What happened in our world? December 6th, 2015 is TWO crosswords based on last week's news events. In this week's puzzles… Prince Charles and French cheese. Galleons of emeralds off Colombia's coast. NASA's holiday snaps from Pluto. No smart-alecs allowed in Chinese schools. Justins Bieber and Trudeau. A one and a half metre lizard on the side of an Australian man's house. (This week there is a bonus puzzle based on contemporary trivia. Perfect for filling in a few minutes at the end of a lesson, or when substituting for a colleague.) The document is a simple PDF so it is quick to download and print for your class (and the solution is included). This activity is suitable for middle and high school students and will encourage students to discuss and learn about their world's current events. These crosswords are ideal as a research, writing and reading activity. They can be completed individually or in small groups or as week-long homework activities, or even as a time-out activity. They are an excellent excuse for students to make good use of their smartphones. Maybe you could start up a lunchtime news and current events club and use these puzzles as starters for conversation topics. Don't you HATE substituting for an absent colleague when the kids have nothing or not enough to do? Print these puzzles and have them in your classroom or in your bag ready for a vibrant class discussion. Don't forget to come back next Sunday evening for next week's 'What happened in our world?' puzzle - ready and waiting for Monday morning.

What happened in our world? November 1st, 2015 is a crossword based on last week's news events. It is a simple PDF document so it is quick to download and print for your class. (The solution is included.) This activity sheet is suitable for middle and high school students and will encourage students to discuss and learn about their world's current events. In this week's puzzle… Who won the Rugby World Cup? What did Rome's city councillors do? What did six people in NIgeria tried to sell? Where was the earthquake last week? Australia's Labour Party promised to what to the voting age? And more. This crossword is ideal as a research, writing and reading activity. It can be completed individually or in small groups or as a week-long homework activity, or even as a time-out activity. Samsung and Apple spend a fortune convincing our students to use smartphones so we teachers don't stand a chance! Here though is something more educational than Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja for the students to use their smartphones for. Maybe you could start up a lunchtime current events club and use these puzzles as starters for conversation topics. Don't you HATE substituting for an absent colleague when the kids have nothing or not enough to do? Print some of these puzzles and have them in your classroom or in your bag ready for a vibrant class discussion. This week's BONUS puzzle reworks the same clues with a different grid and different answers. Have the students do the bonus puzzle later in the week as a 'what did you remember?' activity. Don't forget to come back next Sunday evening for next week's 'What happened in our world?' puzzle - ready and waiting for Monday morning.

What happened in our world? November 29th, 2015 is TWO crosswords based on last week's news events. The document is a simple PDF so it is quick to download and print for your class (and the solution is included). This activity is suitable for middle and high school students and will encourage students to discuss and learn about their world's current events. In this week's puzzles… Where was Pope Francis last week? What did Belgians do during their capital city's lockdown? Why did seven men sew their mouths shut? More than a year's worth of what fell in Qatar in just a few hours? Why did the Zagreb goal keeper not play against Arsenal? What was the story with the gigantic gingerbread house in San Francisco? And that red panda that escaped from the California zoo… eureka! It was found. This crossword is ideal as a research, writing and reading activity. It can be completed individually or in small groups or as a week-long homework activity, or even as a time-out activity. Samsung and Apple spend a fortune convincing our students to use smartphones so now we can make good use of that. Maybe you could start up a lunchtime news and current events club and use these puzzles as starters for conversation topics. Don't you HATE substituting for an absent colleague when the kids have nothing or not enough to do? Print some of these puzzles and have them in your classroom or in your bag ready for a vibrant class discussion. Don't forget to come back next Sunday evening for next week's 'What happened in our world?' puzzle - ready and waiting for Monday morning.

