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com
The informative easy to read introduction to world news

25th April 2019


British English edition
Issue Number 352
In this issue
Mariana Trench fish
Ukraine’s new comedy
president
Parthenon Marbles return
request
Airborne plastic pollution
Crusader DNA
Kafka papers ruling
Cleaning up Agent Orange
Living fossil study
‘Phantom’ lakes on Titan
Saint George’s Day
Nuclear fuel removal begins
Guatemala’s mystery magnet
sculptures
The fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral in central Paris, in France Last female Yangtze softshell
turtle

N o t r e -D a m e tragedy
Easter attacks in Sri Lanka
Wolves return to the
Nowadays, people from many countries Notre-Dame has two huge stone bell Netherlands
visit Paris, France’s capital city. It is a towers. They are on either side of the Massacre centenary in India
popular tourist destination. Most go to building’s main entrance. A tall spire, Summit in Vladivostok
the Île de la Cité. This natural island, in made from wood and lead, rose up from Glossary Crossword and
Wordsearch Puzzle
the River Seine, is in the centre of the city. the centre of the roof. Within a short
There, they visit Notre-Dame (Our Lady). time, the whole spire was ablaze. The
The large Gothic cathedral is a world fa- onlookers gasped as it collapsed. Many
mous building. Together with Paris’s Eif- people cried. Others grouped together Learning
fel Tower, it is a symbol of France. and sang. As the roof continued to burn, English as a
As usual, on 15th April, Notre-Dame’s the bells of Paris’s surrounding churches
doors were closed in the late afternoon. rang out. News channels, from around foreign
Many people were standing and talking the world, broadcast live images of the language?
in the open area outside the building. At burning cathedral.
twenty past six, flames were seen on the Around 400 fire-fighters fought the
cathedral’s roof. They spread quickly. flames. Another 100 worked to save the Newsademic.com
The police and fire-fighters were quick precious objects and artworks kept in
to arrive. Visitors were told to leave Notre-Dame. This was dangerous. As Recommended
the area. They crossed the bridges that the fire-fighters worked inside the build-
connect the island to the river’s oppo- ing, parts of the burning roof, high above reading
site sides. There, thousands of people their heads, began to fall. The roof con- for
watched the whole roof become engulfed tained wood from thousands of oak trees.
in flames. By eleven o’clock at night, most flames EFL and ESL
25th April 2019 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 2

had been put out. The wooden roof Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 –
had gone. 1821) was a military and political
Building work on Notre-Dame leader. He ruled France from 1804
began in 1163. Five years ago, to 1814, and again for around
people in France celebrated the ca- three months in 1815. Before tak-
thedral’s 850th anniversary. The ing over as the French leader, Na-
building was not finally completed poleon arranged for the interior
until 1345, or almost 200 years later. of Notre-Dame to be restored. In
Notre-Dame is one of the world’s 1804, he crowned himself em-
largest religious buildings. The ca- peror of France in the cathedral.
thedral is known for its three great Then, the building continued to be
Notre-Dame’s north rose window, it survived the fire.
medieval rose windows. Made of used for religious ceremonies. Yet,
stained glass, they are a circular some people described the cathe- following evening, he spoke on live
shape. These windows were cre- dral as a ‘semi-ruin’. television. The president described
ated in the 1200s. Over time, some Victor Hugo (1802 – 1855) the fire as a tragedy. Notre-Dame,
of the coloured glass has had to be was a famous French novelist. In he said, would be rebuilt and it
replaced. All three survived the fire. 1831, he published a book called would be ‘more beautiful’ than be-
One of the relics kept at the ca- The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. fore. Paris is due to host the Olym-
thedral is a crown made of thorns. The hunchback is a deformed man pic Games in 2024. Mr Macron said
Christians believe that Jesus Christ named Quasimodo. He lives in the that he wanted the cathedral to be
is the Son of God. It’s said that this cathedral and works as a bell ringer. fully reconstructed before the games
crown was placed on his head be- In the story, Quasimodo tries to save start. Many people expect the work
fore he was crucified. The cathedral a beautiful young woman called Es- to take far longer.
also has a small piece of wood. This meralda. He hides her in one of the Soon after the fire, some of
is supposed to have been taken from cathedral’s bell towers. Hugo was France’s most wealthy businessmen
the cross on which Jesus died. a great admirer of Gothic buildings agreed to donate large amounts of
The French Revolution began such as Notre-Dame. His book was money. It will be used to pay for the
in 1789. Its leaders confiscated the a big success. It led to a major resto- rebuilding work. Thousands of oth-
cathedral from the Catholic Church. ration project. This was undertaken ers agreed to give small amounts.
Today, the building is still owned between 1844 and 1861. Within a few days, the amount do-
by the state, or French government. In recent years, much of Notre- nated had exceeded €800 million
The revolutionaries damaged the Dame’s original stonework has (£690 million).
cathedral. Some statues were de- started to crumble. This, experts ex- Lord Clark (1903 – 1983) was
stroyed or beheaded and valuable plain, is due to acid rain. Recently, a British art historian, museum di-
items stolen. For a time, the build- another major restoration project be- rector, and broadcaster. In the late
ing was used as a warehouse to gan. Much of the roof was covered 1960s, he produced a famous tel-
store food. in scaffolding. A few days before the evision documentary series. Called
fire, a helicopter airlifted 16 copper ‘Civilisation’, it is about the his-
statues from the roof. They were tory of European art, architecture
taken away for restoration. If this and philosophy. At the beginning
had not been done, the fire would of the first programme, Lord Clark
have destroyed them. An investiga- is standing in front of Notre-Dame.
tion as to how the blaze started has Speaking to the camera he asks
begun. The cause may be connected ‘What is civilisation?’ He then says,
to the current restoration work. ‘I don’t know, I cannot define it.
Emmanuel Macron is the But I think I can recognise it when I
president of France. He visited see it’. Then, turning to face Notre-
Notre-Dame Cathedral showing roof areas
Notre-Dame just before the final Dame, he adds, ‘And I’m looking at
destroyed by fire (Umbricht) flames had been extinguished. The it now’.  
25th April 2019 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 3

Deepest fish If a person stood at the bottom of


the trench, they would be instantly
Five years ago, marine scientists crushed. What’s more, water tem- JAPAN
were exploring the Mariana Trench peratures at this depth are very cold.
PACIFIC
in the Pacific Ocean. Their under- Below 200 metres (656 feet), there CHINA OCEAN
water ROV (remote operating vehi- is no light. Fish and other marine
cle) filmed some unusual fish. They creatures that exist at these extreme

Tre n c h
were at a depth of 8,145 metres depths live in total darkness.
Guam
(26,700 feet). The tadpole-shaped Scientists divide the ocean depths

na
PHILIPPINES ia
fish are a type of snailfish. They are into five layers, or zones. Different M ar
the world’s deepest known fish. types of marine creatures live in each Challenger
Deep
Recently, researchers from China of them. The uppermost layer, or one
caught some Mariana snailfish. closest to the surface, is called the INDONESIA
Their ROV captured them 7,000 me- Epipelagic zone (or sunlight zone). PAPUA/
NEW GUINEA
tres (23,000 feet) below the surface. Down to a depth of 200 metres (660
For the first time, the researchers feet), it is where the most marine ac- AUSTRALIA
have completed a study of the unu- tivity takes place. The deepest ocean
sual creatures’ anatomy and genes. layer is known as the Hadapelagic, tissue’. It is usually found in joints
The deep-sea fish, they say, have or Hadal, zone. The Mariana Trench between bones.
evolved in certain ways. This ex- is within this layer. It is named after The Mariana snailfish’s scien-
plains how they withstand the enor- Hades. In Ancient Greece, he was tific name is Pseudoliparis swirei.
mous pressures at this depth. the god of the dead and king of the The Pseudoliparis part of the name
underworld, or hell. is its genus. Therefore, all deep-sea
There are several deepwater snailfish have this name. The sec-
snailfish species. They have jelly- ond part of the name is the species.
like skin and no scales. The deep- The Mariana snailfish’s ‘swirei’
sea creatures feed on small crus- comes from a British navy officer
taceans and bodies of dead fish, called Herbert Swire.
which sink to the bottom of the Around 150 years ago, a Brit-
sea. The Mariana snailfish caught ish navy ship called HMS Chal-
by the Chinese researchers are lenger sailed around the world.
Mariana snailfish (University of Aberdeen) pink, slimy and about 30 centi- Several scientists were on board.
The Mariana Trench is in the metres (one foot) long. They have The Challenger’s voyage was
western part of the Pacific Ocean. It is small sightless eyes, big heads and the first global marine scientific
close to the island of Guam. The deep- eel-like tails. As they are blind, the expedition. It made a number of
est part is called Challenger Deep. snailfish did not react to the bright discoveries. One was the deepest
Here, the seabed is 11 kilometres (6.8 lights of the researchers’ ROV. part of the Mariana Trench. Chal-
miles) below the surface. This depth The snailfish were dissected, or lenger Deep was named after the
is roughly the same distance beneath cut open. The researchers discov- ship. Swire wrote a book about
sea level as the height at which pas- ered that their skulls contain gaps. the expedition called The Voyage
senger aircraft fly above the ground. These are probably needed to offset of the Challenger.  
Mount Everest is the world’s highest the water pressure. If they had a
mountain. If it were put at the bottom complete hard bony, or ‘fused’, skull
of Challenger Deep, the mountain’s like most fish, it would be crushed. Comedian president
top, or summit, would be 1.6 kilome- For the same reason, the snail-
tres (one mile) under water. fishes’ bones are softer. They are Ukraine’s presidential elections are
The pressure at the bottom of made mainly of cartilage. In many held every five years. The most re-
the Mariana Trench is 1,000 times vertebrates (or creatures with back- cent took place on 21st April. The
greater than at the sea’s surface. bones), cartilage is a ‘connecting result surprised people in many other
25th April 2019 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 4

