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

24th May 2018

British English edition
Issue Number 328
In this issue
Cuckoo bees study
Jerusalem American
embassy move
First International Day of
Light
Hammerhead worms in
France
Ramadan fast begins
Farnese Blue diamond sold
Ozone alarm
Preserving human
knowledge
Pompeii horse uncovered
Royal wedding
Ebola outbreak in DRC
Five Star’s Luigi Di Maio (L), Giuseppe Conte, Italy’s new prime minister (C), and Matteo Salvini of the League (R) Largest observation wheel
opens

Italy’s new populist government

Sergio Mattarella is Italy’s president. In
Italy, the president has few powers. One
is to officially appoint the prime minister,
or the person who governs the country.
On 23rd May, Mr Mattarella confirmed
that Giuseppe Conte would take over as
Italy’s new prime minister. Mr Conte has
never been a politician before.
Italians voted in a general (or parlia-
mentary) election two months ago. Its re-
sult was inconclusive. The Italian parlia-
ment has two chambers, or houses. The
Chamber of Deputies is the lower house
and the Senate the upper house. Italy has
many political parties. Most will agree to
work with others. When political parties
do this it is known as a coalition.
To govern Italy, a coalition needs to
win the most seats in both the lower and
upper houses. The Chamber of Depu-
ties has 630 seats and the Senate 315.
The Italian voting system means that a
Dinosaur nest design
Measuring all life
coalition has to get at least 40% of the What killed Saladin?
votes to have a majority of seats in New whale shark hotspot
both houses. Australia’s sanctuary fence
For many years, Italy was governed Glossary Crossword and
Wordsearch Puzzle
by one of two traditional parties. They
are often described as ‘left’ and ‘right’.
Left, or left-wing, politicians believe
the government is responsible for public Learning
welfare. They also want everyone to have English as a
a share of the nation’s wealth. Right, or
right-wing, politicians think that it’s not foreign
the government’s job to make sure there language?
is equality. They say people are respon-
sible for creating their own wealth and
spending their own money. Newsademic.com
Italy’s traditional ‘left’ and ‘right’ par-
ties did badly in the election. Two par- Recommended
ties, the Five Star Movement (Five Star)
and the League, did well. Five Star got reading
32% of the votes, or more than any other for
party. About 17% of those who took part
in the election voted for the League. EFL and ESL
 NID: 1000321-103-328 B Newsademic. Prepared for: [Your School Name Here]
24th May 2018 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 2
Five Star did not exist ten years
ago. A well-known comedian called
Beppe Grillo set it up. Mr Grillo
says that he decided to create a po-
litical movement because he was
angry about Italian politics and Ital-
ian politicians. He claimed that most
traditional party politicians were
dishonest, overpaid and lazy. Mr
Grillo insists that politicians must
serve the people who elect them. He
claims that Five Star is neither left
nor right. Mr Grillo recently select-
ed Luigi Di Maio as the movement’s
new leader. He is only 31 years old.
As there was no clear election
result, the president invited the par-
ty leaders to try to form a coalition.
If this were not possible, another
election would have to be held. To
many people’s surprise, Five Star
and the League decided to hold
coalition talks. Matteo Salvini leads
the League.
Five Star is said to be ‘anti-es-
tablishment’. Most people call the
League ‘far right’. Both parties are
described as ‘populist’. Anti-es-
tablishment parties usually want to
change a country’s traditional insti-
tutions and systems. The ‘establish-
ment’ is another name for the tradi-
tional ruling class, or elite. Far right
supporters want more powers for the
police, severe punishments for crim-
inals and strict immigration controls.
Being popular and being a popu-
list are different. Populist parties or
leaders claim to represent what they
call ‘the will of the people’. Popu-
lists often accuse traditional, long-
term politicians of being ineffective
or even dishonest. Donald J Trump,
the president of the USA, and the
Philippines’ president, Rodrigo Du-
terte, are populist leaders.
Italy is a founder member of
the European Union (EU). It also
uses the euro as its currency. After
Palazzo Montecitorio, Italy’s parliament building, in Rome
Germany and France, Italy is the
EU’s third biggest euro economy.
Five Star and the League are both
eurosceptic parties. They dislike
many of the EU’s rules and regula-
tions. In the past, both parties have
said that Italy ought to stop using
the euro. They frequently blame
the EU and the euro for Italy’s
many financial difficulties.
During their talks, Five Star and
the League created a 58-page docu-
ment. Called the ‘Contract for the
Government of Change’, it lists the
policies, or ideas, the two parties
plan to implement. They include:
lower taxes; making the tax system
much simpler; a guaranteed monthly
income of €780 (£683) for the poor;
a minimum monthly pension; lower-
ing the pension age; harsher punish-
ments for wealthy people who avoid
paying taxes; and deporting 500,000
migrants. Most of these people ar-
rived from African countries. They
crossed the Mediterranean Sea on
makeshift boats.
Italy has a large amount of debt.
This is money that the country has
borrowed in the past. EU rules
say that member countries with
large debts must have strict spend-
ing plans. Countries like Italy are
told to reduce, or cut, the amount
of money the government spends.
This is known as austerity. Over the
last 15 years, Italy’s economy has
stagnated, or not grown. Unemploy-
ment, or the number of people with-
out jobs, is high.
Five Star and the League insist
that austerity is not working. They
plan to increase borrowing and
government spending. The two
parties argue that this is needed to
‘boost’ the economy. Their spend-
ing plans are likely to cause argu-
ments with EU officials and lead-
ers of other EU countries. What’s
more, Five Star and the League
say that they will work closely
with Russia. This is the opposite
of current EU instructions.
Mr Di Maio and Mr Salvini
agreed that neither should be the
prime minister. Both will be senior
members of the government. They
chose Mr Conte to be the new prime
minister. Few Italians knew who he
was. Mr Conte, who is 53 years old,
is a law professor. (In Italy, a prime
minister does not have to be a mem-
ber of parliament.)
For the coalition government to
begin, President Mattarella had to
confirm Mr Conte’s appointment.
After leaving the president’s of-
fice, Mr Conte spoke to waiting
news reporters. He said ‘I will
be the defence lawyer of all Ital-
ians in all places, in Europe and
internationally’.  
 NID: 1000321-103-328 B Newsademic. Prepared for: [Your School Name Here]
24th May 2018 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 3
Cuckoo bees
Entomologists in America have
discovered 15 new bee species.
(Entomologists are scientists who
study insects.) The new types of
bee are all ‘cuckoo bees’. These
bees are kleptoparasites. Their off-
spring, or young, steal food made
by other bees.
There are about 20,000 bee spe-
cies in the world. Scientists believe
that roughly 15% are cuckoo bees.
These bees are named after cuckoo
birds. Cuckoos are what are known
as brood parasites. They lay one of
their eggs in another bird’s nest. The
bird (or host) that built the nest does
not realise that a different bird laid
the egg. It sits on, or incubates, it
as well as its own eggs. After they
hatch, the parent birds feed their
chicks as well as the young cuckoo.
It soon becomes bigger and stronger
than the birds’ natural chicks. Of-
ten the cuckoo will push the other
chicks out of the nest. It then gets all
the food.
Most bees make nests, or hives.
In a nest there are several types of
bee: a queen bee, male bees (called
drones) and worker bees. Workers
are barren females. They are not able
to reproduce. Drones mate with the
queen. Some workers collect pollen
and nectar from flowers and pro-
duce wax. This comes from glands
in their abdomens. After leaving the
wax at the hive, other workers use
it to increase the nest’s size. Wild
bees make their nests in caves, rock
cavities or tree hollows. The queen
lays eggs. The larvae, or baby bees,
which hatch from the eggs, feed on
stored pollen and nectar. Workers
look after them until they can fly.
Worker bees that collect pollen
and nectar are covered in hairs.
These help to gather pollen. Cuckoo
bees do not have this body hair,
as they do not need any pollen.
Sometimes, they are mistaken for
wasps. Female cuckoo bees search
for other bees’ nests. They feed
on nectar from flowers. Once the
cuckoo bee finds a nest, it will
wait outside. If the queen leaves, it
will enter the nest and start laying
its own eggs.
Cuckoo bee, Epeolus attenboroughi
(Thomas Onuferko, York University)
Some cuckoo bees will enter
a nest and attack the queen. If a
cuckoo bee goes inside a well-de-
veloped nest, the workers may at-
tack it. Therefore, cuckoo bees usu-
ally look for nests that are not too
big. Occasionally, the host queen
and the cuckoo bee might stay in
the same nest for some time. While
this happens, they both produce
eggs. When they hatch, the cuckoo
bees’ offspring are stronger than the
host larvae. They have bigger man-
dibles, or jaws. They use them to
kill the host offspring. The young
cuckoo bees then feed on the stores
of nectar and pollen collected by
the host workers.
The American scientists did not
find the new cuckoo bees in the
wild. They discovered specimens
in various collections and museums
in the USA and Canada. Previously,
it was not known that these cuckoo
bee specimens were separate spe-
cies. Cuckoo bees are quite rare.
The scientists hope that after their
discovery, these new species will
now be found in the wild.
The scientists have called one of
the new cuckoo bees Epeolus at-
tenboroughi. They named it after
Sir David Attenborough, a well-
known British naturalist. Naturalists
are people who study animals and
plants. They mainly do this by ob-
servation. 
Jerusalem embassy move
After Jerusalem, Tel Aviv is the
largest city in Israel. Traditionally,
countries that have diplomatic rela-
tions with Israel have their embas-
sies in Tel Aviv. On 14th May, the
USA officially moved its embassy
in the country from Tel Aviv to Je-
rusalem. The move angered many
Arab and Islamic nations.
The USA and the United Nations
(UN) created the new state of Israel
on 14th May 1948. Therefore, the
American embassy move coincided
with Israel’s 70th anniversary. Israel
was set up in a region known as Pal-
estine. It was to be a Jewish home-
land. Many Jews from other parts of
the world moved there.
However, the formation of Israel
meant that 700,000 Palestinians
had to leave their lands. Many fled.
Others were forced to go. Some
chose to stay in Israel. Today, about
nine million people live in Israel.
About 21% are Palestinian Arabs.
Most Palestinians who left their

