euro. Often
this group of countries is known
as the eurozone. One advantage
of Greece joining the eurozone
was that it became much easier
for the countrys government to
borrow money.
The Greek parliament building, in Athens
Over the last ten years, different
governments continued to borrow
more and more money. Now these
debts have become so large that
paying them back and borrowing
any more money is difficult.
Three organisations agreed to
help Greece with its money prob-
lems: the EU, the European Central
Bank (ECB), and the International
Monetary Fund (IMF). Together
these three organisations are nick-
named the troika. This word means
three or a collection of three in
Slavic languages (used by several
countries in Eastern Europe).
The troika agreed to provide
Greece with a bail-out, or a lot
more money. This was to be used to
pay back some debts and to contin-
ue to run the country. Yet in return
the Greek government had to agree
to cut spending, or spend much less
than it had in the past.
Over the last two years this re-
duced government spending has
caused many problems for Greeces
economy. Thousands of people have
lost their jobs and many companies
have had to close down. Some peo-
ple now do not have enough money
to buy food to eat.
Experts say Greeces problems
are very difficult to solve. The gov-
ernment must keep finding ways of
spending less, or the troika will not
give it any more bail-out money. But
the economy is still getting weaker.
Its other choice is to stop using the
euro and go back to the drachma. The
drachma would be worth much less
than the euro. So companies in Greece
would be able to sell what they make
to other countries at a cheaper price.
This could mean more people get
jobs, so the government gets more
taxes, and is then able to repay some
of its debts. Yet leaving the euro
would also cause many problems.
Other bigger eurozone countries,
such as France and Germany, do not
want Greece to leave the euro. They
fear if it does other countries with
similar problems like Portugal, Italy
and Ireland may want to do the same.
There are two main political par-
ties in Greece. Many people blame
both for the countrys problems.
This time, 32 political parties took
part in the election. Many are new.
Some want Greece to keep the euro
and work with the troika. Others
believe it should use the drachma,
or be given much longer to repay
its debts.
No party won enough seats for
a majority (at least 151 seats) in
the 300-seat parliament. After the
election Karolos Papoulias, the
president, asked the leaders of the
three leading parties to try to work
together. Each was asked to form
a coalition, or group, which would
then have a majority in the parlia-
ment. Yet none of them could come
to an agreement.
Another election will now have
to be held. This is expected to take
place on 17th June. Many people
fear that without an elected govern-
ment Greeces problems are likely
to get even worse.
YPF RENATIONALISED
Large crowds gathered outside the
congress, or parliament, building in
Buenos Aires, the capital of Argenti-
na on 3rd May. They were celebrat-
ing a vote that had just been taken
by the countrys elected leaders.
NEWSCAST
BIRD GOES HOME It can be very
distressing to lose a pet and think
you might never see it again. One
clever pet owner in Japan had
prepared for just such a possibil-
ity. Some guests at a hotel spotted
a lost budgerigar flying around.
The bird even landed on one
visitors shoulder. Eventually the
budgie was caught and someone
took it to the police station as lost
property. After a day or two, the
budgie suddenly began to talk
and what it said was its home ad-
dress. The police were both
surprised and pleased
that they were able to
return the lost bird
to its owner.
dress. Th
surpris
that
re
17th May 2012 Newsademic.com British English edition

page 8
The vote means the government will
now take control of Argentinas big-
gest oil and gas company, YPF.
When a company is taken over
by a government in this way it is
often called nationalisation. The
opposite selling a government-
owned company to a private organi-
sation or a group of investors is
called privatisation.
Cristina Fernndez de Kirchner
Last month, Cristina Fernndez
de Kirchner, the president of Ar-
gentina, announced that her govern-
ment intended to take back control
of YPF. The YPF Company used to
be owned by the government, but
was privatised in the 1990s.
In 1999 a company called Rep-
sol took control of YPF. Repsol is
another large oil and gas company.
It has its headquarters in Madrid,
the capital of Spain, and operates in
many countries. So by renationalis-
ing the company the Argentine gov-
ernment is forcing Repsol to hand
over ownership of YPF.
Ms Fernndez de Kirchner claims
Repsol has been badly managing
YPF for many years. Several senior
government ministers have accused
the Spanish company of taking
money out of YPF to spend on Rep-
sols operations in other countries.
Spain is one of the 27 European
Union (EU) member countries. Soon
after Ms Fernndez de Kirchners
announcement, Mariano Rajoy, the
prime minister of Spain, and several
senior EU officials complained.
They said Argentina would be
making a big mistake if its govern-
ment were to nationalise YPF. They
argued this would discourage other
large international companies from
investing or working in Argentina.
People often disagree about pri-
vatisation and nationalisation. An
advantage of nationalisation is that a
country can use money from the com-
pany to pay for goods and services
people need. It is not trying to make
lots of money for its owners, but for
everyone in the country. A disadvan-
tage is that governments are not al-
ways experts in business, investment,
and managing money. The people
running the company dont depend
on it making a profit to get paid. It
is therefore not unusual for National-
ised companies to lose money.
Several other large companies
have recently been nationalised in
Argentina. These include its biggest
passenger airline and a water compa-
ny. Some complain that these compa-
nies are now being badly managed.