What happened in our world? November 22nd, 2015 is a crossword based on last week's news events. It is a simple PDF so it is quick and easy to download and print. (The solutions are included, of course.) This week though, there are TWO crosswords with different clues. So where was the biggest diamond found - Botswana or Canada? What did the boy in Australia sing the national Anthem with and why did Youtube go silly about it? A volunteer firefighter from Mississippi got a new what? And the Swiss cherry orchardist picked up 4000 of what? (You just know it wasn't cherries, right?) New Zealanders began voting for a new what? And the United Nations issued a strongly worded condemnation about what? These crosswords are ideal as a research, writing and reading activity. Better than that, these crosswords will stimulate very interesting discussions. The puzzles can be completed individually or in small groups or as a week-long homework activity. Samsung and Apple spend a fortune convincing our students to use smartphones so let's have our students use their smartphones for a positive learning activity. Maybe you could start a lunchtime current events club and use these puzzles as starters for conversation topics. Or maybe you can hand them out to colleagues and have a ready, get set, go! competition to see who's the smartest in the staffroom. This week there's a BONUS crossword called, 'Which Sport?' Don't you HATE substituting for an absent colleague when the kids have nothing or not enough to do? Print some of these puzzles and have them in your classroom or in your bag ready for a vibrant (that's good-noisy) lesson. Don't forget to come back next Sunday evening for next week's puzzle, ready and waiting for Monday morning. Please feel free to post feedback about the puzzles. How did you use them with your students? What discussions followed? Who was the smartest teacher in your staffroom?

What happened in our world? is a crossword based on last week's news events. It is a simple PDF so is quick to download and print for your class. (The solution is included.) This activity sheet is suitable for middle and high school students. It will encourage students to learn about their world's current events. What happened in Europe? Who visited the US? What did the Dalai Lama say? Who did the Thai police arrest? This crossword is ideal as a morning form-class activity, individually or in small groups, as a homework activity, even as a time-out activity. (Give them positive reason to use their smart-phones.) Ideal for Geography and even Economics classes, this week's activity sheet includes a BONUS puzzle called 'What country?' asking what country is most associated with the clues' contents. Bagpipes = Scotland, but The Okavango Delta? Baklava? Tintin? This bonus puzzle can be used when substituting for another teacher. Don't forget to come back on Sunday evening for next week's 'What happened in our world?' puzzle.

What happened in our world? November 8th, 2015 is a crossword based on last week's news events. It is a simple PDF so it is quick and easy to download and print. (The solutions are included, of course.) These activities are suitable for middle and high school students and will encourage students to discuss and learn about their world's current events. In this week's puzzle… Russia condemned Charlie Hebdo. Planes crashed in South Sudan and Sinai. The US unemployment rate fell and Candy Crush's parent company sold for $US5.9 billion (which is crazy). This crossword is ideal as a research, writing and reading activity. It can be completed individually or in small groups or as a week-long homework activity, or even as a time-out activity. Samsung and Apple spend a fortune convincing our students to use smartphones so we teachers don't stand a chance! Here though is something more educational than Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja (and Candy Crush) for the students to use their smartphones for. Maybe you could start up a lunchtime current events club and use these puzzles as starters for conversation topics. Don't you HATE substituting for an absent colleague when the kids have nothing or not enough to do? Print some of these puzzles and have them in your classroom or in your bag ready for a vibrant (that's good-noisy) class discussion. This week there are TWO bonus puzzles. The first simply reworks the same clues with a different grid and different answers. Have the students do this puzzle later in the week as a 'what did you remember?' activity. The second bonus puzzle asks questions about the news items, for example, Where is Burundi?, What is Charlie Hebdo?, and What competes for the Melbourne Cup? These can be given as a follow-up activity to either of the main news crosswords. Don't forget to come back next Sunday evening for next week's 'What happened in our world?' puzzle - ready and waiting for Monday morning. Please feel free to post feedback about the puzzles. How did you use them with your students? What discussions followed?

What happened in our world? October 11th, 2015 is a crossword based on last week's news events. It is a simple PDF so it is quick to download and print for your class. (The solution is included.) This activity sheet is suitable for middle and high school students. It will encourage students to learn about their world's current events. What did Naughty Nick Kyrgios (the tennis player) do in the Japan Open? What did the angry Air France workers do to their bosses? (No! Teachers should not do this, even if they're angry.) Who won the Nobel Prize for Physics? And what was John West accused of doing (again)? This crossword is ideal as a Monday morning writing and reading activity, individually or in small groups, as a week long homework research activity, even as a time-out activity. Samsung and Apple spend a fortune convincing our students to use smartphones so we teachers don't stand a chance! Here though is something more educational than Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja for the students to use their smartphones for. Ideal for Language and Social Studies classes, this week's resource includes a BONUS puzzle called 'In what country am I if I am standing on or in...?' Lake Van? The Seine? Madison Square Garden? Mt Ruapehu? The Atlas Mountains? It's quick and simple. By the way, crosswords are a good way for children to practise writing neatly. Don't forget to come back next Sunday evening for next week's 'What happened in our world?' puzzle - ready and waiting for Monday morning.