countries. Volodymyr Zelensky won They announced that new elections over government buildings in the
easily. Aged 41, he has never been would be arranged for the country’s east of Ukraine. Ukrainian soldiers
a politician before. Mr Zelensky is parliament and a new president. were sent to stop them. Ukraine then
best known as a comedian and televi- Leaders of the USAand the EU offered held a presidential election. Petro
sion actor. He stars in a popular tel- to support the interim government. Poroshenko won. He had been part
evision comedy called Servant of the Many Russian-speaking Ukrain- of the Ukrainian government before.
People. The political satire is about a ians were unhappy about these Mr Poroshenko speaks Ukrainian,
schoolteacher who, unexpectedly, is events. Mr Yanukovych was demo- Russian and English.
elected as Ukraine’s president. cratically elected. It was wrong, they As well as a politician, Mr Po-
For many years, Ukraine was argued, to depose an elected leader roshenko is a successful and wealthy
part of the Russian-led Soviet Un- in this way. Vladimir Putin, the pres- businessman. One company he
ion. It became an independent coun- ident of Russia, said that Ukraine’s owns makes sweets and chocolate.
try in 1991. Many ethnic Russians new temporary government was Some Ukrainians jokingly call him
live in the east of the country. Most unlawful. He declared that Russia ‘The Chocolate King’.
of them use Russian and not Ukrain- was prepared to protect all Russian- After he became president, Mr
ian as their first language. speaking people in Ukraine. Poroshenko, with help from Mr Pu-
Problems began in Ukraine at the tin, organised a ceasefire in eastern
end of 2013. Then, Viktor Yanuko- Ukraine. Five years later, it contin-
vych was the country’s president. He ues. However, occasionally, some
came from the Russian-speaking part minor fighting still occurs.
of Ukraine. Mr Yanukovych decided In Ukraine, a person must get
not to sign a trade agreement with over 50% of the votes to win a
the European Union (EU). Mr Yanu- presidential election. If nobody
kovych announced that a trade deal does, a second, or run-off, vote is
would be made with Russia instead. held. The two candidates who got
These decisions led to large demon- most votes in the first round con-
strations in Kiev, the capital city. test the run-off. This is what hap-
Ukraine seemed to be divided. pened in the recent election. The
Roughly, those who lived in the first vote was held on 31st March.
west wanted Ukraine to work close- There were 39 candidates. Mr
ly with the EU. Many Ukrainian Zelensky came top with 30% of the
people in the east thought that it was Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s new president votes. Mr Poroshenko was second
more important to increase trade (Ukrinform TV) with 16%. In the second round, or
with Russia. Most protesters in Kiev Pro-Russian groups in a part of run-off election, Mr Zelensky won
were pro-EU and anti-Russian. Ukraine called Crimea organised a easily with 73%. When a politician
Areas which did not take part referendum. Crimea had been part wins an election by a wide margin,
in Ukraine’s election
of Russia long ago. People could it’s called a ‘landslide’.
RUSSIA vote if they wanted Crimea to belong News reporters from other coun-
Kiev
to Ukraine or to Russia. Over 90% tries found it difficult to explain Mr
chose Russia. In 2014, Mr Putin Zelensky’s landslide victory. Many
UKRAINE
agreed that Russia would annex, or Ukrainians have been disappointed
take over, Crimea. Ukraine’s interim by Mr Poroshenko’s presidency.
government was unable to prevent They complain that pledges Mr Po-
Black Crimea this from happening. The Russian roshenko made before he won five
Sea
takeover angered the leaders of many years ago were not kept. Unemploy-
Due to the demonstrations, Mr other countries such as the USA, the ment in Ukraine remains high. Food
Yanukovych left the country. He fled UK, Germany, and France. and fuel prices have gone up. Many
to Russia. The protesters then set up a After Russia’s annexation of Ukrainians have a poor, or low,
temporary, or interim, government. Crimea, armed groups began to take standard of living. Mr Poroshenko
25th April 2019 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 5

also failed to reduce government


corruption, or dishonesty.
Acropolis
Politically, Mr Zelensky is un- Parthenon Museum
known. Many younger people voted
for him. Mr Zelensky is yet to an-
nounce any policies or even set up
a political party. How he plans to
speak with Russia will be important.
Mr Zelensky has said that he would
like Ukraine to join the EU. Yet, the
Ukrainian people, he added, must
make this decision. The ‘unexpect-
ed’ president will officially succeed
Mr Poroshenko before 3rd June.   
Central Athens, including the Acropolis, Parthenon and the Acropolis Museum (Mike451)
dominate the surrounding area. In The Parthenon stands on a large
Elgin Marbles request Ancient Greek, the word ‘acropo- stone platform. It has many col-
lis’ means ‘upper city’. Many cities umns, or pillars. These are known
Prokopis Pavlopoulos is the presi- built by the Ancient Greeks had an as Doric columns. The pillars have
dent of Greece. On 15th April, acropolis. The Acropolis of Athens carved vertical concave grooves.
he made a speech at a museum in is the best known. (Most people call They go from the top to the bottom
Athens, the country’s capital city. it ‘the Acropolis’.) This large hill, or of the columns. At each end of the
Called the Acropolis Museum, it rock outcrop, is near the centre of rectangular-shaped building, on top
opened ten years ago. The museum modern-day Athens. of the columns, are triangular stone
is a modern building. Most of its The Acropolis is famous for the ru- pediments, or gables. Today, the
walls are made of glass. During his ins of its ancient temples. These stone Parthenon and the Acropolis’ other
speech, the Greek president asked buildings were constructed around buildings are ruins.
the British Museum, in the UK, to 2,600 years ago. The Parthenon is Around 200 years ago, several
return the Parthenon Marbles. the Acropolis’ largest temple. This European architects began to copy
An acropolis is an ancient cita- building was dedicated to Athena. parts of the Parthenon’s design. This
del. These fortified buildings or She was the Ancient Greek goddess is why many large old stone build-
complexes were usually on high of: wisdom, courage, law, mathemat- ings and monuments in European
ground. Therefore, a citadel would ics, strength, skill, and victory in war. cities have Doric columns and pedi-
ments. This building style, or archi-
tectural design, is known as Greek
Revival architecture. The Parthenon
had a panel, or long line, of sculpted
images. Carved from white marble,
they decorated the pediments and
the upper parts of the building on
each of its four sides. Marble is a
type of hard stone. These sculptures
are known as the Parthenon Marbles.
In the early 1800s, Greece was a
part of the Ottoman Empire. It was
centred on present-day Turkey. Ot-
toman soldiers used the Acropolis
as a military fort. At that time, the
The Elgin, or Parthenon, Marbles in the British Museum (Andrew Dunn) British ambassador to the Ottoman
25th April 2019 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 6

Empire was a man called Lord El- of the Elgin Marbles. In the British began to be made from plastic after
gin. He removed most of the Par- Museum, the ‘real’ sculptures are the end of the Second World War
thenon’s remaining marbles. Lord displayed in a long corridor-like in 1945.
Elgin claimed that the Ottoman room. Windowless, it is illuminated In today’s world, many things
authorities gave him permission to with electric lights. Most of the new are made of plastic. It is used for
do this. Some people dispute this. Acropolis Museum’s rooms are numerous types of packaging and
However, many believe that Lord light and spacious. containers. As they are inexpensive,
Elgin wanted to save the marbles During his speech, Mr Pavlo- plastic items are often thrown away
from being stolen or broken up. poulos declared that the Parthe- after use. Plastic is made from oil.
Lord Elgin shipped the sculptures non Marbles should be freed from It is not ‘environmentally friendly’.
back to the UK. Later, the British their ‘murky’ (or dark) prison in Unlike organic material, plastic does
Museum in London, the UK’s capital the British Museum. He asked not break down in the soil and rot.
city, agreed to buy them from Lord British Museum officials to visit If it was not recycled, every plastic
Elgin. Also known as the Elgin Mar- the Acropolis Museum. Then, Mr item ever made still exists.
bles, they were first displayed in the Pavlopoulos added, they would un- Nowadays, about 335 million
British Museum about 200 years ago. derstand why the building was the tonnes of plastic are made every
best place to display the famous year. Around eight million tonnes
sculptures.   are ‘dumped’ into the seas and
oceans every 12 months. Plas-
tic makes up at least 10% of all
Airborne plastic waste produced by humans. Much
of this waste is plastic bottles and
The Pyrenees Mountains form a bags. In landfill sites, plastic bags
natural border between France take between 100 and 400 years
and Spain. Few people live on the to degrade.
The Parthenon, in Athens (Martin Nemo) mountain range’s upper slopes
Modern-day Greece became and its higher valleys. French re- Bay of
an independent country in 1832. searchers recently carried out a Biscay FRANCE