Other leaders in South American
countries, such as President Hugo
Chvez of Venezuela and Evo Mo-
rales, the president of Bolivia, have
recently decided to nationalise sev-
eral foreign-owned companies in
their countries. These include large
oil and gas operations.
The Argentine government will
have to pay Repsol for seizing
control of YPF. Repsol insists the
amount should be around US$10
billion (6.2 billion). Most people
do not expect the Argentine govern-
ment to agree to this figure.
ICEBREAKER PROTEST
For several days at the beginning of
May, protesters tried to stop a Finnish
ice-breaking ship from sailing to the
Arctic. The ship is travelling there to
help in the search for new oil fields.
The protesters are all members of
Greenpeace. Greenpeace is an envi-
ronmental protection organisation
that was first set up over 40 years ago.
The icebreaker, the Nordica, was
supposed to set off from Helsinki, the
capital of Finland, on 1st May. But 20
protesters managed to get on board
the ship before it left. They chained
and padlocked themselves to dif-
ferent parts of the icebreaker. Later,
local police cut them free and took
them off the ship.
The Nordica and another Finn-
ish icebreaker called the Fennica
have been hired, or chartered, by a
company called Royal Dutch Shell
(often known as Shell).
Nordica
Shell is an Anglo-Dutch compa-
ny. This means it has headquarters
in both the UK and The Netherlands.
As well as petrol and diesel, Shell
makes other products from oil. Shell
fuel is used in over 40 countries, and
the company has many oil drilling
operations all over the world.
Shell is planning to drill five ex-
ploratory, or test, wells in the Chukchi
and the Beaufort Seas. These are off
the north coast of Alaska and Canada.
The wells will be drilled in places
where it is not yet known if there is
oil under the seabed. The drilling is
to find out if large oil fields exist in
this part of the Arctic. The protesters
insist that Shell should not be allowed
to drill for oil in the Arctic.
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page 9
The drilling will be done from
two other ships. The work is
planned to take place during the
summer months, or until too much
sea ice begins to form in the au-
tumn. The job of the two icebreakers
is to make sure a passage, or route,
through sea ice is kept clear for the
drilling ships.
The protesters claim drilling
in Arctic waters is too dangerous.
They worry that if an accident were
to happen, such as a serious leak or
big oil spill, it would be very dif-
ficult to stop or clean up because
of the freezing temperatures. The
protesters say accidents of this type
could destroy both local ecosystems
and nearby communities. Drill-
ing in the Arctic, they claim, is too
big a risk.
Two days after boarding the ship
in Helsinki, Greenpeace protest-
ers in small boats caught up with
the Nordica when it was sailing in
Swedish waters. The small boats cir-
cled the ship to stop it from moving
forwards. After dark, some protest-
ers climbed on board again. They
also hung signs from the side of the
ship that read Stop Shell and You
can save the Arctic. Police from
Sweden were called out to the ice-
breaker. They arrested the protesters
on the ship.
RUSSIAN PRESIDENT RETURNS
On 7th May, an inauguration ceremo-
ny for the new president of Russia,
Vladimir Putin, was held, in Mos-
cow, the capital of Russia. This is not
the first time that Mr Putin has been
the Russian president. Previously he
was elected for two four-year terms,
between 2000 and 2008.
The Russian constitution, or rules
by which the country is governed,
says a president may serve two
terms in a row. However, it is not
clear whether a person may be pres-
ident for two terms, then step down
for one, and then return. Yet this is
what Mr Putin has done.
After Mr Putins second term
ended in 2008, Dmitry Medvedev
was elected president. Both Mr Pu-
tin and Mr Medvedev are members
of the same political party, United
Russia. In the presidential election
in 2008 Mr Putin recommended
people vote for Mr Medvedev. Af-
ter Mr Medvedev became president,
he arranged for Mr Putin to become
prime minister.
As president, between 2000 and
2008, Mr Putin became a popular
leader. Many Russians believed
he made their country strong and
powerful again, especially as Rus-
sia had had many problems after the
Russian-led Soviet Union broke up
in 1991.
When Mr Medvedevs four-year
period as president was coming
to an end Mr Putin announced he
would stand again for president.
He and Mr Medvedev agreed to
what some people have described
as a job swap. If Mr Medvedev
did not stand in the election and Mr
Putin won, he would arrange for Mr
Medvedev to be prime minister.
Last December there was an
election for the Russian parliament,
called the state Duma. United Rus-
sia easily won the most seats. Many
people, especially in large cities
such as Moscow and St Petersburg,
suspected United Russia had cheat-
ed. They claimed many votes had
been deliberately miscounted. Sev-
eral large protests took place. Some
even said the elections should be
held again.
Many protesters were unhappy
that Mr Putin had decided to stand
again for the presidency. The elec-
tion was held in March. Mr Putin
won with about 63% of the votes.
Once again the protesters claimed
officials who supported Mr Putin
had cheated.
Vladimir Putin at his inauguration ceremony, in
the Kremlin, in Moscow (www.kremlin.ru)
On 6th May, the day before Mr
Putins inauguration, around 20,000
people demonstrated in the centre
of Moscow. During the protests
there were several confrontations
with the police and many people
were arrested.
In Russia, presidential inaugu-
ration ceremonies are held in the
Kremlin in the centre of Moscow.