What happened in our world? October 18th, 2015 is a crossword based on last week's news events. It is a simple PDF so it is quick to download and print for your class. (The solution is included.) This activity sheet is suitable for middle and high school students. It will encourage students to learn about their world's current events. In this week's puzzle... Typhoon Koppu, the UK man who cut off his ears to make himself look more like his five pet parrots (really!), Barbie dolls, The Man Booker Prize, heavy rainfall in California, the 5.9 earthquake in Argentina, what did Nick Kyrgios do last week? And more. This crossword is ideal as a Monday morning writing and reading activity, individually or in small groups, as a week-long homework research activity, even as a time-out activity. Samsung and Apple spend a fortune convincing our students to use smartphones so we teachers don't stand a chance! Here though is something more educational than Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja for the students to use their smartphones for. Don't you HATE substituting for an absent colleague and the kids have nothing or not enough to do? Print some of these puzzles and have them in your classroom or in your bag ready. Maybe you could start up a lunchtime current events club and use these puzzles as starters for conversation topics. This week's BONUS puzzle simply reworks the same clues with a different grid and different answers. Have the students do the bonus puzzle later in the week as a 'what did you remember?' activity. Don't forget to come back next Sunday evening for next week's 'What happened in our world?' puzzle - ready and waiting for Monday morning.

What happened in our world? November 15th, 2015 is a crossword based on last week's news events. It is a simple PDF so it is quick and easy to download and print. (The solutions are included, of course.) These activities are suitable for middle and high school students and will encourage students to discuss and learn about their world's current events. So many things happened last week that there are THREE different puzzles in this week's download. The Russian athletics drug problem. The New Zealand schoolboy's end of year speech. Pakistan's 'ghost' schools. And the Paris tragedy. These crosswords are ideal as a research, writing and reading activity. They can be completed individually or in small groups or as a week-long homework activity, or even as a time-out activity. Samsung and Apple spend a fortune convincing our students to use smartphones so let's have our students use their smartphones for a positive learning activity. Maybe you could start up a lunchtime current events club and use these puzzles as starters for conversation topics. Don't you HATE substituting for an absent colleague when the kids have nothing or not enough to do? Print some of these puzzles and have them in your classroom or in your bag ready for a vibrant (that's good-noisy) class discussion. Don't forget to come back next Sunday evening for next week's 'What happened in our world?' puzzle, ready and waiting for Monday morning. Please feel free to post feedback about the puzzles. How did you use them with your students? What discussions followed?

What happened in our world? December 13th, 2015 is TWO crosswords based on last week's news events. Good for improving spelling, handwriting, attention-span and good for learning about our world. Good for interesting discussions and debates. Good for a homework activity. Good for a rainy and cold lunchtime activity. Put students into groups of three, let them use their smartphones, and say very loudly, 'ready, set, go'. In this week's puzzles… Women got to vote in Saudi Arabia. Ford announced a big investment in electric cars. Justin Trudeau greeted Syrian refuges arriving in Canada. Did anyone leave their 747 at Kuala Lumpur airport? Russia sent a puppy to France. And almost 200 countries signed a legally binding agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Oh yes, and Australia's former prime minister bought a second-hand fridge off Gumtree. Seriously - it was in the world news and so it should be in this week's crossword puzzle. This crossword is ideal as a research, writing and reading activity. It can be completed individually or in small groups or as a week-long homework activity, or even as a time-out activity. Samsung and Apple spend a fortune convincing our students to use smartphones so now we can make good use of that. Maybe you could start up a lunchtime news and current events club and use these puzzles as starters for conversation topics. Don't you HATE substituting for an absent colleague when the kids have nothing or not enough to do? Print some of these puzzles and have them in your classroom or in your bag ready for a vibrant class discussion. This week's BONUS puzzle is called Where in the world? Where is Uluru? And Machu Picchu? And the Okavango Delta? And the Camino Trail? And Dubrovnik? The answers will be with next week's puzzle, so don't forget to come back next Sunday. Thank you for the positive feedback with the previous puzzles. If you have suggestions for the way other teachers can use the puzzles, please post a comment.