24th May 2018 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 4
homelands went to live in refugee
camps in nearby countries. Many
moved to an area that is now called
the Gaza Strip.
Each year, on 15th May, Palestin-
ians mark the events that happened
in 1948. They call this date Nakba
Day. Nakba is the Arabic word for
‘catastrophe’. Usually, many Pales-
tinians take part in demonstrations
and protests on this day.
LEBANON
West
Mediterranean
City Bank
boundary
Sea
Green
line East
Jerusalem
Old City
ISRAEL Gaza ISRAEL
Strip
West
Jerusalem
EGYPT
Arab countries were angry about
the new state of Israel. They sup-
ported the Palestinians. Within a
few months, soldiers from Egypt,
Jordan, Syria, and Iraq invaded
the new country. The Israelis
fought back. The following year,
a ceasefire was agreed. The cease-
fire line (called the Green Line)
was drawn where opposing sol-
diers faced each other. It divided
Jerusalem. The Israelis controlled
the western part and the Jordani-
ans the eastern part.
Jordan, Egypt, and Syria launched
another attack in 1967. This became
known as the Six-Day War. Israel
won easily. Israeli soldiers captured
East Jerusalem. Some areas of terri-
tory taken by the Israeli army were
given back. Yet, the Israeli govern-
ment decided to annex East Jerusa-
lem. Most countries disapproved of
this Israeli action. This is why their
embassies are in Tel Aviv.
Since 1967, there have been
frequent outbreaks of violence
NID: 1000321-103-328 B Newsademic. Prepared for: [Your School Name Here]
between the Israelis and Palestin-
ians. Traditionally, the USA has
supported the Israelis. The Arab
World backs the Palestinians. In
1994, after peace talks between
Palestinian and Israeli leaders, the
Palestinian Authority (PA) was
formed. It is made up of two areas,
the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
Palestinians living in these areas
now govern themselves.
The two main Palestinian po-
litical groups are Hamas and Fatah.
They rarely agree with each other. In
SYRIA
Tel
Aviv West
Bank
recent years, Hamas has controlled
Jerusalem the Gaza Strip and Fatah runs the
West Bank. In the past, Fatah has
agreed to talk with Israel to try to
find a peaceful solution. Yet Hamas
JORDAN
does not recognise Israel’s right to
exist. It has always refused to take
part in any peace talks.
The USA’s new embassy (old consulate) in
Jerusalem (Ami Shinar Architects)
Many people believe that a ‘two-
state solution’ is the only answer to
the Israeli-Palestinian problem. This
means that the land would be divid-
ed between a new state of Palestine
and the state of Israel. Yet there are
many difficulties. These include
where the new countries’ borders
would be. If they had a new state,
Palestinians insist that East Jerusa-
lem would be its capital city.
Donald J Trump was elected
as America’s president about 18
months ago. He also believes in
a two-state solution. Before he
became the president, Mr Trump
made several promises. If elected,
he pledged to keep them. One prom-
ise was to move the USA’s embassy
from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Other
American presidents had made
similar pledges in the past. Yet none
kept these promises.
By moving its embassy, the USA
has officially recognised that Jeru-
salem is Israel’s capital city. Arab
and other Islamic nations argue that
the move will make ‘peace’ between
Israel and the Palestinians less like-
ly. The USA, they say, cannot now
be trusted to be neutral in any future
peace talks.
The USA did not build a new
embassy in Jerusalem. Instead, it
upgraded its consulate building.
A country will have one embassy
in another nation, but it may have
several consulates. They are like
‘junior’ embassies. From now on,
America’s ambassador to Israel
will work in Jerusalem and not Tel
Aviv. Ivanka Trump, the American
president’s oldest daughter, trav-
elled to Israel for the embassy’s
official opening. Within a few days
of the opening, Guatemala and
Paraguay announced that they too
would move their embassies from
Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
On the same day of the em-
bassy move, thousands of Pales-
tinians demonstrated in the Gaza
Strip. Some approached the bor-
der fence. Israeli soldiers shot and
killed at least 60 people. Many
were wounded. Most of those
killed were members of Hamas.
Israel claimed that they were try-
ing to place explosives on the
border fence. Many countries criti-
cised Israel for its actions. They
insisted that the ‘force’ used by
the soldiers was not necessary and
disproportionate. 
 NID: 1000321-103-328 B Newsademic. Prepared for: [Your School Name Here]
24th May 2018 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 5
International Day of Light
The first International Day of Light
was on 16th May. The United Na-
tions (UN) has designated, or cho-
sen, this date. It wants people all
around the world to celebrate how
light affects their wellbeing on
this day. The Day of Light was in-
augurated with a ceremony at the
headquarters of UNESCO (United
Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization) in Paris,
France’s capital city.
The UN often chooses days,
weeks, years, and even decades to
mark topics or events. This is done
to promote or increase awareness.
Three years ago, the UN designated
2015 as the International Year of
Light and Light-based Technolo-
gies. During the year, more than
13,000 events were arranged in 147
countries. Over 100 million people
attended them. Due to the Year of
Light’s success, the UN decided to
celebrate a Day of Light each year.
UNESCO says that the reason
for the Day of Light is to make peo-
ple more aware of how light-based
technologies make the world a bet-
ter place. These technologies are
becoming more and more important
for energy production, education,
communications, healthcare, as well
as art and culture.
Some people describe light as
one of the most important elements
of human existence. Light is needed
for life. For example, plants make
their own food from light energy.
This process is called photosynthe-
sis. Plants use sunlight to change car-
bon dioxide and water into starches
and sugars. These are stored within
the plant and used when needed.
An Arab scholar called Alha-
zen (also known as Al Hasan Ibn
al-Haytham) was one of the first
White light
Glass prism
White light split up into the colours of the rainbow after passing through a glass prism
people to study light. He lived about
1,000 years ago. Alhazen wrote a
famous book called The Book of
Optics. Optics is the study of sight
and the behaviour of light. Alhazen
spent most of his life in Cairo, the
present-day capital of Egypt. His
work with light changed the way
people thought about vision, light
and the eye. Alhazen was also one
of the first people to use experi-
ments to test his ideas, or theories.
Around 300 years ago, Sir
Isaac Newton showed that white
light is a ‘mixture’ of the colours
of the rainbow (red, orange, yel-
low, green, blue, indigo, and vio-
let). Newton was a British scientist
and mathematician.
In the early 1900s, Max Planck
and Albert Einstein were the first
Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Blue
Purple
Indigo
Violet
to understand that light was both
a wave and a particle. Both men
were German physicists. (Later,
Einstein became an American citi-
zen.) The laser was invented about
60 years ago. Around this time,
scientists began to use a new word:
photonics. Photons are particles of
light. Photonics is the science of
making, controlling and detecting
light particles.
Light travels in straight lines.
This is why you cannot see around
corners. It also travels very quick-
ly. The speed of light in a vacuum
(or area that contains no mat-
ter) is around 300,000 kilometres
(186,000 miles) per second. Light
from the Sun takes about eight
minutes to reach the Earth.
Many people think of light as
‘visible light’, or the light that hu-
mans can see. Yet there are other
types of (invisible) light such as
gamma rays, X-rays, ultraviolet
light (UV), infrared, microwaves,
and radio waves. Visible and invis-
ible light waves are now part of
people’s daily lives. If photonics
were not understood, many of to-
day’s important devices would not
exist. Some examples are: barcode
scanners, DVD players, special
medical equipment, laser cutters,
remote sensors, solar panels, and
even the internet.
The UN chose 16th May as the
International Day of Light for a
 NID: 1000321-103-328 B Newsademic. Prepared for: [Your School Name Here]

