The World News Crossword - October 21st, 2018 A 6-page PDF document that includes: A crossword based the events of last week’s news, A crossword about China, A crossword about Brazil, and A crossword about Marie Curie (from our recently published Women who changed the World book). So, what happened in the news last week? A journalist was killed in the Saudi Arabia embassy in Istanbul and no one believes the explanation. Trains crashed in India and Taiwan. Lionel Messi broke his arm and Christiano Ronaldo became the first player to score 400 goals. Croatians protested against their government’s proposal to raise the retirement age to 67. The FYROM’s government changed the country’s name to North Macedonia. Brazilians voted in a presidential election, Afghans voted in a parliamentary election, Australians voted in a by-election, and 700,000 British people marched in London demanding a vote on the details of the Brexit deal. Moscow’s government did not approve the annual memorial day for victims of Stalin’s brutal regime and sent officials for a meeting with Syria’s president.

The World News Crossword - September 30th, 2018 is a crossword based on the events of last week’s news from around the world. There are 4 puzzles in this downloadable PDF document: (1) The World News Crossword, (2) a crossword about Ghana which is in a news article about preventing cocoa smuggling, (3) a crossword about Denmark, which is in a news article about closing bridges to Germany and Sweden during a hunt for 3 kidnappers, and (4) a crossword about Leaders in Sport (from our new-release, ‘Women who changed the world’). Natural disasters in Indonesia are in the news again. A major earthquake triggered a devastating tsunami which may have killed thousands of people. A teenager was swept out to sea on his fishing raft/hut and was rescued 49 days later by a passing ship. Air force planes crashed in Nigeria and the USA. A passenger jet overshot a runway in New Guinea and ended up in a lagoon. And a light plane became tangled in a zip-line at a tourist resort in South Africa. Bananas are in the news too - boxes of them donated to a Texas prison (with cocaine stashed in the boxes too) and Saudi Arabia telling Canada not to treat it like a banana republic. Argentina is in the news too. Their rugby team lost to New Zealand’s rugby team. The government received a massive IMF loan (more than $50 billion!) and a nationwide search has begun to find an 11-year-old boy’s mobile phone which he lost while with his grandmother at the bank because the phone has photos and videos of his mother who recently died of cancer.

**The World News Crossword - August 26th, 2018 **is a 6-page PDF document containing: (1) a crossword based on the events of last week’s news, (2) a search & cloze puzzle that explains the background of Venezuela’s current economic and human crisis, (3) a crossword all about Venezuela, and (4) a bonus puzzle from our book, ‘Nonsense Rhymes Crosswords’ (because it’s fun to do). All for just £2. **What happened in last week’s news? ** Australia appointed its 6th Prime Minister in 8 years and it rained in drought-stricken New South Wales and Queensland. Sweden’s Sami reindeer herders demanded government assistance to offset problems associated with this summer’s drought and Berliners were told to close their doors and windows to keep out smoke from forest fires. Venezuelans continued to cross the border to Peru, Brazil, and Colombia. Unvaccinated Venezuelans caused a measles epidemic in Brazil where measles had been eradicated. And speaking of measles, Johns Hopkins University researchers have said Russian bots and trolls have been spreading mis-information about measles vaccinations to cause trouble in USA. (FYI, measles vaccinations do not cause autism. Measles, on the other hand, can kill children and this is why most governments provide free vaccinations.) Procter & Gamble submitted applications to trademark text-speak such as FYI, LOL, and WTF. WTF! Meanwhile, back in Venezuela, the inflation rate has reached 18,000%, the government replaced the old bolivar with a new one (with 5 less zeros next to the numbers), hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans are emigrating, and there was a 7.3 earthquake off the north-west Venezuelan coast. This week, we’ve added 2 bonus puzzles to explain the reasons for Venezuelans’ troubles. All for just £2.