What happened in our world? March 13th, 2016 is a crossword based on last week's news events. In this week's puzzle… Maria Sharapova aced by Porsche but not by chocolate. Skiers killed in Italy and tourists killed in Ivory Coast. Japan remembers the victims of the earthquake and tsunami. The South Korean who is challenging the go in google. Two French teenagers arrested on terrorism charges and a Danish woman charged with people trafficking - for giving some Syrians a ride in her car. As a bonus, there's a crossword asking students to name the country in which some news events occurred. These are simple crosswords aiming to make our students talk about what's happening in their world, why it's happening, to whom - and where. Use the crosswords in your home-room class, in subject lessons, in substitution lessons, in lunchtime or after school clubs, in the time-out room, or even in the staffroom (or even in a staff meeting if you dare). Keep the comments coming in - we love to hear how the crosswords are being used by you and your students.

The World News Crossword (July 29th, 2017) is a simple crossword based on last week's news events. But wait! There's more... three more crosswords. There's one about Australia. There's one about the USA. And there's another on countries and their famous landmarks. In last week's news... China's president announced that everyone in the Chinese army has to support the communist party. Over 20,000 people were evacuated because of a fire at a concert in Spain. There were forest fires along the French coast. There was flooding in China and New Zealand and a suspicious water shortage in the Murray-Darling river basin area that the government is investigating. Pakistan's prime minister was made to resign because of dishonest activity revelled in the Panama Papers. North Korea fired another rocket into the Japan Sea. The US Navy fired some rockets near an Iranian ship. And the Sri Lankan navy rescued an elephant that had been swept out to sea. And a few days later they rescued two more. There's a serious international dispute brewing because Gran Canaria imported sand from Western Sahara - the UN has rules about trading with countries that are occupied (Western Sahara is occupied by Morocco). And the Dumbest News Story Ever Award goes to the people in Rotorua (New Zealand) who have imported mud from South Korea and used $NZ100,000 given by government, i.e. the taxpayer, to do so. It's for a festival. It's mud. $100,000 of taxpayer money??? So... a crossword all about last week's news and a few other very handy resources to have in your pocket. It's all one pdf document so it can be downloaded and stored on a flash drive, ready to print and use in a flash!

This is a simple crossword aiming to encourage students to ask about what's happening in their world. Download and then print this simple and easy to use PDF and save time preparing for the next Economics, Geography, Business, or PSHE lesson. The puzzles are excellent for a lively and informative home room period or even a substitution lesson when the absent colleague hasn't left enough work. You save your precious time and the students get to learn about last week's news events. In this week's puzzle... Good Lord, someone impersonated Lorde. Natural disasters in Colombia and Australia. South Korea's ex-president was arrested and a sunken ferry was raised. China has set up bases in the South China Sea. Japan's whaling fleet killed 300 whales in the Antarctic Ocean. Someone stole a huge gold Canadian coin (in Berlin). Yes, it was a strange week around the world. And of course the real reason for these crosswords is to prompt the students to ask WHY these events happened. Why Brexit? Why were 20 people killed a t a shrine in Pakistan? Why did a Singaporean couple starve their employee? Why are the Canadians legalising recreational marijuana use? Or maybe they'll ask... where is Peru, and South Sudan, and Tanzania? (So have a globe or a world map handy for even more discussion.) The puzzles seem to work best when students work in pairs or groups of three, so they discuss the clues and therefore the events of their world. They work even better if the teacher does the puzzle with the students. There are 2 BONUS puzzles: one is about Africa's countries and capitals and the other is about New Zealand.

