Our mission here at News Bites (a monthly children’s newspaper) is to Engage, Inform, and Inspire by bringing news, STEM, sport and entertainment to young people in a language they understand and in a manner they can easily relate to.
Hello, News Biters! You’re very welcome to another jampacked issue of News Bites. As you will see from this month’s cover, we’re delving into the cryptic world of cryptocurrency! How many of you have heard about Bitcoin but never really understood what it is or how it can work? Well, wonder no more as we try and break down the subject of crypto into bite-sized bits of information you can bank! But that’s not all – check out WWW News on Page 9. Here we bring you the wackiest, the most wonderful and the weirdest stories from around the world. Wait until you read about the camel crackdown and the eye-watering sums of money these ‘ships of the desert’ can earn you. For all you motor-mad fans out there, be…
Time for Our Planet Every year, at 8:30 p.m. on the last Saturday of March, millions of people across the world turn their lights off to show their support for our planet and to raise awareness of nature loss and climate change – the two biggest threats facing our one home. But Earth Hour is more than just a time to think about the planet or a symbol of support – it’s an action to try and protect our future. It’s a real way of bringing about change at a time when our planet needs it most. History of the Hour Started by the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) as a symbolic lights-out event in Sydney in 2007, Earth Hour is now one of the world’s largest global movements…
Big Cats in Danger Hydropower is a renewable and clean source of energy fuelled by water. But the news isn’t all good. Recent building of more hydroelectric dams around the world is having a negative effect on some animals, like jaguars and tigers. When these dams are built to harness the hydroelectric power, large areas of the habitats for these animals are flooded to create the water reservoirs. Over 1,000 dams now cut through areas that tigers and jaguars used to call home, and hundreds more are in the planning stages. Even the roads that are constructed while a dam and reservoir are being built often interrupt the normal living patterns of the local wildlife. Today, tigers are considered endangered, with just 3,500 left in the world. In some areas…
Camel Crackdown So, you thought one camel hump looks much like another? You are so wrong. Turns out there is an ideal shape for a camel’s hump – and also its head, neck, ears, nose, lips... and every other body part. And a camel with all the right curves can win €58 million at the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival in Saudi Arabia. No wonder some owners are turning to ‘camel tampering’ to win! There are camel races, sales and much more at the huge festival, where over 33,000 camel owners took part this year. But at the heart of the festival is the Camel Beauty Contest – and this year there were 147 cases of cheating, with 43 camels disqualified. Some of those poor camels had hormones injected to give…
Baby Yingliang Recently, scientists came across a very exciting dinosaur discovery – a brilliantly preserved dinosaur embryo from 72-66 million years ago! An embryo is an unborn or unhatched creature. The scientists have called the fossilised embryo Baby Yingliang. Back when it was buried, Baby Yingliang was getting ready to hatch from its shell – just like a chicken. University of Birmingham researcher Fion Waisum Ma said that it is one of the best dinosaur embryos ever found. The fossil is thought to be an oviraptorosaur – a feathered dinosaur. Palaeontologists (scientists who study fossils) believe that if Baby Yingliang had lived to be an adult, it would have been 2-3 metres long and would probably have eaten plants. Wrap Up (Poorly) Every year, millions of dollars are spent on…
Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Oil was first discovered in Prudhoe Bay in Alaska in 1968. The Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) was designed and constructed to move the oil to Valdez, Alaska, the most northerly ice-free port in America. The pipeline is 1,300 km long and crosses three mountain ranges – Brooks Range, Alaska Range and Chugach Range. The first tanker carrying crude oil left Valdez on August 1, 1977. The Ship The Exxon Valdez was an oil tanker owned by the American oil company Exxon. The tanker was 301 m long, 51 m wide and 26 m deep. It was built in San Diego, California, and was delivered to its owners in December 1986. Most modern tankers have a double hull, but this ship had only a single hull,…