The World News Crossword - September 9th, 2018 is a 6-page downloadable PDF made up of 4 puzzles. (1) A crossword based on the events of last week’s news, (2) A search & close puzzle that gives more background to one of last week’s news stories - the Mauritius government’s case against Great Britain in the International Court of Justice regarding sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, (3) A crossword about China, and (4) A crossword about Rosalind Franklin. This resource is quick and easy to download and store on a flash drive, ready to print and use in any middle or high school Social Studies or English lesson. It works best when the students work in small groups, soothed discuss the clues, share answers, and then discuss the stories in more depth, asking questions like, ‘What did Japan’s fishermen kill 50 minke whales? Why are elephants still being killed for their ivory? and Why is there still not peace in Syria and Yemen?’ A new World News Crossword is published every week so it can become a weekly lesson.

The World News Crossword - June 17th, 2018 is a 6 page PDF containing: A crossword based on last week’s news events, A Search and Cloze puzzle that helps explain the Kashmir conflict, Another Search and Cloze puzzle that helps explain the Yemen War, and A crossword all about Yemen. (Did you know there are just 70 Arabian leopards alive in the wild? And they’re all in Yemen.) So what happened last week? Raphael Nadal won the French Open for the 11th time. Boris Becker claimed diplomatic immunity in Central African Republic to avoid bankruptcy proceedings. About 700 immigrants were turned away from Italy but were allowed to land in Spain. An immigrant in New York was captured as he delivered pizza to a military base. FIFA announced the world cup will be hosted by USA, Canada, and Mexico (assuming they’re all still friends then). Russia beat Saudi Arabia 5-0 in the world cup opening match. Saudi Arabia’s military led a coalition of Arab countries in support of Yemen’s government, attacking the Yemen port city. And an 18th century Chinese vase found in someone’s attic sold for 16 million Euros.

The World News Crossword - July 29th, 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 buy and 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 wildfires such as the ones occurring in California and some parts of Europe, (3) A crossword all about Cambodia, in the news this week for the flooding caused by a collapsed hydro-dam, and an election that is unlikely to have any effect because opposition and criticism have been prevented by the incumbent prime minister of 30+ years, and (3) A crossword all about climate change which was in the news again - a heatwave in Europe, wild fires in Greece and USA, flooding in Japan, and extreme monsoon rain in Myanmar. 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 in last week’s news? Social media was in the news again. Facebook’s shares crashed. Belgium’s tourist board wrote to Mark Z complaining about the censorship policy was blocking famous paintings. A Kuwaiti make up artist used social media to whine that her maid was now entitled to…, wait for it…, one day’s leave per week. And the employer now isn’t allowed to retain the employee’s passport. The make up artist promptly lost sponsors Max Factor Arabia and Shiseido. And a US swimmer posted a photo of himself receiving an illegal ‘infusion’ and was then banned from competition for 14 months. Wildfires caused extensive property damage and killed many people in Greece and California. Flooding occurred in Japan, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia. A Penn State Professor said this is the face of climate change. Elections were or will be held in Cambodia, Pakistan, and Mali. This resource, used on a weekly basis, is an excellent way to ensure your students’ are ‘internationally minded’ (a fundamental requirement of any of the IB’s 4 programmes).

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.

In this week’s puzzles… (1) A crossword based on events in last week’s news. A search & cloze puzzle detailing Part 2 of the amazing rescue of the 12 boys and their football coach from the flooded cave in northern Thailand, A crossword about NATO, and there are no clues, and A crossword all about Belgium (which achieved 3rd place in the FIFA World Cup). In last week’s news… All twelve boys from the Wild Boars football team and their coach who were trapped in a cave in northern Thailand were rescued. The US president said NATO member countries aren’t contributing enough to NATO (even though countries don’t contribute anything). Britain’s Foreign Minister resigned because he didn’t like the state of Brexit negotiations. Nestlé products are banned from zoos in Melbourne and a man has taken Monsanto to court alleging its weed killer caused his cancer. George Clooney fell off his motor bike while in Sardinia. Justin Bieber got engaged, maybe. An American tourist shut down Vienna airport because of a live artillery shell in her luggage. Scorpions invaded Brazilian cities, sort of. And after 66 years, an Indian man finally cut his finger nails. Angelique Kerber and Novak Đoković won the Women’s and Men’s Singles at Wimbledon. France won the FIFA World Cup, but the most loved and most successful football team during the World Cup was The Wild Boars of Thailand.