NEWSCAST
THATS A LOT OF PASTA A large
pasta company from Italy and
a supermarket group from Tur-
key have joined together to raise
money for UNICEF, the United
Nations Childrens Fund. From
10th May, pasta-lovers were able
to buy extra-large boxes of pasta
from the supermarkets. Each box
weighs about 500 kilograms (1,100
pounds), is about one metre (three
feet) wide, and almost 1.5 metres
(five feet) tall. They cost 999 Turk-
ish lira (345). As the boxes are so
heavy, the price includes delivery
to peoples homes. The two com-
panies say the money people spend
on the giant pasta boxes will be do-
nated to UNICEF.
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page 10
The Kremlin is a large fortified
building originally used by the Rus-
sian royal family. On the day of the
ceremony the streets around the
Kremlin were closed off as a way of
stopping more protests.
On 9th May, two days after he
officially returned to the presidency,
Mr Putin and Mr Medvedev watched
a large military parade in Red Square
outside the Kremlin. This victory pa-
rade is held each year on this day. It
marks the anniversary of the official
surrender of Nazi Germany in 1945,
which brought the Second World
War in Europe to an end.
TEMPLETON PRIZE
A special ceremony took place in St
Pauls Cathedral in London, the
capital of the UK, on 14th May. It
was held to give the Dalai Lama this
years Templeton Prize.
The Templeton Prize was first
awarded in 1972, so the Dalai Lama
was the 40th winner.
The prize was set up
by, and named after, Sir
John Templeton (1912
2008). He was a very wealthy
British business owner who was
born in the USA.
Templeton felt that while there
were important international prizes
such as the Nobel Prizes for peace,
chemistry, physics, medicine, and
literature, there were no prizes to
celebrate spiritual and religious
things. He decided to set one up.
His prize is awarded to people who
try to bring science and religion
together, or for research and dis-
coveries about spiritual feelings
and thoughts.
The winner of the Templeton
Prize receives around 1 million
(US$1.6 million). This makes it one
of the largest money prizes for this
type of award in the world. A group,
or panel, of judges decides who will
receive the award.
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is the spiritual,
or religious, leader of Buddhists. He
is 76 years old. For over 50 years he
has lived in Dharamsala, a town in
northern India. But he was born and
grew up in Tibet.
Tibet is a mountainous region
in southern China. Many Tibetans
claim their homeland is a separate
country. Yet Chinese leaders have
always insisted that Tibet is part of
China. Sixty years ago it accused
Tibetan leaders of treating poor
people in the country
as slaves. In 1950 the
Chinese army marched
into Tibet and took
over. It claimed it did this to help the
poorer Tibetan people.
A few years later some Tibet-
ans staged an uprising against
the Chinese authorities, but this
failed. Thousands of Tibetans were
killed. Many, including the Dalai
Lama, fled across the borders into
northern India and Nepal. They
eventually settled in Dharamsala.
There they set up a government-
in-exile with the Dalai Lama as
their leader.
Last year the Dalai Lama an-
nounced he would retire. He said he
would still be a spiritual leader, but
no longer wished to make political
decisions. An election was held to
choose a prime minster to lead the
government-in-exile. Only Tibetans
living outside Tibet were allowed
to vote.
The Dalai Lama has travelled to
many countries and met many world
leaders. China claims he is a sepa-
ratist. It accuses him of wanting to
meet world leaders so they will sup-
port his plan for Tibet to become an
independent, or separate, country.
The Dalai Lama denies this. Yet
he and his supporters worry that the
ancient Tibetan culture is being de-
stroyed. The Dalai Lama agrees that
Tibet should remain part of China,
but believes Tibetan leaders should
be able to make many of their own
decisions. This, he says, would be the
best way to protect Tibets Buddhist
customs and traditional way of life.
Many people all around the
world admire the Dalai Lama. He
is known as a man of peace and
frequently argues against any form
of violence. Since he was a young
man, he has always been interested
in science.
Just before being awarded the
Templeton Prize the Dalai Lama
explained that he would be giving
all of the money to charity. Most
will go to an organisation that helps
young children in India. However,
he said, a small amount will be used
to help Tibetan monks to learn more
about science.
SOUTH CHINA SEA ISLAND
DISPUTE
A crowd of several hundred peo-
ple gathered outside the Chinese
embassy in Manila, the capital of
the Philippines, on 11th May. They
were angry about Chinas claim to
own a shoal, or group of tiny islands
and reefs, in the South China Sea.
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page 11
On many maps, the islands are
called the Scarborough Shoal. The
name comes from a trading ship
that sank there just over 200 years
ago. In China, the shoal is known as
Huangyan Island, and in the Philip-
pines, as Panatag Shoal. For many
years both China and the Philip-
pines have said they own the shoal
and the seas around it. Nobody lives
on the islands.
THAILAND
CAMBODIA
VIETNAM
LAOS
MALAYSIA
PHILIPPINES
Luzon
TAIWAN CHINA
Spratlys
Scarborough
Shoal
Paracels
South China
Sea
Disputed islands
At the beginning of April, a Phil-
ippine navy ship reported about
eight Chinese fishing boats close to
the islands. Soon afterwards, both
countries sent patrol boats to the
seas surrounding the shoal.