This is a simple crossword aiming to encourage students to ask about what's happening in their world. Download and then print this simple and easy to use PDF and save time preparing for the next Economics, Geography, Business, or PSHE lesson. The puzzles are excellent for a lively and informative home room period or even a substitution lesson when the ascent colleague hasn't left enough work. You save your precious time and the students get to learn about last week's news events. The puzzles seem to work best when students work in pairs or groups of three, so they discuss the clues and therefore the events of their world. They work even better if the teacher does the puzzle with the students. In this week's puzzle… Bill English became New Zealand’s new prime minister and a New Zealand marathon runner completed 237 holes of golf in 12 hours. South Korea’s president was impeached, Chinese police put down a protest, and Britain wants less international students, maybe. The Solomon Islands experienced two very large earthquakes and so did Croatia. The price of oil increased. Reindeer are getting smaller, and a near-complete dinosaur skeleton sold for about €1 million. A report declared that the Great Barrier Reef will die soon, an Australian man’s house was mistakenly demolished when builders went to the wrong address, but a Malaysian was named the ‘World's Funniest Person’. An RAF commander said the RAF should consider recruiting ‘18- and 19-year-olds straight out of the PlayStation bedroom’ to operate drones, a Pakistani Army officer returned to Sandhurst, a PIA plane exploded when it returned to Islamabad, and Iran bought a lot of planes from Boeing. Qantas announced what will be the longest flight, from Perth to London, starting in March 2018 and the Swiss started using the world’s longest train tunnel. As a bonus, there's another crossword that asks students about the place sin last week's news... India, Britain, New Zealand, Australia, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Solomon Islands, Venezuela... And there are two more puzzles... one asks students to identify the capitals of American countries (Belize, Canada, Mexico, Bolivia, Brazil...), and another puzzle is called, 'They go together like...' fish &..., left &..., right &..., bat &..., school &... It's a bit of fun, but watch closely and you'll see how crosswords can help students to improve their handwriting. There's a new puzzle created every week, so don't forget to come back every Monday morning for another simple and easy and very useful learning activity.

This is a simple crossword aiming to encourage students to ask about what happened in their world last week. Download and then print this simple and easy to use PDF and save time preparing for the next English, Economics, Geography, Business, or PSHE lesson. The puzzles are excellent for a lively and informative homeroom period or even a substitution lesson when the absent colleague hasn't left enough work. You save your precious time and the students get to learn about last week's news events. The puzzles seem to work best when students work in pairs or groups of three, so they discuss the clues and therefore the events of their world. They work even better if the teacher does the puzzle with the students. It's less bout the puzzle's clues and answers and more about the questions and discussion that result from them. For example... What is match-fixing? Why would people protest against China building a port in Sri Lanka. Where is Ghana? Why kill the ducks in France? Why would Israel withhold money from its annual United Nations dues? Where is Fort Lauderdale? Where are Chad and Libya? What is the Turner Prize awarded for? Where is Cueta? Why is there a civil war in Syria? Where is Abuja? Why would parents allow their children to work in a brick kiln? What are bison? Could a palace in Sweden be haunted by a ghost? Really? Why replace workers with an AI system? What’s AI? Where is Guantánamo Bay? What does Germany have to do with Namibia? As a bonus, there are three more puzzles... European capitals, Asian capitals, and African capitals. Because it might be good if they know where these countries and their capital cities are. It's a bit of fun, and educational of course, but watch closely and you'll see how crosswords can help students improve their handwriting. There's a new puzzle created every week, so don't forget to come back every Monday morning for another simple and easy and very useful learning activity.

The World News Crossword - August 5th, 2018 is a 6-page PDF document made up of 4 puzzles based on the events of last week’s news. It’s a quick and simple process to download the resource and it can be stored on a flash drive ready for printing. All for just £2. What’s in this week’s document? (1) A crossword based on the events of last week’s news, (2) A search & cloze puzzle giving a little more detailed explanation of Zimbabwe and the events leading to last week’s election, (3) A crossword all about Zimbabwe - where is it? What are its neighbouring countries? What are its lakes, mountains, and rivers? (3) A crossword all about India which was also in the news last week. The puzzle usually takes a class about 30-45 minutes to complete, leaving some time for discussion on some of the more interesting news stories. The puzzle seems to work best when done in pairs or small groups, to generate discussion. The goal of course is to have students learning more about the world around them, and to prompt them to ask questions, especially ‘why…?’ What happened last week? On Lombok (in Indonesia) about 500 stranded tourists were rescued after an earthquake, but then another very large earthquake struck about a week after the first, prompting. a tsunami warning for the region. Wildfires continued in California and Europe experienced a heatwave. Students in Bangladesh protested for better traffic and street safety. Evidence of a 2000 year old library was uncovered in Cologne. A plane crashed in Mexico. A helicopter crashed in Siberia. And a plane crashed in the Swiss Alps. A new government was elected in Zimbabwe and 6 people were killed in protests following the result. The boys who were rescued from the cave in Thailand returned home after their 9 days as novice Buddhist monks. And someone kidnapped a shark, disguised as a baby in a pram, from an aquarium in Texas.