Since then, its leaders have fre- ‘plastic pollution’ survey, or study,
quently asked the British Museum in the mountains. They chose a Toulouse

to return the Parthenon Marbles. So remote area on France’s side of The


Pyre
far, it has always refused. In the past, the border. nees
SPAIN
British Museum officials said that The result of the five-month study
there was nowhere in Greece where was a surprise. It shows that around
Mediterranean
the marbles could be kept safely. In 350 very tiny pieces of plastic fell Sea
more recent times, they also claimed on each square metre of the ground
that the bad air pollution in Athens every day. The higher areas of the
would damage the sculptures. Pyrenees Mountains were thought Satellite image of the Pyrenees Mountains (NASA)
The new Acropolis Museum re- to be pristine, or plastic-pollution Floating plastic items slowly
placed an older building. It was con- free. These minuscule pieces of break up into smaller and smaller
structed to display ancient items, or plastic are known as microplastics. pieces. These tiny bits of plastic
artefacts, from the Acropolis. The They can be carried by the wind. can harm fish, seabirds, and marine
museum includes spaces for the The name plastic comes from the mammals. Thinking that it’s food,
‘missing’ Parthenon Marbles. Many Greek plastikos and the Latin plas- fish and seabirds will eat small pieces
people think that the British Mu- ticus. Both words mean ‘able to be of plastic. They cannot digest them.
seum’s arguments for keeping the moulded’. There are many types of If too many get into their stomachs,
carvings are now invalid. plastic. The first plastic-like materi- the bits of plastic kill them. Pieces
Currently, the Acropolis Mu- als were created between the 1850s of plastic have been found in fish
seum exhibits copies, or replicas, and the 1920s. Everyday items that live ten kilometres (6.2 miles)
25th April 2019 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 7

cities is not unusual. Yet, finding skeletons. It suggests that Crusader


this amount in a remote mountain armies may have been more diverse
area was unexpected. than previously thought. The DNA
The Pyrenees study shows that results also reveal that the Crusad-
airborne, or wind-blown, microplas- ers’ ‘genetic influence’ on people
tics can travel for long distances. living in this part of the world today
The researchers are not sure where was insignificant, or very small.
the plastic fibres came from. The In the past, what is now the
closest village is six kilometres (3.7 modern state of Israel was called
miles) from the survey site. Tou- the ‘Holy Land’. It includes Jerusa-
louse, the nearest large French city, lem, one of the world’s oldest cities.
Magnified microplastic fibre (Deonie Allen)
is 120 kilometres (75 miles) away. Jerusalem is an important site for
below the ocean’s surface. Recently, The tiny plastic fibres may travel the Jewish, Christian and Islamic
two dead whales, with over 20 kilo- much farther than this. faiths. All three are monotheistic
grams (44 pounds) of plastic in their The researchers say that trying faiths, or religions with a single
stomachs, have been found. They to clean up airborne microplastics God. They are also known as Abra-
washed up on beaches in the Philip- would be impossible. The only hamic faiths. Abraham is thought to
pines and Italy. long-term solution, they suggest, is have lived about 4,000 years ago.
Most people in the world now to produce less plastic.   In Jewish, Christian and Islamic
know about the plastic pollution religious texts, he is an important
problem. In many countries, plastic historical figure.
bottles are now recycled. Plastic bag Crusader DNA For many years, the Holy Land
use has been reduced and plastic lit- was part of the Roman Empire. Arab
ter cleaned up. Methods of gather- Sidon is a city in Lebanon. On the armies captured it around 1,400
ing plastic rubbish, which floats in coast, Sidon was an important port years ago. At that time, many Chris-
the seas and oceans, are being tested. in ancient times. Researchers dis- tians from Europe went on pilgrim-
These plastic problems are visible, or covered an old burial pit close to the ages to Jerusalem (or the Holy City).
can be seen. However, few people are city. It contains the skeletons of 25 The Arabs allowed them to do this.
aware of ‘invisible’ plastic pollution. men. They were killed in a battle in In 1070, the Seljuk Turks took con-
The microplastics, or very Sidon about 800 years ago. The men trol of the Holy Land. They barred
tiny plastic fibres, the researchers were Crusaders. Christians from visiting Jerusalem.
found in the Pyrenees Mountains Scientists from the UK have man- Like the Arabs, the Seljuk Turks
are between 10 and 150 microme- aged to extract DNA from nine of the were Muslims. At its most powerful,
tres across. A micrometre (sym-
bol μm) is one-thousandth of a
millimetre, or 0.001 millimetres
(0.000039 inches). As a compari-
son, a human hair is about 70
micrometres wide.
These tiny plastic fibres come
from many different plastic ma-
terials. Clothing is one example.
Most of the plastic fibres found in
the Pyrenees were polystyrene and
polyethylene. These types of plas-
tics are used for plastic bags and
single-use packaging. The research-
ers say that recording a lot of micro-
plastic fibres in the ground around Crusader burial pit discovered at Sidon, in Lebanon (Claude Doumet-Serhal)
25th April 2019 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 8

their empire included much of mod- first sultan of Egypt and Syria. His the past, Lebanon was within the
ern-day Turkey, the Middle East and Muslim forces defeated the Cru- Roman Empire. The scientists say
parts of Central Asia. sader army. Saladin recaptured Je- that the DNA of people who lived
The Crusades were a series of rusalem in 1187. Another Crusade in this part of the world in Roman
European military expeditions to was then organised. Its leader was times is very similar to the DNA of
the Holy Land. Their purpose was to England’s king, Richard the First today’s Lebanese. Therefore, Euro-
‘recapture’ Jerusalem and the Holy (1157 – 1199). Even though he led pean (or Crusader) ‘genetic mark-
Land from the Seljuk Turks. There his army to several victories, Rich- ers’ are not present in Lebanon’s
were several Crusades, or expedi- ard failed to recapture Jerusalem. modern day population.  
tions. The first began in 1095. The Later Crusades were organised, yet
last took place about 200 years later. none were successful. Some failed
Leaders of wealthy Christian to get to the Holy Land. During Kafka papers
land-owning families in Europe the Crusades, many terrible things
organised the Crusades. Most of happened. Both sides often mur- Literary people believe that Franz
these families lived in France, Eng- dered the prisoners that they took. Kafka is one of the most influential
land and what are now Germany, Thousands of men who joined authors of the 20th century. A court
the Netherlands and Italy. Then, all the Crusades died of ill health in Switzerland recently made a rul-
Christians were Roman Catholics. and disease. ing about some of his handwritten
The pope, or the leader of the Ro- The Crusaders ruled the Holy papers, notes, diaries, and manu-
man Catholics, and other church Land for 88 years. They built large scripts. For many years, they have
leaders encouraged men to become European-style stone castles at been locked in a Swiss bank vault.
Crusaders. Anyone, they claimed, strategic sites. Most are now in ru- The court ordered that the vault be
who joined a Crusade would go to ins, but several have been restored. opened and the ‘Kafka papers’ sent
heaven when they died. The best known is called Krak des to Israel’s national library.
The First Crusade was success- Chevaliers. In present-day Syria, Franz Kafka was born in 1883.
ful. This Crusader army captured it is close to the country’s border His family lived in Prague. Then,
Jerusalem in 1099. During the fight- with Lebanon. The Crusader castle this city was within the Austro-Hun-
ing, Jews living in the city fought at Sidon was built on a small island garian Empire. Today, it is the Czech
alongside the Muslims against the near the coast. Known as the Sidon Republic’s capital. Kafka’s family
Christian invaders. After captur- Sea Castle, it was built in 1228. were Jewish. His parents probably
ing Jerusalem, the Crusade’s lead- The DNA from the nine Crusad- spoke Yiddish. At that time, the
ers set up four Holy Land ‘states’. ers’ skeletons show that only three many Jewish families who lived in
One was called the Kingdom came from Europe. Four others Eastern Europe spoke this language.
of Jerusalem. were from the Near East (or Turkey, However, as a young student, Kafka
Saladin (1137 – 1193) was a the Middle East and Egypt). The was encouraged to speak and write
famous military leader and the other two had mixed ancestors. In in German. Then, in this part of the
world, German speakers were likely
to get better-paid work and improve
their social standing.
Kafka studied law at university. At
the same time, he began to write short
stories. Kafka became friends with
other lawyers and writers, includ-
ing a man named Max Brod. After
finishing his studies, Kafka worked
for several insurance companies. He
spent much of his free time writing.
Kafka suffered from poor health.
Krak des Chevaliers, Crusader castle, in Syria (Ergo) He died from TB (or tuberculosis)
25th April 2019 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 9