The Scarborough shoal is about
200 kilometres (125 miles) off the
coast of Luzon, one of the main is-
lands of the Philippines. It is much
closer to the Philippines than to Chi-
na. However, Chinese officials say
boats from China have been fishing
around the shoal for hundreds of
years. This, they explain, is why the
small islands, shoals and reefs belong
to China.
In the 1940s China made a map
that shows the area of the South
China Sea it claims to own. Other
disputed island groups include what
are often called the Spratlys, and the
Paracels. Vietnam insists it owns the
Paracels. Several countries, includ-
ing Vietnam, the Philippines, Ma-
laysia, and Taiwan say some of the
Spratlys are theirs.
A long time ago ownership of
small uninhabited islands like these
was not important. But recently this
has changed. Large amounts of oil
and gas are believed to be under
the South China Sea. The coun-
tries that own the islands would
therefore have the right to drill for
oil, as well as fishing rights, in the
surrounding area.
Today the South China Sea is a
very busy and important shipping
route. Many large ships carry goods
to and from countries in Asia, Eu-
rope, and Africa through the South
China Sea every day.
Chinese officials accused the
Philippine government of organis-
ing the protest outside its embassy
in Manila. It denied that it had.
Some reports say Chinese officials
are now making it harder for Chi-
nese tourists to visit the Philippines
because of what has happened.
China is a large and powerful
country. In the Philippines people
know they could not stop it from
taking over the islands if China de-
cided to use military force. The gov-
ernment is therefore trying to get an
international organisation, such as
the United Nations (UN), to help to
settle its dispute with China over the
Scarborough Shoal.
BUDDHAS BIRTHDAY
This year Wesak was celebrated on
5th May. Wesak (also called Vesak)
is often known as Buddhas birth-
day. This is an important day in the
calendar for people who follow the
Buddhist faith.
The date of Wesak is based on a
lunar calendar, or the cycles of the
Moon. It is the day of the full Moon
in the fourth lunar month. This
means each year Wesak happens on
a different day in the international,
or Gregorian, calendar. Last year it
was on 17th May.
Statue of the Buddha, in India
Many Buddhists celebrate We-
sak by going to temples to pray and
meditate. In some places there are
large processions. People bring of-
ferings such as flowers and incense
and donate money and food to the
monks at the temple.
Siddhartha Gautama was the
founder of Buddhism. He was born
around 2,500 years ago in what is
now Nepal. Siddhartha was a very
wealthy prince. However, he wanted
to learn about what life was like for
other people and went travelling. He
met many people, including teach-
ers who said wealth and possessions
were not the most important things
in life. Instead, they said, people
should try to free themselves from
being greedy for money and what it
can buy.
Siddhartha spent a long time
thinking or meditating about these
ideas. By doing so, he eventually
became what Buddhists describe
as awakened, or enlightened. This
means he was free from delusion,
or believing things that are not true,
greed and hatred. So this is what
Buddhists try to do as well. The word
Buddha means someone who has
become enlightened.
Siddharta spent the rest of his
life teaching, but he also said peo-
ple should not follow the ideas of
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page 12
Buddhism just because he said so.
Instead, he said it is important for
people to try to find enlightenment
(also known as nirvana), and come
to understand by themselves why
they should do these things.
Wesak does not just celebrate
the birth of Buddha but also his
enlightenment and death. There
are three important things to re-
member for Buddhists on this day.
They are to be giving (called dana),
to live morally and work to under-
stand the things the Buddha taught
(called sila), and try to learn and
gain wisdom through meditating
(called bhavana).
In some temples, people are en-
couraged to become blood donors
or sign up to donate their organs to
others if they die. This, say many
Buddhists, is a good way of being
giving, or practising dana. Yet they
also believe its important to try to
practise the ideas of Buddhism eve-
ry day and not just on Wesak.
SANDWICH CELEBRATION
Sandwich is the name of an old
town in the south of the UK. On
12th and 13th May, many people
living in the town took part in the
Sandwich Celebration Festival.
The festival was held to celebrate
the 250th anniversary of what is
now one of the worlds most popular
convenience foods.
A sandwich is usually made with
two slices of bread, with a filling in
between them, often meat, cheese,
or salad. Legend says the popular
snack was named after a man called
John Montagu (1718 1792).
John Montagus ancestor Sir
Edward Montagu was made an earl
in 1660. Earl is a high-ranking title
that can be given by a king or queen.
At the time Sir Edward was a com-
mander in the navy and many of
his ships were based in Sandwich.
So he chose to be the First Earl of
Sandwich. John Montagu eventu-
ally inherited the title, becoming the
Fourth Earl of Sandwich.
The first written record of a
sandwich is in a journal written by
Edward Gibbon (1737 1794) 250
years ago, in 1762. The story says
Montagu liked to play cards with
his friends late into the night. At that
time, wealthy people like the Earl of
Sandwich always sat down for for-
mal meals with many courses, eaten
with knives and forks. This took a
long time.
One evening the Earl did not
want to stop playing cards to have
a long meal. He asked his servant to
bring him some meat between two
pieces of bread. This meant he could
eat quickly while still playing cards,
and the bread would protect his
hands from becoming greasy from
the meat. At the time, it would have
been unusual for an earl to use his
hands to eat a meal. His friends then
asked for the same as Sandwich.
Later, the meal became known as
a sandwich.