24th May 2018 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 6

special reason. This date is the anni- Hammerhead worms hold their One end develops into a head. Some
versary, in 1960, of the first success-
heads up as they move across the hammerhead worm species delib-
ful operation of a laser by Theodore ground. Their heads go from side to erately break off a part of their tail
Maiman. He was an American engi- side as they move. The underside of end. It then grows into a new flat-
neer and physicist.   the worms is like a single foot, or worm. This is one method that these
sole. They create mucus, which the species use to reproduce.
foot glides across. This is the same Hammerhead worms now live
France’s invasive worms way that slugs and snails move. in several countries outside South
Hammerhead worms like places East Asia. The USA is one.
Five years ago, a scientist in France that are dark, cool and moist. They There, the worms are found in
received a photograph. He works cannot survive very cold winters, or the southern, or warmer, parts of
at the French Natural History Mu- freezing temperatures. the country. In recent years, they
seum. The picture was of a flatworm have been described as an inva-
with an unusually shaped head. The sive species. The flatworms prob-
scientist was asked to identify it. ably arrived in these countries in
Within a short time, he was sent the soil of potted plants.
several other similar photographs. The French scientist’s survey
They were of similar flatworms, but shows that five types of hammer-
different species. head worms now reside in southern
The scientist discovered that no France. Two of them can grow to a
one had studied or recorded these length of 60 centimetres (two feet).
creatures. He and several other The most ‘densely populated’ area
people who work in the museum is around Bayonne. This city is on
decided to organise a survey. They the country’s Atlantic coast.
advertised that they were interested Head of a hammerhead worm (Pierre Gros) The survey shows that hammer-
in these strange worms. Over the Some hammerhead worms are head worms have been in France for
next four years, the scientist’s team brightly coloured. Most eat earth- at least 20 years. This was a surprise.
received many messages about the worms. Underground, they track the It is odd that no researchers have re-
flatworms. Some people sent photo- earthworms through the soil. The corded the arrival of these invasive
graphs and videos. Others forward- flatworms use sticky secretions to creatures before.  
ed live worms in the post. capture their prey. Hammerheads
Because of the shape of their have an unusual method of feeding.
heads, these creatures are usually They extend, or push, their throats Ramadan
called hammerhead worms. There out of their mouths. These cover
are many species. All are native to the earthworm in enzymes. En- For those who follow the Islamic
South East Asia. Most hammerhead zymes are like catalysts. They speed faith, Ramadan began on 16th May.
worms are small. Yet some can be up chemical reactions. The ham- For Muslims, this is an important
one metre (three feet) long. merhead worms’ enzymes turn the time of the year. Ramadan is a
earthworm into a liquid. This is then month of fasting. During this peri-
sucked up. Many living things have od, Muslims do not eat or drink dur-
enzymes that help to break down, or ing daylight hours. Ramadan is the
digest, food. Normally, they work ninth month in the Islamic calendar.
inside the body. The Islamic calendar is what’s
Some hammerhead worms can known as a lunar calendar. It is
regenerate themselves. If they are based on the cycles of the Moon.
cut up, each piece grows into a new Traditionally, the start and end of
worm. This process takes only two Ramadan depends on the sighting of
or three weeks. During this period, a crescent moon. This marks the end
Hammerhead worm the pieces get longer and narrower. of one lunar month and the start of
 NID: 1000321-103-328 B Newsademic. Prepared for: [Your School Name Here]
24th May 2018 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 7
A crescent moon (over the palm trees) at sunset
marks the beginning of Ramadan (Ahmed Rabea)
the next. Ramadan lasts for 29 or 30
days. This year, it ends on 15th June.
Nowadays, most countries use
the Gregorian, or international,
calendar. A lunar year also has 12
months. However, the lunar year is
about 11 days shorter than the inter-
national calendar year. Therefore, (in
the international calendar) the start
and end date of Ramadan changes,
or moves, from year to year. For ex-
ample, last year, Ramadan began on
27th May and ended on 24th June.
It takes about 33 (solar, or interna-
tional) years for the Islamic calendar
to complete a full cycle, or return to
the same season.
The Five Pillars of Islam are
beliefs or acts that Muslims must
follow. Muslims are expected to be-
lieve in one God, to pray and to give
to charity. They are also expected to
make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least
once in their lifetime. This should
be done if their health is good, and
they have enough money. Mecca
is in Saudi Arabia. It is the holiest
city in the Islamic religion. Mecca
was the birthplace of the Prophet
Muhammad. Muslims believe that
he was God’s messenger. To fast
throughout the month of Ramadan
is one of the Pillars of Islam.
During Ramadan, healthy and
able-bodied Muslims are expected to
fast, or not eat and drink (or smoke),
from sunrise to sunset. They also
say prayers five times a day. These
things are meant to give Muslims the
time to think about their faith and to
practise discipline and patience. Ac-
cording to Muslim beliefs, Ramadan
was when the Koran (or Qur’an), the
Holy Book of Islam, was revealed to
Muhammad. For this reason, many
Muslims read the Koran during the
month of fasting.
Iftar meal
Some people can eat and drink
during the day if their health might
be affected by not doing so. Exam-
ples are: young children, the elderly,
people who are ill, pregnant women,
and women who are breastfeeding a
baby. People who don’t fast use the
month of Ramadan as a time to think
of those who do not have enough
to eat. They may give donations to
charities that provide food for less
fortunate people.
There are two main meals dur-
ing Ramadan. These are usually
eaten with other family members.
One, called ‘suhoor’, is served just
before dawn. The other, which is
eaten just after sunset, is known
as ‘iftar’. Many types of food are
eaten, but as part of iftar dates are
very popular.
At the end of Ramadan, there is
a celebration called Eid-ul-Fitr. This
means the ‘Festival of Breaking the
Fast’. At this time, a big meal, or
feast, is organised to which family
members and friends are invited.
During a Muslim’s lifetime, the
month of Ramadan will occur in
both winter and summer. This is be-
cause Ramadan ‘moves’ by roughly
11 days each year. In some northern
and southern parts of the world,
winter days are much shorter than
summer days. In these places, Ram-
adan is more difficult during sum-
mer months. This year, for instance,
Muslims living in Norway (in the
north of the northern hemisphere)
will need to fast for 19 hours. The
fast of people in the Middle East
lasts for about 15 hours. Muslims
resident in Argentina (in the south-
ern hemisphere) will not eat or drink
for 12 hours.
Currently, the world’s population
is about 7.5 billion. There are about
1.8 billion Muslims. After Christi-
anity, Islam is the world’s second
largest religion. Today, by popula-
tion, Indonesia is the largest Islamic
nation. In many countries, the num-
ber of Muslims is increasing. This is
because, on average, Muslim fami-
lies have more children.  
Farnese Blue
On 15th May, a gemstone auction,
or sale, was held in Geneva, in
Switzerland. The Sotheby’s Com-
pany organised it. During the event,
a pear-shaped blue diamond was
auctioned. Known as the Farnese
Blue, it sold for US$6.7 million
(£5 million).
Diamonds are a form of carbon.
The name comes from an Ancient
Greek word that means ‘unbreak-
able’. Diamonds are the hardest
known natural material. In many
industries they are used for cutting.
For example, diamonds are fitted to
drills that oil and gas companies use
to bore through rock.
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24th May 2018 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 8
Diamonds are created over mil-
lions of years around 150 kilometres
(93 miles) below the Earth’s surface.
Here, there is a layer of magma, or
hot semi-liquid rock. This layer is
called the mantle. The very high
pressures and temperatures in this
part of the Earth create diamonds.
Deep volcanic eruptions bring the
gemstones close to the surface.
These took place many millions of
years ago.
1739 painting of King Philip the Fifth and Queen
Elisabeth (Farnese) of Spain, by Louis-Michel van Loo
Gemstones, including diamonds,
are measured in units called carats.
A carat is 0.2 grams (0.007 ounces).
The Farnese Blue is 6.1 carats. When
diamonds are first dug up, they are
called ‘rough’ diamonds. Experts
study rough diamonds to look for
flaws. They also look at the shape
of the rough diamond to decide how
best to cut and polish it.
A polished diamond is usually
much smaller than the rough dia-
mond from which it was made. This
is because it is cut to make a sym-
metrical shape. There are ten shapes
that diamonds are cut to. These in-
clude: round, oval, pear, heart, and
cushion. Different shapes of dia-
mond are worth different amounts
of money.
Diamonds are not always white
or clear. Some have a colour such as
red, orange, green, blue, and pink.
Coloured diamonds are rare and,
usually, far more valuable. It is dif-
ficult to see the colour in smaller
diamonds. The larger the coloured
diamond the more noticeable its col-
our becomes.
The Farnese Blue diamond is
named after Elisabeth Farnese. It
was given to her to mark her wed-
ding to Spain’s King Philip the
Fifth, in 1714. Elisabeth’s mother
and father, the Duke and Duchess
of Parma, lived in what’s now Italy.
The diamond was dug up in the
Golconda mines, in India. For thou-
sands of years, this was where the
only known diamonds came from.
Until Alexander the Great (356 –
323 BCE) travelled to this part of
the world, nobody outside India
knew about diamonds.
Farnese Blue diamond (Sotheby’s)
Many other famous diamonds
were found in the Golconda mines.
They include the Koh-i-Noor and
Hope Diamonds. The Koh-i-Noor is
now part of the British Crown Jew-
els. The Hope Diamond is the larg-
est part of a bigger blue diamond
that was re-cut. Kings of France
owned the bigger diamond (some-
times called the French blue) hun-
dreds of years ago. Today, the Hope
Diamond is displayed in an Ameri-
can museum.
In 1866, diamonds were discov-
ered in the southern part of Africa.
Within a few years, more diamonds
were dug up in these mines than
in India during the previous 2,000
years. The Golconda mines finally
closed a few years ago. Today, most
of the world’s diamonds come from
Russia, Canada, southern Africa,
and Australia.
The largest known rough dia-
mond was found in a mine in South
Africa over 100 years ago. Called
the Cullinan Diamond, it was over
3,100 carats. The diamond was
cut into two large gems and many
smaller ones. The two large dia-
monds (known as the Great Star
of Africa and the Second Star of
Africa) are also part of the British
Crown Jewels.
Before Elisabeth Farnese’s mar-
riage, Spain had been involved in
a long war. The country had finan-
cial problems. An order was sent to
Spain’s colonies, such as Mexico
and the Philippines, to send wed-
ding gifts to the new queen. The
diamond, which became known as
the Farnese Blue, was a gift from
the Philippines’ Spanish governor.
During the next 300 years, the de-
scendants of Philip and Elisabeth
married into the royal families of
France, Italy and Austria.
The Sotheby’s auction was the
first time that the Farnese Blue had
been sold. The company did not re-
veal the identity of the person who
owned the diamond nor its new
owner.  
Ozone alarm
For many years, scientists in Ameri-
ca have been monitoring the amount
of ozone in th e atmosphere. Recent-
ly, they announced some alarming
news. The scientists have detected
an increase in the level of a man-
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made chemical in the atmosphere.
Called CFCs, these chemicals have
been banned in every country since
2010. The ban was agreed because
CFCs break down, or destroy, ozone.
The ozone layer is between 15
and 35 kilometres (nine and 22
miles) above the Earth’s surface.
This part of the atmosphere is
known as the stratosphere. Ozone
protects, or shields, the planet from
the Sun’s harmful ultraviolet (UV)
rays. These can cause skin cancer
and cataracts (a medical problem
that affects the eyes).
If there were no ozone layer, the
Earth’s climate would be far hotter.
UV rays can reduce the numbers of
tiny marine creatures called plank-
ton. These sea creatures are impor-
tant. They are at the bottom of the
oceans’ food chain. Small fish and
other marine creatures such as krill
feed on plankton. Larger fish then
eat these small fish and krill. These
larger fish are a food source for sea-
birds and big marine creatures such
as sharks and some whales.
Ozone is a natural gas. Pale blue
in colour, it has a strong smell. The
gas is made of oxygen. Most oxy-
gen in the air, or the oxygen that we
breathe, is O2. It has two joined oxy-
gen atoms. Ozone, or O3, has three
atoms of oxygen. When high in the
stratosphere, ozone protects the
Earth. Yet it can be dangerous if clos-
er to the ground. Breathing in ozone
can damage lungs and airways.
In the 1970s, researchers be-
gan warning that the ozone layer
was getting thinner. The worst af-
fected area was above Antarctica.
Here there was a large ‘hole’ in the
ozone’s protective shield. Research-
ers worked out that CFCs (chloro-