in 1924. This disease affects the lungs. Library-like institution in Israel


Kafka was 40 years old. He was en- (such as Israel’s national library).
gaged, but never married. Yet Hoffe never did this. She sold
Only a few of Kafka’s stories some of them. Kafka’s original hand-
were published during his short life- written manuscript of The Trial was
time. Most of his works, or books, auctioned in 1988. It sold for over £1
are surreal. One of Kafka’s best million (US$1.3 million). Hoffe kept
known is called Metamorphosis. some of the Kafka papers at her home
This story is about a man named in Tel Aviv. She arranged for others to
Gregor Samsa. To support his fam- be locked inside a Swiss bank vault.
ily, he works long hours for a com- After Hoffe’s death, in 2007,
pany. His job is boring. One morn- her granddaughters insisted that
ing, Gregor awakes to discover that they owned Kafka’s papers. Isra-
he has turned into a large insect. The el’s national library disputed their
insect, many readers believe, repre- claim. After a long legal battle, an
sents his boring office life and how Israeli court ruled that the grand-
the company’s bosses treat him. daughters were not the legal own-
Knowing that he was likely to Franz’s Kafka’s family grave in Prague, in the ers. The papers, it said, must be
Czech Republic
die, Kafka asked his friend Max handed to Israel’s national library.
Brod to burn his papers. Brod novels. Called The Trial, The Castle A Swiss court has now agreed with
was also a writer. He too was and Amerika, they were unfinished. the Israeli court’s decision. Literary
Jewish. Kafka’s papers included Brod worked to complete them. scholars suspect that the ‘Switzer-
everything that he had written. Eventually, he arranged for the land papers’ include the endings of
Brod ignored his friend’s instruc- novels, together with several other some of Kafka’s unfinished works.
tions. Later, he claimed that Kaf- short stories, to be published. These The modern-day word ‘Kaf-
ka always knew that he wouldn’t books became very popular. Before kaesque’ comes from Kafka’s
destroy his papers. Brod insisted his death, Kafka was a little-known books. An adjective, it describes
that Kafka had really wanted him writer of short stories. His fame something that becomes very com-
to publish his work. grew after he had died. plex and ‘unreal’ due to far too much
Amongst Kafka’s papers, Brod In 1939, just before the start of bureaucracy. Some people have de-
found the manuscripts for three the Second World War, Brod and his scribed the legal proceedings about
wife fled from Prague to Tel Aviv. the ownership of Kafka’s papers as
By then, the city had become the Kafkaesque.  
capital of a country called Czecho-
slovakia. German Nazi Party sup-
porters had begun persecuting Jew- Agent Orange clean-up
ish people. When Brod and his wife
arrived, Tel Aviv was in Palestine. USAID (the United States Agency
In 1948, it became part of a new for International Development) is a
state, or country, called Israel. Brod part of the American government. It
gave some of Kafka’s papers to the provides aid and assistance to other
Bodleian Library, in the UK. It is less wealthy countries. On 20th
Oxford University’s main research April, USAID officials began a new
library. Brod kept the papers that project. Its launch was announced at
Kafka had directly given to him. the Bien Hoa Air Base, in Vietnam.
Just before he died in 1968, Brod Today, the Bien Hoa Air Base is
gave the papers to Esther Hoffe. She used by Vietnam’s air force. During
worked as his secretary. Brod told the Vietnam War, it was an Ameri-
Franz Kafka aged 23 (Sigismund Jacobi) her to give the papers to a Bodleian can air base. Then, for several years,
25th April 2019 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 10

spread if North Vietnam took over


South Vietnam.
The USA began to send more
and more troops to South Vietnam
to help its army. This was the start
of the Vietnam War. Most fighting
was in South Vietnam. Here, the
South Vietnamese army and the
USA fought against Viet Minh guer-
rillas, or rebel forces, known as the
Viet Cong. The Viet Cong included
North Vietnamese soldiers and men
and women from South Vietnam
who supported the North.
Aircraft spraying Agent Orange in Vietnam (National Museum of the U.S. Air Force) Other communist countries, such
as the Viet Minh. During the Second as Russia and China, gave weapons
World War, the Viet Minh attacked to the Viet Cong. American soldiers
the Japanese forces. In 1945, Japan fought with the South Vietnamese
surrendered to the USA. Soon after- army against the Viet Cong from
wards, the Viet Minh declared that 1964 to 1973. During the conflict,
Vietnam was now an independent the American air force bombed Ha-
communist country. noi and many other towns and cities
France’s leaders were unhappy. in North Vietnam. Today, Hanoi is
They insisted that Vietnam was Vietnam’s capital.
still a French colony. Fighting American soldiers withdrew
broke out between French and Viet from South Vietnam in 1973. This
Minh forces in northern Vietnam. was after a peace agreement had
In 1954, the Viet Minh managed been signed. Yet the war didn’t fi-
to surround thousands of French nally end until North Vietnam in-
troops at a place called Dien Bien vaded the South in 1975. The North
Phu. Eventually, the French were then took control of the whole
forced to surrender. After several country. Over one million Vietnam-
more defeats, the French agreed to ese people (soldiers and civilians)
leave Vietnam. Peace talks divided died during the conflict. Nearly
Agent Orange storage drum the country into the (communist) 60,000 Americans were killed in
it was the main storage site for a Democratic Republic of Vietnam the fighting.
chemical called Agent Orange. Pro- (or North Vietnam) and the (demo- During the Vietnam War, Ameri-
duced by an American company, cratic) Republic of Vietnam (or can forces often found it difficult to
this chemical was a defoliant, or South Vietnam). work out where the Viet Cong were.
herbicide. It was designed to kill North Vietnam wanted to reunite They hid in the jungles and forests.
plants (including food crops) and the country. This was at the time of To counter the Viet Cong, American
make the leaves fall off trees. the Cold War. It was not a real war. commanders used Agent Orange.
In the past, Vietnam was one of The name is used to describe the pe- Military aircraft and helicopters
France’s colonies. Japan occupied riod when the USA and the commu- sprayed the chemical mixture over
the country for most of the Second nist Russian-led Soviet Union were jungle areas and some farmland. By
World War (1939 – 1945). Then, enemies. By the 1960s, the USA killing the vegetation, the Ameri-
several future Vietnamese leaders was worried about South Vietnam. cans hoped to make it difficult for
set up a new communist party in America’s leaders feared that com- the Viet Cong to move around the
northern Vietnam. It became known munism in South East Asia would country unseen.
25th April 2019 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 11

Between 1961 and 1971, 80 mil-


lion litres (21 million gallons) of
Agent Orange was sprayed over
South Vietnam. After the Americans
left, it was discovered that toxins in
the herbicide could affect people’s
health. Around 150,000 Vietnam-
ese children whose mothers were
exposed to Agent Orange were born
with mental problems and deformi-
ties. Today, Agent Orange is blamed
for the high numbers of people in Coelacanth (Citron)
parts of Vietnam with certain medi-
cal problems such as cancer.
The Bien Hoa Air Base was the
main storage area for Agent Or-
ange. The toxins still exist in the
surrounding soil. One method of
decontamination is to dig up the
soil and then heat it to very high
temperatures. USAID will pay for
the clean-up operation. The cost
is expected to be US$183 million Coelacanth fossil (Alex Giltjes)
(£141 million). unusual brain cavity. Split in half, expert ichthyologist, or scientist
Work on decontaminating an- it is divided by a moveable joint. who studies fish. A few months
other former American Vietnam air Also, the coelacanth’s brain is sur- later, he confirmed that it was a coe-
base at Danang was completed last prisingly small. It takes up only one lacanth, or a living fossil.
year. This project took six years. percent of the fish’s skull, or brain Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882)
The contamination at Bien Hoa is cavity. The remainder is filled with was the first person to use the phrase
believed to be four times worse than a type of fat. ‘living fossil’. He was a naturalist
at Danang.   In the past, several 400 million- from the UK. Darwin was the first
year-old coelacanth fossils were person to write a book about evolu-
found. Therefore, the fish was swim- tion. He used the name ‘living fos-
Living fossil study ming in the world’s oceans before sil’ to describe animals or plants that
dinosaurs walked on the land. The had not changed over millions of
The coelacanth (pronounced seel- prehistoric fish, scientists thought, years. He believed that this was be-
uh-kanth) is a rare and unusual fish. died out around the same time as the cause the place, or surroundings, in
There are two known species. One dinosaurs, or 66 million years ago. which they lived, had not altered. As
lives close to parts of Africa’s south- In 1938, a fishing boat from nothing had changed, Darwin said,
ern and eastern coasts. The other is South Africa caught a strange look- there was no need for living fossils
found around a few of Indonesia’s ing fish. The curator of a local to evolve to survive.
many islands. Apart from their col- museum knew the ship’s captain. In 1997, while on honeymoon, a
our, the two species are very similar. She collected the fish. About 1.2 scientist and his wife were visiting
The coelacanth that lives near Af- metres (five feet) long, it had four an island in Indonesia. The scientist
rica is a bluish colour. The other one limb-like fins and an unusual tail. saw an unusual fish for sale in a local
is light brown. The fish, which was metallic-blue market. He thought that it was a coe-
Researchers from the UK and with white flecks, was covered in lacanth. Yet the colour was wrong.
Australia have been studying the hard scales. The curator did not It was brown and not blue. The sci-
coelacanth’s skull. The fish have an know what it was. She contacted an entist photographed the fish before
25th April 2019 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 12