Sandwich
Food historians say other people
probably already ate food between
pieces of bread. But the Earls sand-
wich was the first to be written about.
The Fourth Earl of Sandwich
was an important member of the
government. He helped to organise
some of the voyages of James Cook
(1728 1779) the famous British
explorer. Cook was the first Euro-
pean to sail to many islands in the
Pacific Ocean, to the east coast of
Australia, and around New Zealand.
When he arrived in Hawaii (now
part of the USA) he named it the
Sandwich Islands.
John Montagu, Fourth Earl of Sandwich
Another John Montagu was a
special guest at the festival in the
town of Sandwich. He is the Elev-
enth Earl of Sandwich, a descend-
ant of the Fourth Earl. During the
two-day festival there were re-
enactments of the card game when
the Fourth Earl asked for his sand-
wich, and several sandwich-making
competitions.
DINOSAUR FLEAS
Scientists working in China have
found fossils of insects that, they
say, probably caused dinosaurs a lot
of irritation. The scientists say the
insects were similar to modern-day
fleas but around ten times bigger.
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page 13
This map shows countries to which news stories refer in this issue. Visit www.newsademic.com for more detailed world maps.
USA
Hawaii
UK
TURKEY
SOMALI A
RUSSI A
PHI LI PPI NES
PERU
NORWAY
T
H
E
N
E
T
H
E
R
L
A
N
D
S
N
E
P
A
L
MEXI CO
JAPAN
I SRAEL
GUATEMALA
Beaufor t
S ea
Chukchi
S ea
GREECE
GERMANY
FRANCE
FI NLAND
CHI NA
T
ib
e
t
CANADA
BRAZI L
ARGENTI NA
Fleas are tiny biting insects. Their
mouths are specially shaped to bite
into the skin of animals or birds and
to suck their blood. This means they
are parasites, or living things that
live off another (often called the
host). Normally parasites are much
smaller than their hosts.
Fleas dont have any wings. Yet
they have long, powerful back legs
which mean they can jump a long
way. Some fleas have been recorded
jumping a distance of 33 centimetres
(13 inches) and 18 centimetres (sev-
en inches) up in the air. Flea bites
can be very itchy and annoying.
Many people who have pet dogs and
cats often use anti-flea treatment on
their animals.
The scientists who discovered
the fossils say the ancient fleas were
different from those of today. They
have called them pseudo-fleas.
Pseudo comes from an ancient
Greek word meaning false. Scien-
tists often use pseudo to describe
something that looks like another
type of animal, insect or plant but
doesnt belong to the same species.
Artists impression of one of the pseudo-fleas
Modern fleas have narrow bod-
ies. The bodies of the ancient fleas
seem to be wider and flatter. This
means they are more like the bod-
ies of other modern parasites such
as lice and ticks. The giant fleas
legs seem to have all been about the
same size. They would therefore not
have been able to jump long dis-
tances like todays fleas.
The pseudo-flea fossils are com-
pression fossils. They arent like
most dinosaur fossils, in which hard
minerals replace the tissues of the
dinosaurs body over millions of
years. In compression fossils layers
of sediment very gradually cover
the body or plant. As these layers
become thicker, under the great
pressure the fossil is squashed, or
compressed. Compression fossils
are usually found in places that were
once rivers, lakes or ponds.
Two ancient types of fleas were
discovered. The smaller one lived
during the Jurassic period, around
165 million years ago. It grew to
a length of about 1.7 centimetres
(0.7 inches). The larger type lived
roughly 125 million years ago in the
Cretaceous period. It was around
2.3 centimetres (0.9 inches) long.
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page 14
The fleas had strong claws for
gripping onto their hosts skin, and a
long needle-like proboscis. The sci-
entists think this would have been
strong enough to pierce the skin of
some larger dinosaurs. They may
have also sucked the blood of feath-
ered dinosaurs as well as prehistoric
mammals.
NEW MAYAN CALENDAR
DISCOVERED
For many years archaeologists
have been working at a place called
Xultn, in Guatemala. Recently
they uncovered a room, or dwelling,
with the walls and ceiling covered
in paintings. On part of one wall are
some figures, which the archaeolo-
gists believe form a type of calendar.
Mayan pyramid
Xultn is a Mayan site. If the
markings on the wall are a calendar,
it will be the oldest Mayan calendar
ever discovered.
Historians think the Mayan civi-
lisation first began around 4,000
years ago. The Mayan people lived
in Central America in what is now
Guatemala, the southern part of
Mexico, Belize, and parts of Hondu-
ras and El Salvador. The civilisation
was at its most powerful between
around 250 CE and 900 CE. The
Maya built many stone buildings,
temples, and pyramid structures.
They also had a system of writing,
using symbols called glyphs.
The Maya knew a lot about the
planets, the stars, and how the Sun
appeared to move in the sky. They
also created a complicated calendar
known as the Long Count. It begins
in 3,114 BCE. The calendar marked
time in cycles, called Baktuns,
which were roughly 394 years long.
Spanish invaders arrived in this
part of Central America in the ear-
ly 1500s. By this time the Mayan
civilisation had declined. Many of
their stone buildings and temples
had become lost in the rainforests,
or jungles. Nobody knows exactly
why, but the causes are thought to
have been wars, disease, or a very
long drought.
