Our news for kids is interesting, relevant, sometimes quirky, always well-informed and about real people and happenings in a real world. News for kids delves deep into the ‘how’ & ‘why’ of news, giving children (and adults) a wider understanding of the events happening around them.
435 items in this section. Displaying page 23 of 44
Water-Ice on the Moon?
Where: Bangalore, India January 29, 2009 : The possibility of water-ice existing on the polar regions of the moon is one of the questions that scientists aim to discuss at a meeting to mark the first hundred days of Chandrayaan-I. The scientists include representatives from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency (ESA). Chandrayaan-I has so far captured the first-ever images of the dark side of the moon, detected the presence of iron and received X-ray signals from its cratered surface....
The Empire Strikes Back
October 28: The roots of the present-day education system in India lie in British attempts, more than one and a half century ago, to raise a breed of English-speaking Indians who were ‘babus’ or clerks and could manage the affairs of the British rulers. That is why the study of English has always been stressed in India, even if it is at the expense of the country’s languages. And why English is India’s first language today....
The Actor
October 6 : Dhanna wants to become an actor. His dream is to star in a film with Shahrukh Khan and Kajol, two famous actors of Bollywood, Mumbai’s hugely popular film industry. Seventeen year-old Dhanna is the son of a rexine bag-maker. He lives with his family in a narrow by-lane of a poor colony in Delhi. The journey from here to the bright lights of Bollywood appears to be very long indeed. The journey becomes even more convoluted given the fact that Dhanna is also mentally challenged....
Fungus Threatens Chinese Warriors
September 23: These Chinese warriors have survived over two 2,000 years of wars, earthquakes and revolutions, but now find themselves battling against their most formidable enemy yet — a fungal infection. These Chinese warriors are not made of flesh and blood; they have feet – and bodies – of clay, and they are a valued cultural treasure not only for China but also for the world. Fungus Threatens Chinese Warriors [Illustration by Shiju George] The bad news is that over 7,000 terracotta figurines of soldiers, archers and horses in China’s northern city of Xian (pronounced Shee-ahn), capital of Shaanxi Province, have been found suffering from attacks by over 40 species of mould....
World Environment Day on June 5: Become an Earth Warrior
Where: Worldwide June 4, 2009 : World Environment Day is observed every year on June 5. It was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972. The guiding principle is that people have to take responsibility for the environment. The earth’s rain forests are disappearing, chemicals have poisoned our air, marine life is dying in our polluted seas, and harmful waste and toxins have reached even the least populated corners of the globe. The wake up call for earth’s citizens for 2009 is “Your Planet Needs You — UNite to Combat Climate Change”....
India Gets Its Own 'Air Force One' Plane
Where: New Delhi, India April 1, 2009 : The Indian Air Force has now got its own version of Air Force One, the American Presidential aircraft. Three exclusive Business Boeing Jets were added to the Indian Air Force’s fleet on April 1, 2009. Named Rajdhoot, Rajhans and Rajkamal, the three aircraft will be used to transport the Indian President and the Prime Minister. The President or PM will have an executive office on board, a secure communication chamber and facilities to host around 50 guests....
Gunning for Clouds
Where: Beijing, China July 19: The photograph in the newspaper shows a soldier handling an anti-aircraft gun. At once, an image flashes across your mind: the gun moving left to right and firing away with a deafening, staccato noise, with an aircraft bursting into flames and somersaulting to the ground. Good powers of imagination, fed on Hollywood films, but, unfortunately, completely off the mark. The anti-aircraft gun shown in the Hindustan Times is used for the purpose of cloud seeding, or making rain....
Gaseous twist to the Delphic legend
August 26: In ancient Greece, like a magnet, the shrine at Mount Parnassus, in Delphi, attracted people from all over Europe. They were drawn by the prophetic powers of the Pythia, or priestess of Apollo, who was famous as the Oracle of Delphi. It was said she could foretell everything, from the result of wars to new twists in day-to-day family problems. But, from where did the Oracle get her prophetic powers? Legend says that high priest of the shrine, Plutarch, thought that the Pythia got her prophetic powers by inhaling some special gases, which would lead her to a state of trance....
Smart Future
August 12: Do you know that there’s a possibility you may live forever? And that you will have computers that are 1,000 times more intelligent than Albert Einstein, generally known as the smartest scientist ever! That all these miracles may happen in 15 years or more? These are the predictions of Ian Pearson, a top British futurologist. A futurologist is a person who tells what life will be in the future. He is a kind of professional day-dreamer....
Conquering without Seeing
July 8: Yahya Sapatwala is a determined young man. Recently, he and his friends climbed the Beas Kund mountain in Manali, which is 12,000 feet (3,636 metres) high. And he did it without seeing. Yes, Yahya is blind. But that has never stopped Yahya from doing what he wants. A college teacher in Surat town in the western state of Gujarat, he walks to work every day. He is familiar with the route and reaches the institute where he works, without any problem....