it was sold. Local people called the Titan’s ‘phantom’ lakes studying the information collected
fish a ‘raja laut’ (king of the sea). during Cassini’s Titan fly-bys.
The scientist returned to the is- Cassini was launched 22 years Recently, they reported that the
land a few months later. He spoke ago. At first, the spacecraft was data recorded several phantom,
with local fishermen. The scientist called Cassini-Huygens. NASA or ghost, lakes. On one Titan fly-
asked them to tell him when they and the European Space Agency by in 2006, the three lakes were
caught another ‘king of the sea’. (ESA) organised the mission. Cas- there. Yet, seven years later, on
One fisherman contacted him the sini-Huygens was named after two another fly past, they had gone.
following year. The scientist re- astronomers. Both studied the stars Titan is the largest of Saturn’s
turned to the island to collect the and planets around 320 years ago. 62 moons. It is the second big-
specimen. It was 1.2 metres (four Cassini was French. Huygens came gest moon in the Solar System.
feet) long. Soon afterwards, tests from the Netherlands. He discov- (The largest is Ganymede, one
confirmed that it was a second coe- ered Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, or of Jupiter’s many natural satel-
lacanth species. natural satellite. lites.) Titan is about one and a
Not much is known about these In 2005, the part of the space- half times the size of the Earth’s
rare fish. During the day, they seem craft called Huygens landed on Moon. In Ancient Greek mythol-
to prefer to rest in underwater caves. Titan. Cassini continued to or- ogy, the Titans were gods, or
At night, the fish swim to shallower bit Saturn for 20 years. It flew deities. They were giants with
coastal waters. There, they feed past Titan several times. During incredible strength.
on smaller fish as well as squid. In this time, Cassini collected large
1975, it was discovered that, like amounts of data, or information,
sharks, coelacanths give birth to live about Saturn, its famous rings
young. This is unusual for fish. Due and Titan. The spacecraft ran out
to its hinged skull, the coelacanth’s of fuel two years ago. NASA sci-
snout can swing upwards. This entists steered it towards Saturn.
means that the fish can take a much After flying through a gap in the
wider-than-expected bite. planet’s rings, Cassini vaporised
Coelacanths have an oil-filled in Saturn’s upper atmosphere.
tube instead of a backbone. Scien- As Cassini gathered so much
tists call these tubes notochords. The data, space scientists are still re-
notochord is attached to the base of searching it. Some who work at
False colour image of Titan, recorded by the
the brain. In most other vertebrates an American university have been Cassini spacecraft (NASA)
(or creatures with a backbone),
an embryo has a notochord. Yet,
bones, or vertebrae, replace it, as the
embryo develops.
The British and Australian re-
searchers discovered that, as the
coelacanth grows, its notochord
expands. It eventually becomes far
bigger than the fish’s brain. As they
evolved over hundreds of thousands
of years, the hinge in other fish
species’ brain cavities disappeared.
However, the coelacanth never
‘lost’ its notochord. Its size, the
researchers explain, has prevented
the fish’s brain cavity from ever
becoming a sold entity, or unit.   False-colour composite image of some of Titan’s smaller north polar region methane lakes (NASA)
25th April 2019 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 13

The Earth and Titan have some clouds. The water then falls again. seeped into the ground. Areas
similarities. They are the only two On Titan, methane follows a simi- around the lakes look similar to
bodies in the Solar System that lar process. The moon’s thick hazy the karst, or limestone, landscapes
have liquids on the surface. Titan atmosphere is mostly nitrogen. Its found on the Earth. Limestone is
has lakes and seas. On the Earth clouds are mainly made of methane a type of rock that is soluble in
the liquid is water. Titan’s lakes and and ethane. water. Karst regions usually have
seas are two liquid hydrocarbons: Most of Titan’s lakes are in the many aand sinkholes. These fea-
methane and ethane. On the Earth, moon’s north polar region. These tures are created, over millions
they are gases, which can catch fire lakes contain liquid methane. of years, by water dissolving
easily. Methane and ethane are liq- While three of the northern lakes the limestone.
uids on Titan because it is so cold. disappeared between Cassini’s fly- No surface channels connecting
The moon’s surface temperature is bys, many others did not. The sci- the lakes can be seen on Titan.
around -180ºC (-292ºF). Water also entists suspect that the phantom The scientists theorise that karst-
exists on Titan, but it is deep frozen lakes were very shallow. The oth- like underground rivers may con-
and hard as rock. ers are far deeper. The two fly-bys nect them. If so, this area of Titan
Like the Earth’s ‘water cycle’ took place at different times of Ti- is also likely to have many caves.
Titan has a ‘methane cycle’. On tan’s year. The one in 2006 was in The scientists do not know if the
the Earth, water falls as rain. The the middle of Titan’s winter. The phantom lakes will reappear. The
rain seeps into the ground and col- flypast seven years later, occurred only way to find out would be to or-
lects in ponds and lakes. It flows during the moon’s spring. ganise another space mission. This
in streams and rivers to the seas The scientists say that, as winter would include a Titan orbiter. These
and oceans. The Sun’s heat evapo- became spring, the shallow lakes spacecraft, which continually circle
rates some of the water. In the at- may have evaporated. Another pos- a planet or moon, make many repeat
mosphere, water vapour becomes sibility is that their liquid methane observations. 
THE NETHERLANDS

CZECH REPUBLIC

Alaska
RUSSIA
SWITZERLAND

CANADA UK

UKRAINE
FRANCE NORTH
ITALY KOREA
USA TURKEY
CE LEBANON JAPAN
E
G RE ISRAEL
INDIA
VIETNAM
Guam
GUATEMALA
PHILIPPINES
SRI
LANKA
INDONESIA

This map shows countries to which news stories refer in this issue. Visit www.newsademic.com for more detailed world maps.
25th April 2019 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 14

Feast of Saint George Saint George gave all his money


to the poor. He was killed on 23rd
People in many European countries April 303 CE.
celebrate the Feast of Saint George Saint George’s body was re-
on 23rd April. This date is best turned to Lydda. Christians began
known as Saint George’s Day. It is to visit his grave. They believed
one of the Christian calendar’s many he was a martyr who had died for
feast days. This type of feast is not a his faith. Later, a large church was
large meal. A feast day is one that is built in Lydda. It was dedicated to
dedicated to a saint. Usually, it is the Saint George. About 200 years af-
day on which the saint died. ter his death, the pope, or leader of
Saint George was born in Lydda the Catholic Church, declared that A picture of Saint George killing the dragon from 1348

around 1,700 years ago. This city, George was a saint. have Saint George as their patron
which is now in Israel, is called Lod. In 1096, Crusaders from Eu- saint. They include: Bulgaria, Por-
Saint George’s father was a Roman rope arrived in Lydda. At that time, tugal, Georgia, Malta, Ethiopia,
army official. He was a Greek Chris- Muslim leaders controlled the city Serbia, and Lithuania. St George’s
tian from an area, or region, called of Jerusalem and the surrounding Day is celebrated in many other
Cappadocia. This part of the world area. This was known as the Holy places. Canada, Genoa and Venice,
is in modern-day Turkey. Saint Land. Wealthy Christian families in Italy, Moscow, the capital of
George’s mother was a Palestinian in Europe decided to work together Russia, Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil,
Christian. As a young man, Saint to capture the Holy Land. When the Catalonia, a region of Spain, and
George became an officer in the Ro- Crusaders returned home, they took Beirut, Lebanon’s capital city, are
man army. Then, Diocletian was the stories about Saint George back all examples.
Roman emperor. Saint George was with them. The UK is made up of England,
one of his many guards. Saint George is probably best Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ire-
Diocletian worshipped the Ro- known for killing a dragon. The land. Each has its own patron saint
man gods. One day, the emperor Crusaders may have invented this and flag. In 1327, the then king of
arranged for all Christian soldiers legend. In the story, a dragon stops England selected Saint George as his
in the Roman army to be arrested. people taking water from a spring. country’s patron saint. Saint George
Some were told to make a sac- To get the water, they must give the is associated with a red cross on a
rifice to the Roman gods. Saint dragon something to eat. After run- white background. Called the Cross
George refused. He declared that he ning out of sheep, young women, of Saint George, it is the English
would always follow his Christian or maidens, are given to the dragon. flag.  