However, the Mayans have never
completely disappeared. Today,
many of the people living in these
countries are descendants of the
Maya. Around five million people
still speak Mayan languages.
The ruins of Xultn were first
discovered about 100 years ago.
Many of the buildings are yet to be
uncovered. The newly discovered
dwelling was found under a mound
of earth. It is thought to date from
around 800 CE.
The walls are painted with both
pictures and glyphs. One picture
shows the king, wearing blue feath-
ers on his head. Another is of a man
holding a stylus, a type of pen. The
archaeologists believe the building
was a sort of office or study.
On one wall there are many col-
umns of tiny dots, bars and circles.
The archaeologists think these are
calculations about the cycles of the
Moon and of the planets Mars and
Venus. The archaeologists estimate
the wall paintings were made in
814 CE. This means they are the
earliest known Mayan astronomical
calculations of this type discovered
so far. The markings on the wall
calculate repeating cycles up to
7,000 years into the future from
when they were written.
In the 1960s, a stone tablet was
discovered in a ruined Mayan site
called Tortuguero. Thought to be
about 1,300 years old, it predicts
that a powerful Mayan god will re-
turn at the end of the 13th Baktun.
This date has been calculated as
21st December 2012.
Some people believe this means
the world will end on this day. Many
books have been written about what
has become known as the Mayan
Prophecy. Some claim earthquakes
or even a large asteroid or comet
will destroy the Earth on this date.
Historians who study the Maya
say there is no evidence they
thought the end of the 13th Baktun
also marked the end of the world.
The new discovery, they explain,
is another example that proves the
prophecy is wrong. The date cal-
culations painted on the wall go far
into the future, beyond 2012.
NEWSCAST
AIR CONCERT Visitors to a mu-
sic festival in Sao Paolo, in Bra-
zil, were treated to the heights
of musical culture with an unu-
sual piano performance. A pianist
and a grand piano which can
weigh as much as 500 kilograms
(1,100 pounds) were suspend-
ed in the air from several strong
wires. The pianist performed his
concert hanging high in the air
above the audience. He played
the piano twice during the 24-
hour cultural festival once in
the early morning and again at
lunchtime. At the end of the per-
formances he and the piano were
lowered to the ground while the
audience applauded.
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page 15
EU FORCE ATTACKS PIRATES
During the night of 14th to 15th
May, a group of soldiers travelled in
helicopters to the coast of Somalia.
There they destroyed some small
speedboats, called skiffs. Somali
pirates have been using these boats
to hijack much larger ships. The
helicopters had taken off from navy
ships belonging to several European
Union (EU) member countries, that
are in the Indian Ocean.
For seven years, groups of well-
armed pirates have been operating in
the seas around Somalia. The coun-
try is considered one of the most
lawless in the world. Somalia has
had no effective government since
1991. Recently, a new government
has been set up. Several other Afri-
can countries and the EU support it.
The new government controls only
a small area around the capital city,
Mogadishu. Pirate gangs use coastal
towns and villages without fear
of arrest.
Italian warship in the Indian Ocean
The pirates often operate from
large mother ships. Once they
see a ship sailing alone, armed pi-
rates set off in the smaller speed-
boats to surround it. By threaten-
ing the crew with weapons, the
pirates get on board and force the
captured ship to sail to the coast of
Somalia. The pirate leaders then de-
mand a large payment, or ransom,
for the safe return of the crew and
the ship.
Over the last few years Somali
pirates have captured many ships,
including large oil tankers. The
gangs have made a lot of money
from ransom payments. Pirate gangs
in Somalia are thought to be hold-
ing around 17 captured ships and
300 crew members at the moment.
A Greek oil tanker was hijacked on
10th May.
KENYA
ETHIOPIA
SOMALIA
UGANDA
DJIBOUTI
YEMEN
INDIAN
OCEAN
Mogadishu
Haradhere
Many countries have sent navy
ships to the western part of the In-
dian Ocean near to Somalia. The EU
has kept between five and ten war-
ships there since 2008. This group
of ships, or flotilla, is known as
Operation Atalanta. NATO (North
Atlantic Treaty Organization) also
has an anti-piracy operation there,
called Ocean Shield. Malaysia,
South Korea, Russia, China, Thai-
land, and India have also sent war-
ships to stop the pirate attacks.
Several warships have managed
to capture or kill some of the pirates
and destroy their boats and ships far
out at sea. Yet the hijackings have
continued. Two months ago the
commanders of Operation Atalanta
asked the Somali government for
permission to start attacking the pi-
rates in their bases along the coast.
This has not been done before. The
government agreed.
The EU nighttime raid was the
first of these attacks on the Somali
coast. The pirate base was near the
town of Haradhere. The command-
ers said several pirate skiffs were
destroyed. Nobody was killed.
The troops that took part all safe-
ly returned to their ships. As the
first raid has been a success, ex-
perts believe many more will now
be planned.
NEW DENTAL FILLING
Dentists in the USA have discov-
ered a new substance for filling
holes in teeth. They predict not only
will it stop bacteria from regrowing
in the hole inside a decayed tooth
but it may even start a process that
makes the tooth enamel itself start
to regrow.
Some animals such as sharks
and crocodiles frequently grow
new sets of teeth to replace those
that are worn out. Yet many mam-
mals, including humans, normally
have only two sets of teeth dur-
ing their lifetime: baby teeth and
adult teeth.