fluorocarbons) were causing the
problem. These gases were used
in refrigerators, air conditioning
equipment, foams for furniture, and
in aerosol cans and sprays.
In the Earth’s lower atmosphere,
CFCs are inert. This means that
they are chemically inactive. How-
ever, in the stratosphere CFCs break
down. Here, they are affected by the
strong ultraviolet sunlight. As they
break down, CFCs release chlorine
and bromine. These gases ‘kill’, or
destroy, the ozone.
Ozone layer in August 2017. Purple and blue
shows least ozone, green is average, yellows and
reds are where there is the greatest amount
Due to the problems they cause,
all United Nations (UN) member
countries agreed to ban CFCs. They
signed an agreement called the Mon-
treal Protocol. The agreement was
named after Montreal, one of Can-
ada’s biggest cities. This was where
the protocol was signed in 1987. At
first, developed, or wealthy, coun-
tries stopped using CFCs. All less
wealthy nations had imposed a ban
by 2010. Many people say that the
Montreal Protocol shows that all
countries can agree to prevent man-
made ecological disasters.
In recent years, the amount of
ozone in the stratosphere has been
slowly increasing. The hole above
Antarctica has shrunk. The American
scientists suspect that the ‘extra’ CFC
is coming from somewhere in South
East Asia. Further investigation
is needed to find an exact location.
The scientists say that these CFC
emissions need to be stopped quick-
ly. If not, the recovery in the ozone
layer could be delayed by at least
ten years.  
Lunar Library
The Arch Mission Foundation is an
American organisation. It is ‘non-
profit’, or does not make money. Its
two co-founders are successful busi-
ness people. They set up the founda-
tion about 12 months ago.
On 15th May, the foundation
made an announcement. It declared
that it had finalised plans to land a
‘large amount of data’ on the Moon
in 2020. The foundation calls it a
‘Lunar Library’. The data is to in-
clude all the information within the
Wikipedia website and the Rosetta
Project. This project is a digital li-
brary of all human languages. It is
named after the Rosetta Stone. In-
scriptions on it helped experts de-
code, or decipher, Ancient Egyptian
hieroglyphics about 200 years ago.
The Lunar Library will contain
tens of thousands of pages of text and
graphics. The foundation has devel-
oped a special laser-etching device.
It will ‘print’ the data on small discs
made from very thin nickel sheets.
These sheets could be read with a
high-powered microscope. Radia-
tion and very cold temperatures do
not affect nickel. In space, it can last
for billions of years. Each disc will
have hundreds of nickel sheets, one
on top of the other. One disc, about
the size of a DVD, could contain 25
million Wikipedia pages.
The purpose of the Lunar Library,
the foundation says, is to preserve
all human knowledge. An example
people use to explain the danger of
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Quartz disc containing the Foundation trilogy by
Isaac Asimov (Arch Mission Foundation)
the ‘loss of human knowledge’ is the
Library of Alexandria.
The city of Alexandria was
named after Alexander the Great
(356 – 323 BCE). He founded the
city after conquering Egypt about
2,300 years ago. Alexander was
a king of Macedonia. This was a
state in the northern part of An-
cient Greece. He created a huge
empire. It stretched from the Med-
iterranean Sea to where Pakistan
is today. After Alexander’s death,
the empire was divided between
his generals. The Macedonian gen-
eral who ruled Egypt founded the
Library of Alexandria.
Most of the library’s ‘books’
were papyrus scrolls. The build-
ing had many dormitories, lecture
halls and meeting rooms. The well-
known scholars of the ancient world
lived and worked at the library.
They studied, wrote, and discussed
their ideas with others. The library
was finally destroyed by fire when
a Roman emperor captured the city
around 1,750 years ago. The Li-
brary of Alexandria’s destruction
has become a symbol of ‘the loss
of important knowledge’. Some
people believe that it ‘delayed’ the
advancement of human knowledge
by many hundreds of years.
The Arch Mission Foundation
says that, in the future, there might
be a catastrophic event on the Earth.
This could destroy mankind. Aster-
oid and comet impacts, nuclear war,
a non-treatable, deadly contagious
disease, or nearby gamma ray bursts
are possibilities. If mankind, or
nearly all mankind, were destroyed,
all human knowledge (or most of
it) could be lost. The Lunar Library
would preserve this knowledge.
The Moon (Michael Gil)
The foundation says survivors of
a catastrophe could use the library.
Alternatively, if mankind disap-
peared, an alien civilisation might
find the library millions of years
in the future. As long as whoever
found it could decipher the English
language, they would be able to read
the data. The foundation has plans
to put similar libraries in different
parts of the Solar System. Mars is
another planned location. The foun-
dation calls the libraries ‘Archs’
(pronounced ‘arks’).
The Lunar Library will not be the
first ‘text’ that the foundation has
sent into space. Several months ago,
the SpaceX Company tested a new
rocket. It launched a Tesla electric
car into space. The foundation put a
quartz disc in the car. It contained
the text of several science fiction
books called the Foundation trilogy.
Isaac Asimov (1920 – 1992), an
American author, wrote them.
The trilogy is set far in the fu-
ture. It tells the story of a group of
talented people. They set out to pre-
serve all of humanity’s knowledge.
Members of the group know that
the ‘human empire’ is about to be
destroyed. They also know that an-
other human empire will rise again
in about 1,000 years’ time. They
want to preserve human knowledge
so that the new empire’s develop-
ment is accelerated.
The foundation decided not to
use quartz discs for its library Archs.
This is because inscribing the text
on quartz takes a long time and is
very expensive.  
Pompeii horse
Researchers working at Pompeii
have uncovered the ‘outline’ of a
horse. It died during a volcanic erup-
tion about 1,900 years ago. This fa-
mous event buried the Roman city.
In the past, donkeys, mules, dogs,
and pigs have been discovered in
Pompeii. This is the first time that a
horse has been found.
At its most powerful, the Roman
Empire included much of northern
and southern Europe, and parts of
North Africa and the Middle East.
The empire was centred on Rome,
which is now the capital of Italy.
The site of Pompeii is near mod-
ern-day Naples. This city is about
225 kilometres (140 miles) from
Rome. In Roman times, between
10,000 and 20,000 people lived in
Pompeii. Many wealthy residents
of Rome owned summer homes
in Pompeii.
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Pompeii is about eight kilome-
tres (five miles) from a volcano
called Mount Vesuvius. In 79 CE,
the volcano erupted. The eruption
covered the city in a layer of ash
and volcanic rock 4.3 metres (14
feet) deep. The nearby town of
Herculaneum and several villages
were also destroyed. Poisonous
gases and burning clouds of ash
quickly travelled down the sides
of the volcano. These killed most
of the people before the buildings
were buried. It’s thought that the
eruption killed 16,000 people.
After the disaster, the Romans
abandoned Pompeii. The city was
not rebuilt. Over time, its location
was forgotten. Pompeii was ‘redis-
covered’ in 1738. This was after
workmen began building a new pal-
ace for the King of Naples. About
ten years later, a military engineer
from Spain began excavating the
site. Over the last 100 years, large
areas of Pompeii and Herculaneum
have been uncovered.
The volcanic ash preserved much
of Pompeii. Many of the city’s build-
ings have been excavated. They
include: temples, houses, shops,
restaurants, public baths, fountains,
and a large amphitheatre. Many
buildings have wall paintings, or
frescos. An aqueduct brought water
Ruins of a temple in Pompeii with Mount Vesuvius in the background (Kim Traynor)
to the city. The homes of wealthy
people even had running water. To-
day, much of what is known about
the day-to-day lives of Roman citi-
zens comes from Pompeii.
While excavating the city, work-
ers found ‘holes’ in the hardened
ash. These spaces are where peo-
ple’s bodies had decomposed. The
holes were filled with a liquid plas-
ter that soon hardened. This created
a detailed cast, or outline, of the
body. The cast was then dug out
of the ash. Over the years, plaster
casts were made of many Pompeii
residents who died in the eruption.
Nowadays, a type of clear resin is
used to make the casts.
The horse was found in a stable-
like building just outside Pompeii.
The remains of a harness, with
pieces of iron and bronze, were
found near the animal’s head. The
researchers suspect that the horse
was specially bred and therefore
Cast of a horse, found outside Pompeii
(Parco Archeologico di Pompei)
valuable. Like the human bodies,
the researchers made a cast of
the horse.
Horses are measured from the
ground to the top of their with-
ers. This is the highest part of the
horse’s back. The withers are at the
base, or bottom, of the neck and
above the shoulders. At the with-
ers, the Pompeii horse was 1.5 me-
tres (five feet) tall. For a modern-
day horse, this is quite small. Yet,
in Roman times, horses were much
shorter than today. The researchers
think that, for its time, the horse
was very large.
Experts now know that the 79
CE eruption was unexpected. It was
the first time that Mount Vesuvius
had erupted for around 1,800 years.
The volcano’s most recent eruption
was in 1944. This was not as pow-
erful as the one that buried Pom-
peii. Today, the Roman city is one
of Italy’s biggest visitor attractions.
About 2.5 million people visit Pom-
peii each year.
Windsor wedding
A royal wedding took place at
Windsor Castle, in the UK, on 19th
May. Prince Harry, one of Queen
Elizabeth the Second’s grandsons,
married Meghan Markle.
The history of the UK’s royal
family goes back about one thou-
sand years. Since 1688, the country
has been a constitutional monarchy.
This means that the king or queen
is the country’s head of state. Yet
an elected prime minister and sen-
ior members of the ruling party run
the country. Therefore, the monarch
(or king or queen) does not make
decisions that affect the country.
The prime minister has frequent
meetings with the monarch to let
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, or the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (Buckingham Palace)
Windsor Castle
them know what the government
plans to do.
Queen Elizabeth the Second’s
reign began in 1952 after her fa-
ther, George the Sixth, died. Then,
she was only 25 years old. As well
as the UK, Queen Elizabeth is also
the head of state of 15 other coun-
tries. Together these are known as
the Commonwealth realms. They
include: Canada, Australia, New
Zealand and Jamaica.
Queen Elizabeth and her hus-
band, the Duke of Edinburgh,
have four children. The eldest is
Charles, Prince of Wales. He is
Prince Harry’s father. Prince Har-
ry’s mother, Princess Diana, was
killed in a car accident in 1997.
Prince Harry is 33 years old. His
brother, Prince William, or the
Duke of Cambridge, is two years
older. William married Kate Mid-
dleton seven years ago. The couple
have three young children.
Ms Markle is an American and
a former actress. She is three years
older than Prince Harry. Ms Markle
and her first husband divorced five
years ago. Prince Harry is sixth in
line to the throne. Prince Charles
(his father), Prince William (his old-
er brother) plus his three young chil-
dren, George, Charlotte and Louis,
are first, second, third, fourth, and
fifth in line.
Prince Harry and Ms Markle’s
wedding took place at a chapel
in Windsor Castle. The tombs of
many former kings and queens
and their close relatives are in the
chapel. Windsor Castle is the larg-
est and oldest inhabited, or lived
in, castle in the world. The town
of Windsor is about 34 kilometres
(21 miles) from London, the UK’s
capital city. The castle is one of
Queen Elizabeth’s official homes.
Six hundred people were invited
to the wedding. Around 2,500 mem-
bers of the public were allowed
into the castle. After the marriage
ceremony, they greeted the newly
married couple. Prince Harry and
his wife were then taken around the
streets of Windsor in an open, horse-
drawn carriage. Tens of thousands
of people lined the route. In many
countries, the wedding was shown
live on television. The worldwide
television audience was estimated
to be two billion.
In the past, it was usual for ‘roy-
als’ to marry someone from another
royal, or a wealthy land-owning,
family. Then, it was important for
countries to become friends, or al-
lies. One way to do this was to make
sure that their royal and ruling fami-
lies were related.
Ms Markel has no royal connec-
tions. Traditionally, this is known
as being a ‘commoner’. Unlike past
royal arranged marriages, Harry and
Meghan’s marriage has been de-
scribed as a ‘love match’. They first
met two years ago. One of Prince
Harry’s friends introduced Ms Mar-
kle to him.
On the day of the wedding,
Queen Elizabeth announced that
Prince Harry had been given the ti-
tle the Duke of Sussex. (Sussex is
the name of an area in the south of
the UK.) His wife’s official name is
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of
Sussex.
Prince Harry is a former army of-
ficer. He left the forces three years
ago. He and his wife will now take
an active role in ‘royal duties’. This
is attending public events and visit-
ing other countries.  
Ebola outbreak
Mbandaka is a city in the Demo-
cratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It
is home to about 1.2 million people.
On 21st May, health officials in the
city began a special vaccination pro-
gramme. Its purpose is to contain, or
