We use the ‘Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level Formula’ to present scores as per US grade level. See all the grade levels here. Following articles, stories and features are appropriate for people at reading level of Grade 9 (Age 14-15 years). More information about Flesch–Kincaid readability tests can be found here.
156 items in this section. Displaying page 15 of 16
Hundreds Die In Australian Bush Blaze
Where: Melbourne, Australia February 9, 2009 : Australia’s worst disaster in over a century, the bushfires could claim up to 230 victims. Bush* fires are common occurrences in the hot and dry Australian summer. This summer, the country has seen a severe drought and recorded temperatures as high as 47 degrees centigrade, as well as winds at speeds of over 90 km per hour. The fires have already destroyed more than 750 homes and an area of nearly 3,500 square kilometres....
Cholera Epidemic Spreads Countrywide in Zimbabwe
Where: Harare, Zimbabwe January 23, 2009 : A report that the World Health Organisation made in early January said 2,200 people had died from cholera in Zimbabwe since August 2008. One week later, the United Nations reported a 20 per cent rise in cholera cases, and the figure now stands at 2,755. Nearly 50,000 people have been infected with the disease. The humanitarian aid organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres said that the epidemic was now spreading to rural areas....
Mutiny in Dhaka: 70 People Killed by Rebels
Where: Dhaka, Bangladesh February 28, 2009 : The Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) troops rose in revolt against their commanders on 25 February, 2009 after a dispute. The BDR is a paramilitary unit that patrols the country’s borders. There was resentment among the troops over some issues, including pay. The BDR chiefs are all officers from the regular Bangladesh Army, and this was not acceptable to the troops either. At a meeting between troops and officers where the men are allowed to air their grievances, the rebels started spraying bullets at officers....
Riots Rage in Greece After Cop Shoots Boy
Where: Athens, Greece December 11, 2008 : The shooting took place after a verbal disagreement between two police officers and a small group of people in the Exarcheia district of Athens. Eyewitnesses said the police officer fired directly at the boy. In the riots that followed, protesters expressed their rage against the government. They set hundreds of buildings on fire, and hurled petrol bombs at police. Even the giant Christmas tree on Athens’ central Syntagma Square was torched....
First Pope To Set Foot in Mosque
May 11: Pope John Paul II created history by setting foot in the Omayyad mosque in Damascus on his historic visit to Syria recently. He is the first Pope in Christianity’s 2000 year history to enter a mosque. First Pope To Set Foot in Mosque [Illustration by Shinod AP] And it isn’t just some ordinary mosque that the Pope stepped into, reports the Hindu newspaper. The site of the Omayyad mosque has a religious history predating Christianity, and goes back more than 3000 years....
Where Guns rule
Where: The state of Texas, USA May 19, 2001: In yet another shocking incident of firearms violence in US schools, 16-year-old student Jay Goodwin shot himself to death before the eyes of a teacher and female student, at the Ennis High School, in Goodwin, Texas. The incident happened just two days after the march of mothers and grandmothers in the US capital, Washington DC, to demand that the government pass stricter gun control laws to protect children in the world’s most violent and gun happy society....
All the Presidential Men
Where: Washington DC, USA December 9, 2000: Guess what the biggest mystery is nowadays that has the world in thrall? It is Who will be the next American President? Try to imagine all the big lawyers and judges in America trying to unravel this mystery, arguing with each other, jumping about and tearing their hair in frustration!! This is one mystery that even the most powerful man on earth, Bill Clinton, the current American President, cannot solve....
Sri Lanka's Humanitarian Crisis : Thousands Trapped in War Zone
Where: Vavuniya, Sri Lanka January 30, 2009 : The Sri Lankan army has been engaged in fierce fighting with the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam’s (LTTE) forces. In the first weeks of 2009, the army took control of the main rebel bases of Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu. The LTTE is a militant group that formed in 1976, and their campaign to carve out an independent state for the minority Tamil population in the country’s northern region led to a raging civil war....
Dia's Story
Dia, an 80-year-old labourer of Indian origin, lives in the corner of a cotton field in the western province of Kanchanaburi, Thailand. His rundown shack contains very little besides a military medal and a few clothes. The medal is a remnant of Dia’s eventful, if tragic, past. It is a past that has included a stint at Myanmar (then Burma), as a prisoner captured by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II (1939 – 45)....
'Rim of Fire' in Indonesian Skies: 2009's First Solar Eclipse
Where: Samarinda, Indonesia January 26, 2009 : The annular eclipse of the sun on Monday, 26 January was a celestial spectacle, seen in several parts of Indonesia, and on the Cocos, a South Pacific island group. These areas fell directly in line with the alignment of the moon and sun. People cheered and banged on drums as the moon moved slowly over the sun’s surface, until only a thin, blazing rim of fire could be seen....