Tooth decay in humans is quite
a common problem. It happens
when the bacteria in the mouth
make acids. They do this by feed-
ing on the sugars in the foods we
have eaten. These acids attack the
enamel, the hard surface of the
teeth, and begin to eat away at it.
Unless the acids are removed regu-
larly a hole, or cavity, can form in
the tooth.
Most people stop tooth decay and
cavities by looking after their teeth
and brushing them regularly. Den-
tists check the condition of peoples
teeth. Every so often they clean
them thoroughly to stop a substance
called plaque, which contains the
bacteria, from building up.
If a tooth does decay it will prob-
ably cause toothache. A dentist can
fix this by drilling away the decayed
parts of the tooth inside the hole.
17th May 2012 Newsademic.com British English edition

page 16
Then the hole is filled. It is impor-
tant for all the decayed area of the
tooth and the bacteria to be com-
pletely removed before the filling is
put in. If it isnt, the tooth can decay
even more.
Dentist at work
Fillings are most often made
from amalgam. This is a silver-col-
oured substance made from a mix
of mercury, tin, silver or sometimes
other metals. Nowadays many fill-
ings, especially in places where they
can be seen, are made from dental
composite. This is a type of resin
that can be made to match the colour
of the teeth.
The new material for fillings uses
nanotechnology to treat tooth decay.
Nanotechnology is the science of
working with things at the level of
their atoms and molecules the tiny
building blocks from which every-
thing is made. The new filling ma-
terial has three parts. First, a liquid
primer is painted onto the tooth
and inside the hole. Then a sticky
substance is inserted that will help
the filling join up with the remain-
ing tooth enamel. Finally the filling
material is put in.
All three contain nanoparticles
of silver as well as some other an-
tibacterial ingredients. These kill
off bacteria and stop any more from
growing. The filling material also
contains nanoparticles of calcium
phosphate. This helps the tooth
enamel to get stronger. Although it
may not make the tooth completely
regrow into the hole, dentists say, it
might help the filling to fuse, or join
together, with the tooth better, and
the drilled hole to heal.
The dentists now plan to do tests
with the new filling material. At
first it will be used on the teeth of
animals and of human volunteers, to
check it works in the way that they
expect it to.
MOSQUITO ARGUMENT
Some parents in Canada are up-
set because their childrens school
playground has recently been badly
damaged, or vandalised.
The incident has led to arguments
about a device called the Mosqui-
to, which was being used as a way
of stopping people from going there
at night.
School playground
The Mosquito is an anti-loitering
device. A man from the UK invent-
ed it in 2005. In some countries the
device is also known as the Mos-
quito alarm, the Beethoven, and
SonicScreen. It is supposed to stop
young people mostly teenagers
who behave badly, or anti-socially,
from gathering in certain places
at night.
The Mosquito works by giving
out a noise. The noise is at a very
high frequency that only young peo-
ple can hear. The inventor says he
got the idea when he remembered
how a high-frequency noise from
a nearby factory used to cause him
discomfort when he was a child.
Today several companies make
his device.
The noises we hear depend on
the frequency of the sound waves
that produce them. Tiny hairs, called
filaments, in our inner ears turn
sound waves into nerve impulses.
This is how we hear sounds. As we
get older, the hairs dont transmit
the waves as well as they once did.
We therefore lose our ability to hear
higher frequencies.
The Mosquito makes a high fre-
quency whine or buzzing sound.
The sound can be painful to people
who can hear it. The devices have
been used in places where teenagers
are known to gather at night, such as
outside shops and in playgrounds or
bus stations.
Some say these audible devices
should not be allowed. They claim
using them discriminates against
young people. In some countries,
including several in Europe, courts
have banned them. Those who
NEWSCAST
PUT YOUR FLIPPERS ON...SET...GO!
On 9th May, people in Amsterdam,
the capital of The Netherlands,
got dressed in elbow pads, wrist
guards and knee protectors to take
part in an unusual running race.
The other parts of the racing uni-
form were swimming costumes,
snorkels, and big flippers on the
feet. Those taking part ran as fast
as they could wearing the flippers
around Dam Square in the centre
of the city. The National Flipper
Race is meant to remind everyone
that the summer is beginning and
soon it will be warm enough to
enjoy going swimming in the sea.
17th May 2012 Newsademic.com British English edition

page 17
argue against them claim the de-
vices do not stop teenage anti-social
behaviour, but just move it some-
where else.
The parents in Canada say teen-
agers often got together at the
schools playground at night. Some-
times, the next morning, they would
find things like broken glass bottles,
graffiti, and even syringes and plas-
tic bags that had contained drugs,
at the playground. A Mosquito de-
vice was set up about one year ago,
which stopped this from happening.
Recently the parents arrived to
find the playground had been van-
dalised and parts of it burnt down.
A school official admitted she had
switched the device off. She said
she had done so because a hu-
man rights organisation had de-
clared that Mosquitoes should not
be used.
The parents say since the device
was set up, the playground has been
safe for their children. The Mosqui-
to was switched on only between ten
oclock at night and six in the morn-
ing. During this time, nobody is al-
lowed to be in the school grounds.
So the parents say the device was
affecting only people who were al-
ready trespassing, or breaking the
law.