halt, an Ebola outbreak.
Ebola is a virus. It is often de-
scribed as one of the ‘world’s most
deadly diseases’. Two weeks before
the vaccinations began, two deaths
were reported near the small town
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Ebola virus seen through a microscope (CDC)
of Bikoro. At least another 40 peo-
ple have fallen ill. Later, it was con-
firmed that Ebola was the cause of
the deaths. Most of the sick people
also had the virus.
On 17th May, a person in
Mbandaka died from the disease.
This worried local health officials
and the WHO (World Health Or-
ganization). The WHO is part of the
United Nations (UN). Its main job is
to advise governments about health
care. It also does research into pub-
lic health and diseases.
Mbandaka and Bikoro are both
in a province called Équateur. In
a crowded city such as Mbandaka,
CANADA
USA
GUATEMALA
PARAGUAY
This map shows countries to which news stories refer in this issue. Visit www.newsademic.com for more detailed world maps.
the virus could infect many peo-
ple. What’s more, Mbandaka is a
port on the River Congo. People
from the city often travel along
the river to Kinshasa, the DRC’s
capital city. Therefore, if there
were a serious Ebola outbreak in
Mbandaka, the virus could spread
to Kinshasa and other nearby
African countries.
This Ebola outbreak is the worst
since the virus killed about 11,300
people between 2013 and 2016.
Most of these deaths were in three
countries in West Africa: Liberia,
Sierra Leone and Guinea. Over the
last 40 years, there have been sev-
eral outbreaks of Ebola in the DRC.
However, all were far smaller than
the outbreak in West Africa a few
years ago. The virus’ name comes
from the River Ebola, in the DRC.
This was where the first outbreak of
the disease was recorded in 1976.
UK
SWITZERLAND
FRANCE
ITALY
SPAIN
SYRIA
ISRAEL
GUINEA
SIERRA LEONE
LIBERIA
DEM. REP.
OF CONGO
MADAGASCAR
Ebola is very infectious. It can
pass from one person to another
easily. Nobody knows where the
virus comes from. It probably lives
inside fruit bats. However, Ebola
does not seem to affect these crea-
tures. The virus can be passed to
other animals such as chimpanzees,
gorillas, monkeys, forest antelope,
and porcupines. They also become
ill and die. Traditionally, local peo-
ple, in parts of Africa, catch and eat
some of these animals. They also
eat fruit bats.
The first symptoms of Ebola
happen about three weeks after a
person has been infected. They in-
clude: a sore throat, muscle pain,
headaches, weakness, and fever.
Unfortunately, these symptoms are
similar to those of other tropical
diseases such as malaria, typhoid
and meningitis. Vomiting, diar-
rhoea, kidney and liver problems
RUSSIA
MONGOLIA
CHINA
PHILIPPINES
AUSTRALIA
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follow the early symptoms. There
may also be internal and external
bleeding. The Ebola virus can only
be confirmed after special tests have
been done in a laboratory.
Currently there is no cure for Eb-
ola. The disease is mainly spread by
body fluids that contain the virus.
Health care workers must wear spe-
cial gloves and gowns. They also
have to use face masks and gog-
gles. This stops any droplets from
coughs and sneezes getting into the
mouth, nose and eyes. Over 50%
of people who get the disease die.
Those infected by the virus need to
be isolated quickly, or kept away
from others.
Since the last outbreak, sev-
eral vaccines have been developed.
These are designed to stop people
getting the disease. However, as
there has not been enough time, the
vaccines have not been fully tested.
Équateur
Province
Co
ng
o the wheel. Also known as capsules,
Mbandaka
Iboko
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC
OF CONGO
Kinshasa
AFRICA
Health workers in the DRC are
using a strategy called ‘ring vacci-
nation’. Only those most likely to
be infected with the virus are given
the vaccine. They include the people
who have been near those who have
the disease as well as their own con-
tacts. Vaccinations are also given to
health and laboratory workers and
the people who bury the dead.
There is one problem about the
vaccine being used in the DRC. It
needs to be stored at a temperature exhibitions of manufactured goods,
between -60ºC (-76ºF) and -80ºC new inventions and art and cuisine
(-112ºF). This may be difficult as from around the world. The Chi-
the DRC has poor electricity sup- cago Exposition commemorated
plies. Health officials and the WHO the 400th anniversary of Chris-
are hopeful that they will be able to topher Columbus’s arrival in the
restrict the outbreak to the Équateur New World in 1492. After this date,
Province.   Europeans began settling in what
are now the Caribbean islands and
North, Central and South America.
Bohai Eye opens At that time, they called these places
the ‘New World’.
Weifang is a city in north west Chi- The Eye of the Bohai Sea took
na. It is close to a large bay called three years to build. Unlike many
the Bohai Sea. The River Bailang other big wheels, it is hollow. The
flows into the sea close to Weifang wheel has no ‘centre’, or hub and
city. A new, large road bridge cross- spokes. The new wheel does not
es the river close to the shore of the rotate. (This means that it is an
Bay. Unusually, a large Ferris wheel observation wheel and not a Fer-
has been constructed in the centre of ris wheel.) The passenger cabins
it. Called the ‘Eye of the Bohai Sea’, move around the circular structure
it opened on 16th May. on a rail. There are 36 cabins.
Ferris wheels are also known as Each can hold ten people. A trip,
‘big wheels’. Depending on their or ride, around the wheel takes 28
construction, some are called obser- minutes. The cabins are fitted with
vation wheels. There are passenger wi-fi and television.
cabins around the edge, or rim, of
pods, cars, or gondolas, they move
as the wheel turns in a large verti-
cal circle. Passengers riding in the
cabins have impressive views of the
surrounding area.
The Ferris wheel is named af-
ter an American engineer. George
Washington Gale Ferris designed
and built the first giant wheel over
120 years ago. Two steam engines
powered it. The wheel, which was Eye of the Bohai Sea, in China
built of steel, had 36 cars. Each
could hold up to 60 people. The
Ferris wheel was built as an at-
traction for a large exposition.
This event was held in the city
of Chicago in 1893. It lasted for
seven months.
Nowadays, expositions are usu-
ally called Expos, World Expos,
or World Fairs. They are large The world’s first Ferris Wheel, in Chicago, in 1893
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The Bohai Eye has several secu-
rity features. For example, there are
two electricity supply systems. If
one breaks down, the other can be
used. If both were to fail, there is an
emergency generator. It’s possible
that something might go wrong with
the structure or its mechanism. If
this were to happen, a pulling device
can bring the passengers back to the
ground safely.
The new observation wheel is 145
metres (476 feet) high. The world’s
highest Ferris wheel is in the city of
Las Vegas, in the USA. Called the
High Roller, it is 167 metres (548
feet) tall. However, the Bohai Eye is
the biggest observation, or ‘centre-
less’, Ferris wheel. 
Dinosaur nest design
Nowadays, scientists are sure that
modern-day birds are related to
some dinosaurs. Over 70 years ago,
it was noticed that the skeletons of
some dinosaurs and birds are simi-
lar. Recent fossil discoveries have
confirmed how bird-like some dino-
saurs were.
Dinosaurs died out 66 million
years ago. No one is sure what
caused this extinction. It may have
been a large asteroid impact or huge
long-lasting volcanic eruptions. A
combination of both is another pos-
sibility. However, not all dinosaurs
died out. The ancestors of birds must
have survived. Today, scientists of-
ten describe dinosaurs as non-avian
or avian. (Avian means ‘relating to
birds’.) Therefore, it was the non-
avian dinosaurs that died out.
It’s known that dinosaurs laid
eggs. Some scientists believe that
bigger and more primitive dinosaurs
buried their eggs and left them. Less
ancient and smaller (avian) dinosaurs
laid their eggs in open nests on the
ground. Then, one, or both of the
parents, probably looked after them.
Many of these dinosaurs had feath-
ers. These were down-like and small
and fluffy. The feathers that covered
some small dinosaurs gradually
changed into ones used for flight.
A team of international research-
ers have been studying the nesting
habits of a certain type of avian di-
nosaur. These dinosaurs are known
as oviraptorosaurs. They had tooth- Giant oviraptorosaur nest, three metres
(ten feet) wide (Kohei Tanaka)
less beaks and bony crests on top of
their skulls. These creatures were and shape of 40 nests. Most were
covered in feathers. They had wing- unearthed in China and Mongolia.
like arms, but could not fly. The smallest nests had a diameter
of about 35 centimetres (14 inches).
The largest were 3.3 metres (11
feet) across. In the smaller nests, the
eggs were in a circular shape, but
some lay on top of others. The eggs
formed a ‘doughnut’ shape with a
small hole in the middle. In the larg-
est nests, the eggs were arranged in
a ring much farther from the cen-
tre. These nests have a much larger
‘doughnut hole’.
The researchers say that the larg-
er the oviraptorosaur the bigger the
Artist’s impression of a giant oviraptorosaurs on egg-free opening, or doughnut hole,
its nest (Zhao Chuang) in the centre of its nest. The smaller
There were many types of ovi- oviraptorosaur probably sat on their
raptorosaurs. Most were small, eggs. The bigger ones did not sit di-
or about 2.5 metres (eight feet) in rectly on them. They put their bod-
length. However, some were more ies in the empty space around which
than eight metres (26 feet) long and the eggs were arranged. The space
weighed as much as a modern-day supported the dinosaurs’ weight.
female hippopotamus. This nest design meant that the big-
The researchers wanted to know ger oviraptorosaurs did not crush
how larger oviraptorosaurs sat on their eggs.
their eggs without crushing them. Modern-day birds sit on their
Over the years, many fossilised eggs to keep them warm. The small-
oviraptorosaurs eggs have been er oviraptorosaurs may have sat on
found. A number of eggs together their eggs for the same reason. Yet,
are called a clutch. Usually, when the larger ones carefully placed their
clutches of oviraptorosaurs eggs are bodies in the middle of the egg ring.
found they are in the original nest. They would not have been able
The researchers looked at the size to transfer their body heat to the
 NID: 1000321-103-328 B Newsademic. Prepared for: [Your School Name Here]
24th May 2018 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 16
eggs as effectively. However, the When describing the total mass
researchers say that these ovirap- of one group, say elephants, the re-
torosaurs could use their feathered searchers call it the ‘biomass’. This
arms to shelter and protect the ring is the total amount of carbon that all
of eggs. elephants contain. By using carbon,
The researchers say that the larg- the researchers could easily com-
er oviraptorosaur nests are unique. pare groups that have very different
They are the only known dinosaurs sizes. For example, they were able
that built their nests in this shape. to compare the biomass of elephants
What’s more, no modern-day ani- with the biomass of termites.
mals incubate their eggs in a similar The researchers’ work shows
way.  that bacteria are one of the biggest
lifeforms. They make up 13% of
all the world’s biomass. Vegeta-
Measuring all life tion is 82% of all living matter.
The remaining 5% is other living
Some time ago, researchers from things such as fish, animals and
Israel and the USA decided to insects. Amazingly, all life in the
measure all life on the Earth. This seas and oceans is only 1% of the
has not been attempted before. planet’s biomass.
Many thought it an impossible
task. The researchers recently pub-
lished their work. It shows that hu-
mankind is both insignificant and
very dominant.
The researchers calculated the
mass of everything. They includ-
ed: vegetation (plants and trees),
animals, bacteria, and archaea or
single-celled microorganisms. The
researchers used information col-
lected in hundreds of previous Cattle farm in Malaysia
studies as well as data from satel- Today, about 7.5 billion people
lites and sensors. Where there was live on the Earth. The biomass of
limited information, they had to humans is about 0.01% of the total.
rely on estimates. This is roughly the same as termites
and Antarctic krill. Krill are small
shrimp-like sea creatures. Many
sea creatures, including some of the
biggest whales, feed on them.
The percentage breakdown of
birds and mammals is a surprise.
Only 30% of bird biomass belongs
to birds that live in the wild. The
other 70% are farmed poultry (most-
ly chickens). The entire biomass
of mammals is 36% human and
60% farmed livestock (mainly cat-
Crowd of people in China tle and pigs). This means that wild
mammals are only 5% of the total
‘mammal biomass’.
The size of the farmed poultry
and livestock biomass show the in-
fluence that humans have had on the
planet. This farming, or food pro-
duction, has destroyed many natu-
ral habitats. Throughout the Earth’s
4.6-billion-year history, there have
been five known mass extinction
events. Some scientists describe
what’s happened over the last 100
years as a sixth mass extinction. The
researchers calculate that, since the
beginning of human civilisation,
83% of wild animals have been lost.
The researchers admit that there
may be some inaccuracies in their
work. However, they believe that it
presents a useful ‘overall picture’. It
is a reminder of how humans (only
0.01% of the total biomass) have
had a disproportionate effect on all
other living species. 

