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.
GATHERING INTERESTING NEWS THAT CONNECTS YOUNG READERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD Hey there, News Biters! We hope all is well with you and our front-page trickery didn’t throw you too much! Yes, April 1st is a day that excites, fools and frustrates many people around the world – especially those on the receiving end of jokes, gags and set-ups. Wait until you see what pranks have been pulled in the past by organisations and businesses around the world in our April Fools feature on pages 12 and 13. Spaghetti Trees and Men in Bottles? Surely no one would fall for such stories We have all your other favourites in here too, needless to say. Check out our WWW News on page 6 and decide which ones you think are wacky,…
SAVE THE PLANET Earth Day Special Every year on April 22 we celebrate Earth Day. This is a special day where we show our support for the environment. People all over the world will hold events such as talks and marches to raise awareness of the issues currently facing our planet, and how we can solve them. The 2022 theme for Earth Day is ‘Invest in Our Planet’. Businesses, governments and citizens will all be called upon to find ways to invest in our planet – to find ways in which we can create a prosperous and sustainable future for everyone, while also fixing the damage we have done to nature. If you are interested, there are lots of activities you can organise at home or in school to celebrate…
Moto-Croc is Free! Indonesia For six years, a crocodile in Indonesia swam around with a motorcycle tyre caught around its neck. Poor croc! The reptile was seen every so often in the River Palu. Observers estimated that it was about four metres in length. They called it ‘buaya kalung ban’, which means crocodile with a tyre necklace. Other than certainly feeling uncomfortable for the croc, there was another fear. People worried that as the animal grew, it would eventually be choked by the motorcycle tyre! Several unsuccessful attempts were made to capture the crocodile, before finally a young local man named Tili came up with a plan. Using a rope tied to a log, he added bait to the trap, and the croc couldn’t resist. It took Tili three tries,…
Spoilsport? When Nova, a one-year-old border collie in Texas, came across Abraham Lincoln in statue form, she tried to get him to throw her Frisbee. A video shows her trying repeatedly, looking up at him appealingly. But the president just didn’t want to play. Adorable Nova apparently loves nothing more than playing with her Frisbee, and often gets random strangers to throw it for her. People always oblige but her owner said: ‘Good ole Abe Lincoln kept his stone-cold gaze and continued to ignore her. Weird... I always pictured him as an animal person.’ Well, she was right – he was. Lincoln had a dog called Fido at the time he became president, and when he had to leave him in the care of a family friend he gave instructions…
Is Something Out There? Space discoveries are always exciting – especially strange ones! Just recently, researchers in Australia discovered an unusual spinning object in the Milky Way. They also noticed that every 18.18 minutes it sets off a huge burst of energy. Astrophysicist Natasha Hurley-Walker said that this was ‘kind of spooky for an astronomer … because there’s nothing known in the sky that does that.’ But before you start thinking it might be aliens, it’s unlikely says Dr Walker. According to her team of scientists, they believe it is a natural event in the universe and not something created by humans or aliens. They are just not sure what it is at this early stage but promise to keep working on it. ISS to Retire The International Space Station…
Hans Christian Andersen No doubt you’ve seen Disney’s The Little Mermaid and are looking forward to the live-action version (now delayed because of Covid-19). But did you know it is based on a fairy tale published in 1837 by the world-famous Hans Christian Andersen? His original story had a sad ending, but Disney changed it to have a happy one. No surprise there! Place of Birth Hans Christian Andersen (the Danes call him H.C. Andersen) was born in the city of Odense on April 2, 1805. Odense is on Funen, the third largest of the Danish islands, but at the time of Andersen’s birth it belonged to the Kingdom of Norway and Denmark. Family Andersen’s father was a shoemaker and his mother washed clothes for wealthy people. Hans was an…