SELLING THE SCREAM
A record was set at an art auction in
New York City, in the USA, at the
beginning of May. A picture called
The Scream was sold for $120 mil-
lion (74 million). This is the high-
est price ever paid for a painting at
an art auction.
The Scream, by Edvard Munch
(1863 1944), is one of the worlds
most famous pictures. Munch was
from Norway. As a young man he
studied at a technical college. He
wanted to train as an engineer. But
after one year he left to become a
painter, and studied at the Royal
School of Art and Design in the city
of Kristiania (now known as Oslo,
the capital of Norway).
The recently sold version of The Scream
Munchs art caused a lot of argu-
ments and discussion. His pictures
often had dark and unhappy themes,
depicting misery, fears and anxie-
ties. Many were inspired by great
unhappiness in his own life. Some
art critics urged people to boycott,
or refuse to go to, exhibitions of his
work. For much of his life Munch
lived and worked in Germany.
The Norwegian word for the ti-
tle, Skrik, can also be translated
as the shriek. The painting shows
a figure that faces you as you stand
in front of the picture. The persons
hands are held up at either side of his
or her face, and the mouth is open in
a scream. Two smaller figures stand
in the background. The sky above is
red and orange. Art experts say The
Scream is a visual representation of
anxiety and dread.
Between 1893 and 1910 Munch
produced four versions, or copies,
of The Scream. Two were painted,
while Munch used pastels or a type
of crayon for the other two. Three
are displayed in art museums in
Oslo. In the past, two of these have
been stolen. Both were found sev-
eral years later.
The version sold in the auction
was the only one that belonged to an
individual person. Petter Olsen sold
the picture. He inherited it from his
father, who had owned the picture
for many years.
This version of The Scream was
done with pastels. It is the only one
of the four to have a poem on the
frame, also painted by Munch. The
poem explains the inspiration for
the picture. It says: I was walking
along a path with two friends - the
sun was setting suddenly the sky
turned blood red I paused, feeling
exhausted, and leaned on the fence -
there was blood and tongues of fire
above the blue-black fjord and the
city. My friends walked on, and I
stood there trembling with anxiety -
and I sensed an infinite scream pass-
ing through nature.
The auction company said the
name of the person who paid the
record price for the picture will be
kept secret.
Newsademic.com
Editor: Amber Goldie
Acknowledgements:
News story photographs by gettyimages
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17th May 2012 Newsademic.com British English edition

page 18
ISSUE 171
GLOSSARY PUZZLE
INSTRUCTIONS: Complete the crossword. The answers are
highlighted in orange in the news stories. There are 25
words highlighted and you need 20 of them to complete the
crossword. Once you have solved the crossword go to
the word search on the next page

1 2 3 4
5 6
7 8
9 10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
ACROSS
1 Adjective Describes something to do with money or
financial matters
3 Adjective Describes a sound that can be heard
5 Noun A diary, or daily personal written record
7 Noun When two or more similar things happen at the
same time or place, for unconnected reasons
9 Verb Entering a place without permission, or unlawfully
11 Noun A prediction of what will happen in the future
13 Noun The elongated mouthparts of certain insects used
for piercing through an outer layer and sucking food
16 Noun Worried feelings about what may happen in the
future
17 Noun Something or someone who sets an encouraging
example
18 Adjective Describes actions or words used to show
something is not worth your consideration or interest
DOWN
1 Noun A long strip of sea between steep hills, found
especially in Norway
2 Verb Standing around without any particular purpose or aim
4 Adjective Describes something that has no certain final
result or outcome
6 Noun Describes actions taken to save money, especially
living more simply and strictly controlling spending
7 Noun A disaster, often one that happens suddenly and
causes a lot of suffering or damage
8 Noun An official ceremony to mark the beginning of a new
period
10 Noun An uncomfortable feeling in a part of the body
12 Noun (Plural) Things you own or are carrying
14 Verb Use calm thoughts as a religious activity or to relax
15 Verb To go or move around an area to check if there is any
trouble or danger
17th May 2012 Newsademic.com British English edition

page 19
ISSUE 171
GLOSSARY PUZZLE CONTINUED
INSTRUCTIONS: Find 19 of the 20
crossword answers in the word search.
Words can go vertically, horizontally,
diagonally and back to front. After
finding the 19 words write down the
20th (or missing) word under the puzzle.
I N S P I R A T I O N M G L U F Q S
N N S P A P R O B O S C I S G E A N
A V C R Z T Z E V I S S I M S I D O
U J K O G K R C O L E V V T U A G I
G O B P N G D O E X A D H T N N O S
U V F H J C D N L I O K H X I S N S
R K F E O O L X O J Y C I S L P X E
A O R C U V I U R I C E S X U X F S
T F U Y R J J J S A T A H X P L J S
I L A U N G J H T I P A U D A Y N O
O S W R A G X A E S V T T C Z Z D P
N A N F L R S S E G L E S I V R E O
L O L O I T E R I N G I I N R F L W
L S N I R T T R O H F J O R D R B Z
Z L J O Y T I R E T S U A G K Q I A
P S P B N C A P R J Q M F R U C D N
M H M F J C A Y Y I O B J Q G Q U S
E C N E D I C N I O C I S K K P A O
MISSING WORD ANSWER =
I
S
S
U
E

1
7
0

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