faith. Diocletian then ordered Saint Lots are drawn to choose which
George’s execution. Before he died, maiden is to be next. One day, a
young princess is selected. As she Nuclear fuel removal
walks towards the dragon, Saint
George appears. Protecting himself Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO)
with the sign of the cross, Saint generates and distributes electricity
George kills, or slays, the dragon. for a large area of Japan. On 15th
Everyone in the city then decides April, officials from the company
to become Christians. The story announced that they had begun re-
has a ‘hidden’ meaning. The dragon moving radioactive fuel rods from
represents wickedness, or evil. The a reactor. It is one of six nuclear
princess is God’s holy truth, or the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi
Christian faith. power plant.
A patron saint is one chosen In 2011, there was a powerful un-
to represent a particular group of dersea earthquake off Japan’s north
The Cross of Saint George, or the English flag people or a nation. Many countries east coast. Earthquakes around the
25th April 2019 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 15

world were first measured and re- kept cool. The tsunami knocked TEPCO has just begun the pro-
corded about 100 years ago. The one out the electric pumps. Three of cess of moving over 550 fuel rods
close to Japan’s shoreline was mag- the power plant’s reactors over- from a pool in the damaged reactor
nitude 9. It was the world’s fourth heated. An explosion occurred in to a pool in an undamaged one. The
most powerful earthquake and the one of them. This released radio- start of this operation has been de-
biggest ever recorded around Japan. activity into the air. layed by several years. In these types
Its up-and-down and side-to-side More than 470,000 people living of reactors, nuclear fuel rods are
movement damaged or destroyed within 20 kilometres (12 miles) of kept submerged in pools, or tanks,
buildings, roads and bridges. the power plant had to be evacuated. of water. They heat the water, which
However, the tsunami, or giant Due to the radioactivity, it is too dan- creates steam, which turns a turbine,
wave, the earthquake ‘triggered’ gerous to enter the damaged reactor which makes electricity. The water
caused the greatest destruction. buildings. TEPCO has been using also prevents radiation leaks.
More than 18,000 people died in specially built robots. Controlled
the disaster. Most deaths were by remotely, they have filmed inside the
drowning. The tsunami obliterated reactors. The robots have also moved
the coastal towns and villages that debris that the explosion created.
were in its path. The Fukushima radiation leak
was history’s second worst nuclear
disaster. Chernobyl was the worst.
This nuclear plant is in Ukraine. In
1986, one of its reactors exploded.
At that time, Ukraine was part of
the Russian-led Soviet Union. After
the Chernobyl reactor explosion,
350,000 people had to be moved Inspectors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear
Power Plant in 2014 (IAEA)
from the surrounding area. They
have never returned. The pool in the damaged reactor
Soon after the Chernobyl ex- is not safe. This is why these fuel
plosion, helicopters dropped sand rods must be moved. If another pow-
Aerial view of Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant
before the earthquake and tsunami (Ministry of and lead onto the damaged re- erful earthquake were to happen, the
Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism) actor. It was quickly covered, water might drain away. This would
Nowadays, nuclear power sta- or entombed, in thick concrete. be very dangerous. Specially trained
tions generate electricity in many Radioactivity still leaks from the workers have used robots to con-
countries. Power plants that burn reactor. Today, there is a 30-kilo- struct a crane inside the damaged
fossil fuels (oil, gas and coal) release metre (19-mile) exclusion area, reactor. It is operated from a control
additional carbon dioxide into the or ‘no-go’ zone, around the dam- room about 500 metres (0.3 miles)
atmosphere. Nuclear power plants aged power plant. A huge thick away. The crane will place the fuel
do not do this. However, over time, steel shield has been constructed. rods, one at a time, inside a protec-
they do accumulate nuclear waste. It completely covers the damaged tive container. This operation has to
This can be difficult and expensive reactor. This shield is expected to be done under water.
to store. stop radiation leaking from the The removal of all the fuel rods
The Fukushima Daiichi power site for the next 100 years. from this reactor is expected to take
plant opened in 1971. Built next People exposed to large two years. Once finished, work will
to the shore, it used seawater to amounts of radiation die. Lesser start on moving another 1,000 fuel
keep its nuclear fuel cool. As soon amounts cause cancers and other rods from the other two (less) dam-
as the 2011 earthquake struck, the serious long-term health problems. aged reactors. The complex and
power plant’s nuclear reactors Unlike Chernobyl, nobody died as dangerous decommissioning pro-
were automatically shut down. a direct result of the Fukushima cess, or clean-up operation, will
Yet, their fuel rods still had to be radiation leak. take many years to complete.  
25th April 2019 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 16

Magnet heads his staff, or stick, stuck to it. This type


of magnetic rock is called magnetite.
Guatemala is a small country in Pieces of magnetite will attract small
Central America. An archaeological bits of iron. In ancient times, magnet-
site in the country is called Monte ite was called lodestone.
Alto. Not far from the Pacific coast, The Vikings came from what are
it is known for its large ancient now the kingdoms of Norway, Swe-
stone sculptures. den and Denmark. Together, these
The Monte Alto sculptures are of countries are known as Scandinavia.
giant heads and human bodies. The As well as being warriors and raid-
simple carvings were made from ers, Vikings were skilled seafarers
large rounded boulders. Because of and merchants. In Northern Europe, A potbelly sculpture from Monte Alto, in Guatemala

the boulders’ shape, the bodies look the period between 700 and 1100 is lodestone on a piece of light wood,
very fat. The sculptures are known often called the Viking Age. Vikings which floated on water. It always
as ‘heads and potbellies’. The big- were also known as Norsemen, or pointed to the north. Europeans who
gest ones are around two metres (6.7 ‘people from the north’. visited China around 700 years ago
feet) tall. The people who carved the Scandinavia has large amounts of brought the magnetic compass back
boulders are known as the Monte magnetite. The Vikings were using with them. Soon, all ships’ captains
Alto Culture. a compass-like device at least 1,000 from European countries were us-
Not much is known about the years ago. A small piece of lode- ing a type of lodestone compass.
Monte Alto people. It’s thought that stone in the device always pointed A British scientist called Wil-
the heads and potbellies were made to the north. This helped the Vikings liam Gilbert (1544 – 1603) was the
at least 2,000 years ago. Therefore, to navigate their ships over the open first person to make a magnet. He
the Monte Alto Culture pre-dated oceans to distant lands. The Vikings discovered that iron magnets lose
other well-known Central American realised that their compass gave their ‘magnetic powers’ if heated.
civilisations such as the Olmecs, them an advantage over their rivals. Gilbert also realised that the Earth
Maya and Aztecs. Therefore, they kept their lodestone was one huge magnet. Hans Chris-
Researchers from an American devices secret. tian Oersted (1777 – 1851) was a
university have recently completed The Chinese may have used scientist from Denmark. Two hun-
a study of the Monte Alto sculptures. magnetite to create a compass dred years after Gilbert, he discov-
The boulders from which they were several hundred years before the ered the relationship between elec-
made contain a lot of iron. Surpris- Vikings. They placed a splinter of tricity and magnetism.
ingly, the researchers confirmed that The American university re-
the statues’ cheeks, foreheads and searchers used hand-held sensors to
navels are magnetised. They have a detect the magnetism in the heads
magnetic attraction. The researchers and potbellies. They believe that
are sure that this is not a coincidence. lightning strikes created the mag-
If not, the Monte Alto people must netism in the rocks. Somehow, the
have been aware of magnetism. Monte Alto people were able to
In ancient times, magnets were detect it. They cut out the boulders
believed to have special powers. from the rock so that it included the
There is a legend about a shepherd areas with magnetic power.
boy in Ancient Greece. It says that The designs were carefully
he discovered ‘natural magnetism’ planned. The boulders were carved
around 4,000 years ago. The shep- so that the magnetic areas were
herd’s name was Magnes. In the sto- beneath the cheeks, foreheads or
ry, he walks across a rock. The shep- navels. Why, how and for what pur-
herd was surprised to discover that pose the Monte Alto Culture did this
One of the stone heads from Monte Alto, in
nails in his shoes and the metal tip of Guatemala (Roger Fu) is not known.  
25th April 2019 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 17