What killed Saladin?
Each year, a university in the USA
holds a special conference. Medical
scientists attend it. During the con-
ference, the death of a well-known
historical figure is discussed. From
historical records, the scientists try
to work out what caused this per-
son’s death. It could be a disease or
an infection. This year, the scientists
discussed Saladin.
Saladin’s real name was Yusuf
ibn Ayyub. He lived 850 years ago.
Saladin became a famous Muslim
military leader. He is best known
for unifying the Muslim world and
recapturing the city of Jerusalem
from the Christian Crusaders. At
his most powerful, Saladin was the
Sultan of Egypt and Syria.
Yusuf ibn Ayyub was born in
Tikrit. This city is in present-day
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24th May 2018 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 17
Statue of Saladin in a museum in Egypt
(Francesco Gasparetti)
Iraq. He became a soldier at the age
of 14. His uncle was a senior army
officer. Saladin travelled with his
uncle’s army to Egypt. After his
uncle died, Saladin took over as the
army’s leader. He then seized con-
trol of Egypt. Saladin and his uncle
were loyal to a Muslim leader called
Nur ad-Din. He lived in Damascus,
the most important city in Syria.
When Nur ad-Din died, many
Muslim groups began to fight
against each other. The leader of
each group wanted to take Nur ad-
Din’s place. Saladin took his army
to Syria. For the next 12 years, he
fought against the other Islamic
groups. Eventually, he either defeat-
ed them, or persuaded their leaders
to join him.
As a successful warrior, Sala-
din was given the name Al-Malik
An-Nasir Salah al-Din (this means
‘Mighty Defender, Righteousness
of Faith’). When talking about the
Muslim leader, Europeans used the
last part of this name. They short-
ened it to Saladin.
After uniting the Muslim world,
Saladin decided to recapture Jeru-
salem. Then, the Crusaders held
the Holy City. The Crusades is
the name given to a series of Holy
Wars. Christian states and countries
in Europe started these conflicts.
Their armies travelled to the Eastern
Mediterranean to capture the city of
Jerusalem. They succeeded in doing
this in 1099.
In 1187, Saladin defeated the
main Crusader army at the Battle of
Hattin. Soon after wards, he recap-
tured Jerusalem and several other
Crusader-held cities.
Saladin’s tomb, in Damascus (Travelblog.org)
Due to the loss of Jerusalem, sev-
eral European countries decided to
organise another Crusade. Known
as the Third Crusade, Richard the
First led it. He was the king of Eng-
land. At first, Richard, who was also
known as Richard the Lionheart,
had several successes. His army re-
captured the cities of Acre and won
the Battle of Arsuf. However, Sala-
din’s forces prevented the king from
capturing Jerusalem.
In 1192, Saladin and Richard
agreed to a truce, or ceasefire. The
Muslims would remain in control
of Jerusalem. However, Christian
pilgrims would be allowed to visit
the city. After the truce, Richard
returned to Europe. The following
year, Saladin became ill. He died
two weeks later, aged 56.
Historical accounts say that Sala-
din suffered from sweating, fevers
and headaches. He also complained
of stomach pains and a loss of ap-
petite. The scientists believe that
Saladin died of a bacterial infec-
tion called typhoid. Eating food or
drinking water contaminated with
an infected person’s faeces spreads
this disease. At that time, typhoid
was common. Today, with the right
medicines, this disease can be suc-
cessfully treated.
Saladin was buried in a mau-
soleum. It is in a garden close to a
mosque in Damascus. The mauso-
leum is open to visitors. 

