Category: World News

Millions of Italians are voting to decide who their new leader should be. They are hoping that a new start will help country deal with its recent economic issues. The general elections will take place over two days – Sunday and Monday. The election is taking place two months ahead of schedule, after former PM Mr Berlusconi’s…

North Korea has done it again. After repeated warnings by US, South Korea and Japan not to hold any nuclear tests, it has gone ahead and carried out a nuclear underground test. Why are these countries repeatedly asking North Korea not to test? The UN and these countries suspect that North Korea is developing nuclear weapons. It will…

World largest crocodile in captivity as declared by the Guinness book of world records died in the Philippines. The crocodile, which was given the name Lolong was captured in September 2011. There was a  three-week hunt to capture this crocodile involving dozens of people. At 21ft (6.4m) and weighing one tonne, it was one of the…

The 85 year old pope, Pope Benedict XVI, leader and guide of Catholics around the world said that he is going to resign by end of February. He said that his ill health is not allowing him to fulfil the duties of his office. According to catholics, Lord Jesus chose St. Peter as the first…

From ancient times, Chinese follow lunar calendar to decide when their new year begins. Every Chinese new year belongs to an animal and is numbered differently. This Chinese year 4711 begins on Feb. 10, 2013, and is the year of the snake. Chinese New Year is the most important festival in Chinese tradition. It is…

Two Russian fighter jets were detected off the northern island of Hokkaido. There is a dispute between Japan and Russia over a chain of Pacific islands. Russia calls the disputed islands Southern Kurils where as Japan calls them Northern Territories. These four islands are the subject of a 60-year-old dispute. All this comes at a…

Mali is a north African country. Timbuktu, a city in Mali  is a very famous city in history. It was the center of learning from 13th to the 17th century. Islamic militants took control of Timbuktu  last year,  and the whole of Mali had been at a state of unrest since then. Recently these militants were driven…

  The European Union has proposed to its members to ban use of those pesticides that are harmful to bees. The European Union (EU) is  union of 27 member states which are located primarily in Europe and looks into matters that concerns them.  The Union said that however, pesticides can be used on plants that do not interest bees. Recently, the bee population has…

In UK, a food and farming charity Sustain, is calling for high tax on sugary drinks. They are hoping that this will discourage people from buying the sugary drinks. Over 60 groups, including doctors, are backing a 20p tax per litre, which would go to the government. However, the soft drink companies are claiming that…

On Monday, Europe’s longest serving monarch gave up her throne. The official term used for giving up the throne is called abdicating. She wants her son Prince Willem-Alexander to be the ruler now. Usually in Europe the monarchs rule for life especially in U.K., but Dutch kings and queens are famous for stepping down from the…

Iran sent a monkey in a Pishgam rocket, which reached a height of some 120km (75 miles) for a sub-orbital flight before returning. The monkey was okay after his return. Western nations have expressed concern that Iran’s space programme is being used to develop long-range missiles. These countries are worried that the missiles will then…