Last female softshell dies


News reporters in China made a sad
announcement on 15th April. One
of the last known Yangtze giant soft-
shell turtles, they declared, had died.
The female turtle was kept at a zoo
in southern China. It was thought to
be 90 years old.
The turtle’s death means that only
three of these river-dwelling crea-
tures still exist. One male is kept in
the same zoo. The other two live in
the wild, in Vietnam. It is not known Yangtze giant softshell turtle (Gerald Kuchling / Turtle Survival Alliance)
if this pair is a male and female, two armadillos, are formed from scales. mate. Yet, this did not happen. The
males or two females. Lobsters and crabs shed their shells male in the zoo is around 100 years
Nowadays, the word turtle can and regrow new ones. Turtles do not old. To try to save the species, the of-
describe any animal with a hard shell do this. Their shells are for life. ficials have attempted to insert some
and a backbone. Tortoises, terrapins There are several species of soft- the male’s sperm into the female.
and turtles are all reptiles. In Ameri- shell turtles. Yangtze giant softshell This process is known as artificial
can English, the word turtle can mean turtles are the world’s largest fresh- insemination. The officials tried
any of the three. In British English, water turtle. Fully grown, they are artificial insemination every year.
turtles live in the sea or fresh water. about one metre (3.3 feet) long and Several years ago, the female did lay
Tortoises live on land. They feed 70 centimetres (28 inches) wide. As around 80 eggs. Yet none hatched.
on low-growing plants and have legs their name suggests, softshell tur- The female Yangtze giant soft-
and feet. Most tortoises are found in tles’ shells are not hard like the shells shell turtle died the day after the lat-
hot dry places. Terrapins spend time of other turtles. They feel more like est artificial insemination attempt.
on both land and water. They are thick leather. Yangtze giant softshell Zoo officials said that the turtle
never far from a river, lake or pond. turtles used to be found in rivers and had not been distressed during or
Freshwater turtles have webbed lakes in southern China and northern after the operation. They now plan
feet, which help them to swim. Vietnam. The turtles’ name comes to undertake an autopsy to try to
However, they do climb out of the from China’s Yangtze River. It is the find out the cause of death. Unless
water to sit in the Sun. Sea turtles world’s third longest river. another female or breeding pair can
are different. Males spend all their The last known wild Yangtze be found, this turtle species will be-
lives in the seas and oceans. Female giant softshell turtle in China was come extinct.  
sea turtles crawl onto beaches to lay caught 20 years ago. The creatures
their eggs. They bury them in the feed on small river fish and freshwa-
sand. After hatching, the young tur- ter crabs, snails, and frogs. The tur- Easter bombings
tles crawl into the sea. A sea turtle’s tles are secretive. They spend much
legs are like flippers. of the time on the riverbed and rare- Sri Lanka is an island nation in
The upper part of a turtle’s shell is ly come to the surface to breathe. In the Indian Ocean. It is close to the
called the carapace. The underneath recent years, their numbers declined southern tip of India. The island
is the plastron. Turtles first lived in dramatically. This is due to habitat was a UK colony for over 200
the sea. They probably evolved their loss, overfishing and hunting. In the years. Then, it was called Ceylon.
‘all-round’ shell as a shield from past, the softshell turtles’ bones and It became an independent nation
‘above and below’ predator attacks. carapace were used in traditional in 1948. The name changed to Sri
Turtles’ shells are unusual. They Chinese medicines. Lanka in 1972. At that time, the
are mostly made of bone. Protec- Zoo officials hoped that the male country became a republic with an
tive shells of land animals, such as and female softshell turtles would elected president.
25th April 2019 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 18

Today, Sri Lanka’s population important time in the Christian cal-


is about 20 million. The majority endar. This year, Easter Sunday was St Anthony’s
Shrine
are Buddhists. These people are on 21st April.
known as Sinhalese. About 13% On the morning of 21st April,
of the population are Tamils. They churches in Sri Lanka held Easter
are Hindus. Their ancestors origi- services. Many were full. At almost Colombo
nally came from India. The Tamils the same time, there were six large
live mostly in the northern parts explosions. Suicide bombers deto-
of Sri Lanka. The Sinhalese and nated them. Three blew themselves
Tamils speak a different language. up in churches. The others set off the SRI LANKA Batticaloa
Around 10% of Sri Lanka’s people explosives they were carrying in res- Negombo
follow the Islamic faith and 7% taurants in three of Sri Lanka’s larg-
are Christians. est and most modern hotels. They
Colombo
For over 25 years, there was a are popular with foreign tourists.
civil war in Sri Lanka. It finally end- The hotels and one of the church-
ed in 2009. The war was between es, the Catholic Shrine of St An- INDIAN
OCEAN
government forces and a militant thony, are in Colombo, Sri Lanka’s
Tamil organisation nicknamed the capital city. The other church explo-
Tamil Tigers. It wanted the Tamil sions were in the cities of Negombo responsibility for the attacks. Offi-
parts of Sri Lanka to secede, or be- and Batticaloa. cials said that all the bombers were
come a separate nation. Eventually, members of a local Islamist militant
the government forces overcame, or group called National Thowheeth
defeated, the militants. Jama’ath (NTJ). This group had nev-
Due to its beauty, Sri Lanka is er carried out deadly attacks in Sri
known as the ‘Pearl in the Indian Lanka before. Last year, members of
Ocean’. The country has 1,600 the NTJ were blamed for vandalis-
kilometres (1,000 miles) of sandy ing several Buddhist statues.
beaches. While the civil war contin- Security experts believe that the
ued, few tourists visited Sri Lanka. NTJ were not able to arrange such
Now, visitor numbers are growing. a large and well-coordinated attack.
Around two million people holiday St Anthony’s Shrine in Colombo, in Sri Lanka, They suspect that the group had help
in the country each year. Tourism is one of the churches bombed in the attacks from larger Islamic militant groups

an important industry in Sri Lanka. Later, government officials con- in another country. Local news re-
International companies have been firmed that an attack on a fourth ports claimed that India had sent a
building new hotels and properties. hotel had been prevented. Over 250 warning about a possible attack to
Christians believe that Jesus people died in the bomb attacks. senior security officers in Sri Lanka.
Christ is the Son of God. He proba- Another 500 were injured. Around It was received two weeks before
bly lived in what are now Israel and 45 of those killed came from other the bombings. The security officers
the West Bank about 2,000 years countries. The police quickly arrest- chose to ignore it.  
ago. In the Christian story, Jesus ed 60 people. A night-time curfew
was crucified or killed for his be- was introduced and social media
liefs. Christian texts say that, three and messaging services shut down. Wolves return
days later, he was resurrected and In the days that followed, there were
went to heaven. a few smaller explosions in other A long time ago, wolves were com-
In the Christian tradition, the parts of Colombo. mon in many parts of the world.
day on which Jesus was crucified A few days after the attacks, Now, these animals are mainly
is known as Good Friday. He then officials confirmed that all the found in Russia, Canada and Alaska,
ascended into heaven on Easter Day, suicide bombers came from Sri a part of the USA. Over 100 years
or the following Sunday. This is an Lanka. No militant group claimed ago, in most of Europe, the animals
25th April 2019 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 19

were hunted until no more existed. dominant, male and female pair livestock, farmers may need to use
Yet, in recent times, wolf numbers leads the pack. These two wolves electric fences and guard dogs. This
have been growing in several Eu- normally mate for life. is what happens in France. There,
ropean countries. For example, The animals are fast runners and if a farmer takes these precautions,
the animals reappeared in France excellent hunters. When on its own, the government will pay compensa-
in 1992. These wolves crossed the a wolf will catch small animals tion for any livestock lost to wolf
Italian-French border. such as squirrels and hares. When attacks. France’s wolf population
Wildlife officials have been hunting in packs, wolves will attack is now about 360. There, two years
tracking several wolves in a nature larger animals such as bison, moose ago, wolves were blamed for the
reserve, in the Netherlands. The ani- or deer. Most wolves live in remote deaths of 12,000 farm animals.
mals crossed the border that it shares areas. If they cannot find enough The wildlife officials in the
with Germany. At first, the wolves food in the wild, the animals move Netherlands think that a resident
did not stay for long. They returned to places where there are villages wolf pack in the nature reserve
to the German side. At least 60 wolf or small groups of houses. Then, would be helpful. Currently, no
packs are now living in Germany. they will kill farm animals, such as natural predators mean there are
The wildlife officials have been cows, sheep and horses. They rarely too many deer and wild boar. Every
monitoring two females in the Neth- attack humans. so often, these animals have to be
erlands. Both have stayed in the na- culled. The wolves, the officials
ture reserve for six months. (Female say, would naturally control these
wolves are called she-wolves.) animals’ populations. 
The officials know that several
male wolves have visited the re-
serve. They are sure that the she- Vladivostok summit
wolves will stay in the area to have
their pups, or babies. This means Vladivostok is the largest city in
that the Netherlands now has a Russia’s far east. The Trans-Siberian
(small) ‘resident’ wolf population. Railway connects Moscow, or the
These animals last lived in the coun- country’s capital, to Vladivostok.
try about 140 years ago. Around 9,300 kilometres (5,780
Wolves are members of a biologi- miles) in length, it is the world’s
cal family called canids (or canidae). longest railway. Vladivostok is
Other family members include: fox- Eurasian wolf (Katerina Hlavata) close to Russia’s border with both
es, coyotes, jackals, and dogs. These When a wolf pack kills a large China and North Korea.
animals are carnivores, or meat-eat- animal, the alpha pair always eats Kim Jong-un is the leader of
ers. Throughout the world, there are first. As hunts are not always suc- North Korea. On 24th April, he trav-
many wolf subspecies. Those found cessful, wolves will eat up to one- elled in his own armoured train from
in Europe are known as Eurasian, fifth of their body weight at one Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital
or common, wolves. They have time. This ‘overeating’ makes up city, to Vladivostok. This distance is
grey-brown fur. An adult Eurasian for the days when the animals roughly 650 kilometres (500 miles).
wolf weighs about 40 kilograms (88 have no food. Wolves are known The following day, Mr Kim, the
pounds). for the howling noises they make. Russian president, Vladimir Putin,
Wolves are the ancestors of all They do this to assemble the pack, and their advisers met for a series of
dogs. Ancient humans are believed warn of danger and communicate talks, or daylong summit. The two
to have started training ‘wolf-dogs’ over long distances. leaders had never met before.
over 10,000 years ago. Wolves are Not everyone in the Nether- North Korea is a secretive and
social animals. They live in packs, lands is happy about the wolves’ underdeveloped country. However,
or groups. Each pack usually has return. Some farmers have already over the last ten years, it has de-
between five and 12 animals. Some complained that wolves are killing signed, built and tested a nuclear
have as many as 36. An alpha, or some of their sheep. To protect their weapon. North Korea has also been
25th April 2019 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 20