Whale shark hotspot
Nosy Be is an island off the north
west coast of Madagascar. In the
local language, its name means ‘big
island’. Over the last 12 months,
researchers have recorded many
whale sharks close to Nosy Be.
They seem to come to these waters
to feed. When different types of
marine creatures gather, or congre-
gate, in this way, it is often called
a ‘hotspot’.
The largest whale shark ever
recorded was 12 metres (40 feet)
long. These marine creatures are
the world’s largest fish. They are
sharks and not whales. Whale
sharks are what are known as fil-
ter feeders. Unlike almost all other
sharks, they feed like many whales.
When first named about 200 years
ago, they were called whales be-
cause of their size.
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24th May 2018 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 18
Nowadays, whale sharks are
classed as endangered. They are
non-predatory and harmless to
humans. The large creatures like
warmer, or tropical, waters. Nor-
mally, whale sharks are found
only where sea temperatures are
not lower than 21°C (70°F). Ma-
rine scientists believe that 75% of
whale sharks live in the Indian and
Pacific Oceans. The remainder are
in the warmer parts of the Atlantic
Ocean. Their numbers have de-
clined because of overfishing, ac-
cidental catches and boat strikes,
or collisions.
Whale sharks have flattened
heads. Their mouths are about 1.5
metres (five feet) wide. Like other
filter feeders, they will swim with
their mouths wide open. Water en-
tering the mouth is expelled through
their gills. These have filters, which
separate out any food in the wa-
ter. This is then swallowed. Whale
sharks mainly feed on plankton, or
tiny marine creatures. Yet they will
also eat shrimps, small fish, algae,
squid, and fish eggs. A young, or
juvenile, whale shark eats about 21
kilograms (46 pounds) of plankton
each day.
The creatures are slow swim-
mers. They travel about 21 kilo-
metres (13 miles) in a day. Female
whale sharks produce eggs. Yet,
unlike many fish, they do not lay
them in the water. The eggs hatch
inside the female. The female then
gives birth to about 300 live off-
spring, or young. Only a small
number survive. Whale sharks take
a long time to mature, or ‘grow
up’. They do not mate and produce
Whale shark at an aquarium in America (Zac Wolf)
young until they are about 25 years
old. Scientists are not sure for how
long whale sharks live. They sus-
pect that the creatures’ life expec-
tancy is around 100 years.
The upper part of a whale
shark’s body is a brownish grey.
They have white spots and paler
stripes. The spots are unique to
each whale shark. No two have ex-
actly the same pattern. This is sim-
ilar to human fingerprints. Marine
scientists use the spots to identify
individual creatures. The scientists
have set up an online global data-
base. They upload photographs of
whale sharks, their white spot pat-
terns and their location.
The researchers counted 85
whale sharks near Nosy Be. The
creatures were not all there at
the same time. All were juve-
niles and less than nine metres
(30 feet) in length. The research-
ers put tags on a few of them.
Some were tracked to another
hotspot off the coast of Madagas-
car around 180 kilometres (112
miles) away. However, the Nosy
Be whale sharks’ spots show that
these creatures are ‘new’, or have
not been recorded before.
A number of other whale shark
hotspots are known. The Galapagos
Islands, in the Pacific Ocean, and
the Atlantic Ocean island of Saint
Helena are two examples.   
Sanctuary fence
Wildlife officials have fenced off an
area in central Australia. The bar-
rier encloses a zone of 94 square
kilometres (36 square miles). The
officials describe the barrier as the
world’s longest feral (or wild) cat-
proof fence. The electric wire mesh
fence is also designed to keep wild
 NID: 1000321-103-328 B Newsademic. Prepared for: [Your School Name Here]
24th May 2018 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 19
Part of the cat-fox-and-rabbit-proof fence in Australia (Australian Wildlife Conservancy)
Mala, or rufous hare-wallaby (Australian
Wildlife Conservancy)
foxes and rabbits out of the new
wildlife sanctuary.
Many mammals in Australia
are not found anywhere else in the
world. Europeans first began to set-
tle in this part of the world in 1788.
Then, there were over 270 mam-
mal species in Australia. Around 30
of these animals are now extinct.
Those that no longer exist include:
four types of wallaby, the desert
rat kangaroo, a hopping mouse and
several other mice and rat species.
Many other Australian land ani-
mals are now threatened, or in dan-
ger of extinction. The greater bilby
is one of the endangered species.
A similar animal, called the lesser
bilby, died out in the 1950s. The
bilby is a small mouse-like creature
with big ears and a long nose. Other
endangered creatures are: the mala
(also known as the rufous hare-wal-
laby), the burrowing bettong and the
golden bandicoot. The mala is like
a small wallaby. The burrowing bet-
tong is a rat-like animal. It has short,
rounded ears and a lightly haired,
thick tail. The golden bandicoot is
about 35 centimetres (14 inches)
long. Active at night, it digs small
holes in the ground to find food.
The number of mammal extinc-
tions in Australia is far higher than
in any other country. Australia is
a big country. Its population of 24
million is not large. Most of the
extinct animals’ habitats are where
few people live. The type of mam-
mals that have become extinct is
also unusual. In other parts of the
world, animals that have died out
were usually large. The mammals
that disappeared in Australia were
small. Most lived on the ground.
Feral, or wild, cats and red foxes
are to blame for most of these ex-
tinctions. They kill thousands of
native species every night. Cats and
foxes are not native to Australia. Eu-
ropeans brought them to the country.
Both are carnivores, or meat-eaters.
They prey on smaller land-dwelling
animals. Now, feral cats and foxes
live in most parts of the country.
Rabbits are another problem. Euro-
peans also took them to Australia.
Rabbits can eat all the vegetation
that some native species feed on.
The new electric fence is 44 kilo-
metres (27 miles) long. The barrier
encloses a range of different habi-
tats. Wildlife rangers are now try-
ing to catch and kill the cats, foxes
and rabbits inside the enclosed area.
They hope to have completed this
task by the end of this year.
A small zone within the wildlife
sanctuary has been fenced off. This is
an area of 1.4 square kilometres (0.5
square miles). This zone is to be used
for malas. A small population has
already been introduced. Wildlife of-
ficials say that the malas are a ‘prior-
ity’. This is because they are close to
extinction. The officials hope that af-
ter ten years, the mala population in
the sanctuary will be around 18,000.
At the beginning of next year,
bilbies, burrowing bettongs, golden
bandicoots, numbats, and quolls will
be introduced to the larger fenced-
in area. When animals are taken to
places where they no longer exist it
is known as ‘rewilding’. If the ‘re-
wilding’ of the wildlife sanctuary is
successful, the officials plan to more
than triple the size of the cat-fox-
and-rabbit-free zone.  
Newsademic.com
Editor: Rebecca Watson
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24th May 2018 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 20