The World News Crossword - June 24th, 2018 is a 6 page PDF containing: (1) A crossword based on last week’s news events, (2) A Search and Cloze puzzle that helps explain the causes and issues associated with immigration to the USA, (3) Another Search and Cloze puzzle that explains the FIFA World Cup tournament, and (4) A crossword all about Turkey. (Did you know Turkey’s border with Azerbaijan is just 18 kilometres long and the that whole border is a river?) So what happened last week? Well, speaking of Turkey, they had an election and almost 90% of eligible voters voted. There were blasts at political rallies in Ethiopia and Zimbabwe. Syria’s army dropped more barrel bombs in the south of the country. A residential building in Germany exploded. Over 100,000 people protested in London, demanding another Brexit referendum. An Afghan asylum seeker on Nauru was flown to Australia for palliative care. The leader of Romania’s ruling party went to jail, guilty of corruption. Israel’s Prime Minister’s wife was charged with fraud. And New Zealand’s Prime Minister gave birth to a baby girl and women in Saudi Arabia were allowed to drive cars.

The World News Crossword is a downloadable PDF. It’s quick and simple to download, save onto a flash drive, and rint from when the time’s right. This week’s PDF contains: (1) A crossword based on the events of last week’s news, (2) A search and cloze puzzle based on modern day slavery in India (3) A crossword about India’s geography, and (4) A crossword from the soon-to-be-released book ‘Women who changed the world’ - a puzzle all about Indira Ghandi, India’s third Prime Minister. From last week’s news… Germany was eliminated from the FIFA World Cup. Prince William visited Jordan, Israel, and the Palestinian territories. New Guinea reported its first case of polio in 30 years. Turkey re-elected its President. Harley Davidson said it would move some production out of the US because of the tariffs imposed on imported steel. Canada imposed tariffs on US-made ketchup in response to US tariffs on Canadian-made steel. Samoa and Mumbai banned single-use plastic bags, cups, food containers, and drinking straws. India’s interior minister waa attacked on social media for receiving a kidney transplant from a Muslim. About 50 people were killed when a bus went off a mountain road in northern India. 12 Thai boys and their football coach were trapped in a flooded cave system for 9 days before being found by an international team of rescue personnel. It’s good to know about these things. It’s even better to discuss why these things happen and what may happen next - because it’s good for us to discuss what happens in the rest of the world and how it may affect us as well as how what we do might affect others.

The World News Crossword - November 25th, 2018 - a crossword based on the events of last week’s news from around the world. A crossword based on the events of last week’s world news. A crossword about Germany which has featured in the news over the past few weeks, A crossword about the UK which has also featured in the news - when will Brexit ever end?, and A crossword about women musicians and singers. So, what were some of last week’s news events? The UN called for a truce in Yemen, but everyone ignored that. There was probably another gas attack in Syria. There was a suicide attack in north-west Pakistan, another in Afghanistan, and an attack on the Chinese Consulate in Karachi. Protests in France about fuel prices continued. The new Maldives government has no idea how much the country owes to China. A storm in Australia closed airports. And the Italian government ordered a rescue ship to be confiscated because migrant’s clothes may have been infected with tuberculosis, meningitis, and HIV. (No, you don’t catch these diseases from clothes!)