Nowadays, North and South Ko-


rea are very different nations. People
in the South elect their leaders. The
country has a successful economy
and several internationally known
companies. There are no meaning-
ful elections in the North. Electric
power is limited. Many North Ko-
reans do not have enough to eat.
Anyone who criticises the country’s
leaders, or disobeys orders, is sent
to a prison camp.
Previous American presidents
have tried to persuade North Ko-
Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s leader, and Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, with their interpreters, in Vladivostok
rea to give up its nuclear weapons.
developing its long-range missile Discussions between diplomats
technology. The USA and other from North Korea, South Korea,
countries such as Japan and South the USA, Japan, China, and Rus-
Moscow
Korea want North Korea to abandon sia were organised. These meet-
RUSSIA
its nuclear weapons programme. In ings were known as the ‘six-party
Vladivostok
return, these countries would help talks’. Aid, such as large supplies
North Korea to develop and build a NORTH of food and oil, were given to
KOREA
modern-day economy. Pyongyang North Korea. Yet it never agreed
Over the last 12 months, the Amer- to halt its nuclear weapons pro-
ican president, Donald J Trump, has For hundreds of years, Korea was gramme. Eventually, the six-party
twice met with Mr Kim. Their meet- a single nation. It split into North talks were discontinued.
ings took place in Singapore and Ha- and South Korea after the end of the After meeting with Mr Kim,
noi, the capital of Vietnam. Because Second World War in 1945. At that the Russian president spoke with
of its nuclear programme, the United time, the Russian-led Soviet Union news reporters. He explained that
Nations (UN) has imposed trade and (a few years later) China sup- he had advised Mr Kim to re-
sanctions on North Korea. UN mem- ported the communist North. The start the six-party talks. Mr Putin
ber countries are not allowed to buy USA backed the democratic South. also said that Mr Kim would need
goods from, or sell goods to, North In 1950, the North attacked the some guarantees before he could
Korea. The USA leads and monitors South. This was the start of the end his nuclear programme. In the
this trade embargo. Korean War. Then, the United Na- evening, the two leaders met for
Mr Kim wants America and tions (UN), with mainly American dinner. Mr Kim invited the Rus-
other countries to end, or lift, the troops, helped the South. China as- sian leader to visit Pyongyang. Mr
sanctions. Once this happens, he sisted the North. After three years Putin said that he had accepted
says, some nuclear weapons can be of fighting, a truce, or ceasefire, the North Korean leader’s kind
decommissioned, or dismantled. Mr was agreed. The border between invitation. 
Trump insists that the decommis- the North and South is where the
sioning happens before any sanc- opposing armies faced each other
tions are relaxed. At their last meet- after the fighting stopped. Massacre centenary
ing, the two leaders failed to reach North Korea’s first leader was
an agreement. Their talks have now Kim Il-sung. He died in 1994 after Amritsar is in north west India. The
‘broken down’. Currently, the USA ruling the country for 48 years. His Jallianwala Bagh is an enclosed
and Russia are rivals. When Mr Pu- son, Kim Jong-il, succeeded him. public garden in the city. On the
tin offered to meet with Mr Kim, the After his death seven years ago, one evening of 12th April, hundreds of
North Korean leader accepted. of his sons, Kim Jong-un, took over. people took part in a candlelight
25th April 2019 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 21

vigil in the garden. The event was retire from the army. Most people
organised to commemorate a massa- in Britain blamed him for what
cre that took place in the Jallianwala had happened.
Bagh on 13th April 1919, or 100 After the massacre, the independ-
years ago. ence movement became larger. In-
India, Pakistan and Bangladesh dia became a self-governing nation
were once all part of a large British in 1947. It split into two independ-
colony. It was known as ‘India’. The ent countries: India and Pakistan.
British ruled this part of the world The British government has never
for more than 200 years. During officially apologised for what hap-
this time, they created a large army. pened in Amritsar, in 1919. In 1997,
Known as ‘the Indian Army’, its Queen Elizabeth the Second visited
soldiers were local men. Most of the the Jallianwala Bagh. She placed a
officers were British. Many Indian wreath at the memorial in the centre
Army regiments fought for the Brit- Memorial in the Jallianwala Bagh, in Amritsar of the park.
ish in other parts of the world during widely circulated to areas outside Theresa May is the prime minis-
the First World War (1914 – 1918). the city. On 13th April, a crowd ter of the UK. A few days after the
Around the time of the First of about 10,000 people gathered in centenary, she spoke in the coun-
World War, an independence move- Jallianwala Bagh. The men, women try’s parliament about the massacre.
ment in India began. People who and children were a mix of Hindus, Mrs May said that ‘we deeply regret
supported the movement wanted Muslims and Sikhs. Many Sikhs what happened and the suffering it
the British to leave. Mahatma Gan- had recently been to their temple in caused’. The UK’s ambassador to
dhi (1869 – 1948) was one of the Amritsar. Others had come to the India is known as the high com-
movement’s best-known leaders. city from the surrounding area for missioner. He visited the Jallian-
Amritsar is in an area of India and a local festival. wala Bagh on the 100th anniversary
Pakistan that is called Punjab. High walls and buildings en- of the massacre. In the memorial
In 1919, Europeans living in closed the public gardens. There guestbook, he described the event
Punjab worried about local British were only five narrow entrances or as ‘shameful’.
leaders being overthrown. Gandhi exits. Dyer ordered some of his sol- Nowadays, many Sikhs live in
was in favour of non-violent pro- diers to block the exits. He then en- the UK. To mark the 100th an-
tests. At the end of March, he or- tered the Jallianwala Bagh with 90 niversary of the massacre, one
ganised a nationwide strike. People Indian Army soldiers. Dyer ordered British Sikh charity leader planted
were encouraged not to go to work. the soldiers to open fire. Unable to 1,650 trees. One for each bullet
At this time, the British governor escape, many people were shot dead fired. The young trees were planted
in Punjab decided to deport two or wounded. This incident became together. The woodland memorial
people. He believed that they were known as the Jallianwala Bagh, or has been named the ‘Jallianwala
‘troublemakers’. Both men were Amritsar, massacre. Grove’.  
arrested. Afterwards, some soldiers When they heard about what
fired into a crowd. Rioters murdered happened, most government minis-
three people who worked for British ters in Britain were very angry. An Newsademic.com
banks. They also set fire to several investigation was organised. The Editor: Rebecca Watson
government buildings in Amritsar. British claimed that around 390 Newsademic is published
Brigadier General Reginald died and another 200 were badly every other week, or fortnightly,
Dyer was a British Indian Army wounded. This number is disputed. throughout the year.
officer. The governor of Punjab Later, an Indian investigation stat- For further details and
told Dyer to take a military force to ed that at least 1,000 people were subscription prices visit
Amritsar. There, Dyer announced killed. It is known that the soldiers www.newsademic.com
a ban on all meetings, or gather- fired 1,650 bullets. After the in- © 2018 Newsademic
ings. However, this order was not vestigation, Dyer was ordered to
25th April 2019 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 22

Issue 352 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

4 5

7 8 9 10

11

12 13

14 15

16

17

18

19

20

Across Down
1 Noun  A person who is in charge of a museum or collection 2 None  A renewed interest in something from the past
11 Noun  Removal of all dangerous substances 3 Noun Plural  Promises that something will happen or be
12 Verb  Collect over a period of time done
13 Noun  A regulation that requires people to remain indoors 4 Noun Plural  Journeys to holy places
at certain times, typically at night 5 Verb  To kill an animal or person as an offering to a god
15 Adjective  Not legally recognised, or no longer current or or gods
useful 6 Adjective  Reduced to nothingness
16 Adjective  Dreamlike, using images from the sub conscious 7 Noun  A system by which an organisation is run where
17 Adjective  Describes gaining an advantage by military or people can do their job only by following very strict
political plans complex rules and regulations
18 Noun  The science of the structure of living things’ bodies 8 Noun  A non-fiction film, showing an aspect of real life
19 Adjective  Name given to European history from about 9 Noun Plural  Old documents, papers or books, usually
AD600 to 1500 written by hand
20 Noun  An arrangement of flowers and leaves in a circular 10 Noun  Something, usually money, given to make up for
shape, often used as a sign of respect and remembrance loss, suffering, or injury
for people who have died 14 Adjective  Unspoiled or as new
25th April 2019 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 23

Instructions:
Issue 352 j Find 19 of the 20 crossword answers in the word
search. Words can go vertically, horizontally, diagonally

Glossary Puzzle continued


and back to front. k After finding the 19 words write
down the 20th (or missing) word under the puzzle.

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MISSING WORD ANSWER =


Issue 351 answers

T H R E S H O L D

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