Issue 328 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

6 7

8 9

10 11

12 13

14

15

16

17

18 19

20

Across
1 Noun  The likelihood or hope that something will happen
3 Noun Plural  The rear parts of insects or spiders
6 Adjective  Being the only one of its kind
9 Noun Plural  Animals, plants or microorganisms that live in
or on another from which they get their food
11 Noun Plural  Large buildings or rooms that contain many
beds
12 Noun  Formal international agreement
15 Adjective  Of little importance or not having a special
meaning
17 Verb  Happened at or near the same time
18 Noun  A plan of action
19 Noun  People considered to be the best in a group or
organisation
20 Verb  To break down or rot away
Down
2 Adjective  Describes something that suddenly cause great
damage, destruction or suffering
4 Adjective  Too large or too small when compared with
something else
5 Noun  A large or elaborate tomb
7 Adjective  Describes something that has no certain final
result or outcome
8 Noun Plural  Substances that are released from a gland
or cell
10 Verb  Marked the start or opening of something new with
an official ceremony
13 Verb  Ensure that was has been planned is done
14 Noun Plural  Hollow spaces or holes
16 Verb  To seize or take control of some territory
 NID: 1000321-103-328 B Newsademic. Prepared for: [Your School Name Here]

24th May 2018 Newsademic.com™ – British English edition page 21

Instructions:
Issue 328 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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