The World News Crossword - November 18th, 2018 4 crossword puzzles, downloaded as a PDF to print for your whole class. A crossword based on the events of last week’s world news. A crossword about Yemen which has featured in the news over the past few weeks, A crossword about Great Britain which has also featured in the news over the past few weeks - Brexit!, and A crossword about women political leaders around the world. So, what were some of last week’s news events? A bus caught fire in Zimbabwe and whole towns in California were destroyed by fire. Brazil’s new foreign minister thinks climate change is a Marxist conspiracy. Fish in the Amazon with plastic in them. EU politicians asked Amazon to stop selling products that glorified the USSR. Finland summoned the Russian ambassador to explain why Finland’s GPS was messed about with. A Norwegian navy frigate was sunk after it hit an oil tanker and a naval submarine that sank a year ago was found. Morocco inaugurated the fastest train service in Africa, from Casablanca to Tangiers. Scientists voted to change the way the kilogram is defined. New Zealand’s police discovered almost 200 kilograms of cocaine in a shipment of bananas, but that was small bananas compared to this: Iran’s government intercepted 6 tonnes of heroin being shipped to Europe. And finally - Britain said it would ‘urge’ the UN Security Council to initiate a truce in the Yemen war.

**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.

A lot happened in the world last week. Some of it was important and some of it was just silly. Most of it is worth knowing about. I hope this week's crossword prompts discussions that start with 'Why...' The US president went to Belgium and ate lots of chocolates and the Belgian royal family disapproved of a Burger King advertisement. Diesel cars are still being sold despite emitting 18 times the legal level of pollution. So much for the Paris Agreement on climate change, speaking of which, more than 90 people were killed and over a hundred more are missing in Sri Lanka after huge rainfall caused flooding and landslides. In Sicily the US First Lady wore a coat that retails for more than $50,000. More than 150 children under 5 die every day in Myanmar because of fighting and poverty. Sailing in the America's Cup began and Arsenal won the FA Cup. In Australia a teenager ran across the horse racing track because someone dared him. Also in Australia, a Jetstar plane revved up ready for taxiing while a ground crew member was still attached to the plane's nose, but in London, BA cancelled all flights because their computer system crashed. Construction work began on a huge telescope in Chile and a Brazilian mother who stole an Easter egg for her kids was given a harsher prison sentence than the politicians who stole millions of dollars of public money. This week there are THREE bonus puzzles - Climate change, European countries, US states... It's a pdf document. It's quick and easy to download / save to a flash drive on your keyring. Then you have a simple and very worthwhile lesson activity in your pocket. Brilliant!!

The World News Crossword (August 6th, 2017) is a simple crossword based on last week’s news events. There are three BONUS crosswords included - all with the answers of course. The resource is a pdf document so it's quick and easy to download and store on a flash drive. What happened in our world last week? The Philippines president called the North Korean leader a ‘chubby fool’ for firing rockets. China and India are involved in a border dispute. An Indian boxer beat a Chinese boxer but offered to give the title back to the Chinese boxer as a peace gesture. GM recalled almost a million trucks. Pearson, the educational publisher announced it would cut 10% of of its jobs. Ethnic violence in the DRC resulted in more than 250 people killed. Australia’s greenhouse emissions rose to their highest level ever. Dutch police arrested criminals who stole iPhones from a moving truck. A heatwave spread across Europe and monsoon flooding killed hundreds of people in India. Police in Sierra Leone banned groups of joggers. It’s not so much what happened but why, and hopefully this is what the students will be talking about as they complete the crossword and go to their next lesson. Why did only two cities apply to host the 2024 and 2028 Summer Olympics? Why is the Polish government still allowing logging in its ancient forest? Why are George and Amal Clooney helping 3000 Syrian children attend school in Lebanon? And why was Martin Shkreli the most hated man?