**The World News Crossword - December 2nd, 2018 A crossword based on the events of last week’s news - excellent for all Middle and High School students. Critical thinking, international mindedness, research skills, group/team skills. It’s less about what happened and a lot more about why - students complete a crossword and in doing so they learn about world events and then they ask why… why polio vaccinations in Yemen when Western countries are supplying weapons to Saudi Arabia and Iran to use in Yemen? Why is there still a war in Syria? (It’s lasted longer than World War 2.) Why did hate crimes increase by almost 50% in 2017 in Canada? This resource is a 6-page PDF: (1) The World News Crossword (2) A crossword about France, which was in the news this week for protests against rising fuel prices and for a new law that prohibits parents from smacking their children, (3) A crossword about Kiribati, a Pacific Island nation that is already losing islands due to rising sea levels, and (4) A crossword about Christine Lagarade, the Managing Director of the IMF (taken from the recently released book, ‘Women who changed our World’). This week, Christine Lagarde warned the G20 leaders that trade wars and tariffs will hinder world economic growth. So what happened in last week’s news? Australian school-children were inspired by one Swedish girl - they protested against the Australian government’s inaction on climate change. Russia confiscated Ukrainian naval ships and Ukraine blocked entry to all military-aged Russian men. The G20 gathering started in Argentina. The Ebola virus in Congo is now the 2nd-largest ever. There were major earthquakes in Alaska and Indonesia.

Climate Change Crosswords is a pdf document containing 5 crosswords that focus on the greenhouse effect, global warming, and climate change - and what we can do about it. There isa bonus puzzle about the Amazon Basin - perhaps the most significant region in terms of climate change. There's another crossword on The Might Mi__i__i__i River. (And then some more on Africa, Asia and Europe - for a rainy day.) Climate change is real, it’s here, and it’s getting worse, but there’s hope. That’s the message of these crosswords. Climate change is happening because of global warming which is happening because humans burn too much fossil fuel, cut down way too many trees, use cars instead of bicycles, throw away too much food, and farm too many animals. The glaciers are retreating. The ocean is warming. The polar ice masses are melting. The sea level is rising. More extreme weather events are occuring. And the worst affected are the poorest people because they tend to live near the edges of rivers and the sea. What can we do about it? Each puzzle includes suggestions. Hopefully these crosswords educate students about what is happening to the earth’s climate and its people. Hopefully they’ll learn why it’s happening and how climate change can be stopped, or mitigated. There’s something a little sneaky and tricky about crosswords. Kids feel compelled to finish them. Try them.

Two crosswords based on the news events of 2016. As a class activity, expect each of the se puzzles to take about 30-45 minutes. They work best with groups of 2-3 students working in teams. Let them use their smartphones and call it a collaborative research project. Hurricane Matthew caused death and destruction on the Florida coast. Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. The Syrian war moved into its sixth year and last year alone about 4 million Syrians left their home country. Zimbabwe's economy deteriorated. Students in South Africa protested against tuition fees. And the Ethiopia-Djibouti electric railway line opened. India demonetised its 500 and 1000 rupee notes and the UK voted to leave the EU. Brazil hosted the Summer Olympics and the Paralympics and the Brazilian government impeached its president. Terrorists attacked in Berlin, Nice, Istanbul, and Brussels. Of course, the real value of these crosswords is the discussion that results from the clues and answers. Why was Bob Dylan awarded a prize for literature when he's a song writer? Are songs literature? Why did India demonetise the 500 and 1000 rupee notes? Were there more big earthquakes in 2016 than normal? What causes earthquakes? What are gravitational waves and why was a rocket launched to explore Mars? Why was the Malaysian Airlines plane shot down as it flew over Ukraine? Why is the UK leaving the EU? What is a referendum and why don't governments use them more often? If South Africa's students want to attend university for free, why did they trash their universities? Why did China and USA finally sign the Paris climate change deal (or maybe we should ask, What took them so long?)