Words in the news

Sochi Olympic flame

The longest ever Olympic torch relay for the Winter Games in Sochi has begun. The flame was lit in Greece using the sun's rays. It will travel 65,000 kilometres, including a visit to the International Space Station in November...
Feb 07,2014

Dealing with Venezuela's food crisis

The Venezuelan government has announced new economic measures to tackle the country's shortages of essential goods, such as flour, milk and toilet paper. Earlier this month, Finance Minister Nelson Merentes acknowledged the government's economic policies had been unsuccessful. ..
Feb 07,2014

Super typhoon hits Hong Kong

A super typhoon has hit Hong Kong on its way to south China. Typhoon Usagi has killed at least 25 people in Guangdong province, south China, but Hong Kong has escaped the worst of the storm...
Feb 07,2014

Saudi women campaign for the right to drive

Saudi women activists have launched a new campaign for the right to drive. Women aren't allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia, although there's no formal law banning them...
Feb 07,2014

Japan switches off nuclear power

Japan is shutting down its last functioning nuclear reactor, with no timetable for a restart.The closure highlights the changing fortunes of nuclear power in a nation that was once one of its biggest users - until the accident at Fukushima...
Feb 07,2014

World War I wills

The last wishes, thoughts and concerns of more than 230,000 soldiers who died in World War I are to be made available online...
Feb 07,2014

Manning given 35 years for leaks

A military court in the US has sentenced Bradley Manning, the former intelligence analyst who leaked hundreds of thousands of documents to Wikileaks, to 35 years in prison. The judge at the court martial in Fort Meade also ruled he should be dishonourably discharged from the US army...
Feb 07,2014

Congo deforestation in surprise fall

Scientists say that the cutting down of trees in one of the world's largest rainforests has dramatically decreased. A new study shows that deforestation in central Africa's Congo Basin has fallen by about a third since 2000. The study is published in the Royal Society's journal...
Feb 07,2014

Camels could be source of deadly virus

Scientists studying a deadly virus say they are closer to finding its source. Research suggests that camels could be responsible for passing Middle East Respiratory Syndrome - or MERS - to humans. The study is published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases...
Feb 07,2014

Climate change violence

Changes to the climate are strongly linked to increases in violence around the world, according to a report in the journal Science. It said even small changes in temperature or rainfall were associated with a rise in conflict...
Feb 07,2014