The World News Crossword - March 4th, 2018 is a simple one page crossword based on the events in last week’s news. There are 3 more crosswords (on France, New Zealand, and Australia) included and there are solutions to all 4 puzzles. Crosswords are an excellent resource for logical thinking, handwriting, and cooperative learning. The World News Crossword - March 4th, 2018 is excellent as a research and critical thinking activity as well. It’s less about what happened in the news last week, and more about why, how, where, and who was involved. Why was there a cease-fire in Syria (and was it effective)? Why was there an earthquake in Papua New-Guinea and who was affected? Was were three deaths in Australia newsworthy? Why did Russia announce the development of new nuclear missiles? The World News Crossword is created and published every week. Use the crossword in PSHE/home room, for homework, or as an in-class activity.

The World News Crossword - October 28th, 2018 A 6-page PDF document that includes: A crossword based the events of last week’s news, A crossword about countries and their capital cities, A crossword about capital cities and their countries, and A crossword about Queen Victoria (from our recently published Women who Changed the World book). So, what happened in the news last week? There was an earthquake in the Ionian Sea. The 12 Thai boys rescued from the flooded cave went to Manchester to watch ManU play Everton. Israel’s Prime Minister visited Oman. Pakistan blocked all Indian television channels because India is damming rivers that flow into Pakistan. Croatia’s police found more than 100 illegal migrants in a truck and Mexico offered work and schooling to its illegal immigrants. A 45 year old man was arrested for trying to steal an original copy of the Magna Carta. (What is an original copy?)

The World News Crossword - November 4th, 2018 A one-page crossword based on the events of last week’s news stories. A crossword about India which was in the news for air pollution that was 6 times greater than the acceptable limit, a man-eating tiger was shot, the world’s tallest statue was unveiled, and a curfew was imposed on people living in Jammu & Kashmir, A crossword about Yemen where civil war fuelled by Saudi Arabia and Iran is causing catastrophic famine, and A crossword about Angela Merkel, Germany’s Chancellor and Europe’s longest-serving national leader. So what happened in last week’s news? A bus crashed off a bridge in China, a passenger plane crashed into the Java Sea, and a Russian fighter plane crashed in Egypt. Air pollution in and around Delhi reached levels 6 times greater than the acceptable limit and politicians blamed politicians. Turkey will not be exempt from US-imposed sanctions against Iran. The Secretary-General of the UN said the civil war in Yemen will cause catastrophic famine. Storms resulted in deaths in Italy. Palau announced it will ban sunscreen because of its toxic effect on coral. Estonian traffic police handed out fines to speeding drivers, and brochures relating to organ donation and Russia’s traffic police announced that 5 million traffic tickets were incorrectly issued because of ‘a technical glitch’.

A simple PDF document that contains a crossword based on last week’s news, and three bonus crosswords (France 1, France 2, and Egypt). The solutions are included. So what happened last week? Russians doping at the Olympics, 6 Brazilian footballers being red-carded, and a protest at the Olympics by South Korean politicians. Suicide bombers in Aden, kidnappers in Nigeria, and bribery in Greece, maybe. 17 people killed when a rubbish pile in Maputo collapsed, a plea to ban palm oil to save forests, an Asian toad invasion in Madagascar, and a whole lot of people volunteer to clean up the beaches and rivers in Bali. And finally, a ceasefire in Syria (perhaps). Crosswords are excellent for prompting discussions about the news events. Why are these events happening? What would you do, if you could? What can we do? Crosswords are good for encouraging research, neat handwriting, and correct spelling.

The World. News Crossword - October 14th, 2018 is a 6-page resource that simple to use, easy to download and only costs $1. It’s a PDF document and it includes: The World News Crossword - October 14th, 2018 A crossword all about Afghanistan, A crossword all about Zimbabwe (A to Z, right?), and A crossword from our just-published Women who changed the World book. So what happened in the world. You could be forgiven if you thought the US president and Brexit were the only thing happening in the world, but no… earthquakes, flash floods, hurricane winds. In Germany there was a light plane crash, a train fire, and a hostage situation in a pharmacy (and a protest march against the far-right movement). And New Zealand announced its Bird of the Year. It’s the…