The World News Crossword - September 2nd, 2018 - a crossword based on the events of last week’s news from around the world. There are 4 puzzles in this downloadable PDF document: The World News Crossword, a crossword on Germany, a crossword on India, and a crossword on Japan. So, what happened last week? Coca-Cola bought Costa Coffee and South Korea banned the sale of coffee in schools. The US banned a railway between South and North Korea and India will help Nepal build a railway. NAFTA talks failed and Brexit talks are still failing. Lana Del Ray cancelled her Israel concert and U2 cancelled their Berlin concert. An oil-refinery explosion in Germany and in Chemnitz, there was an explosion of protests against immigrants. Amsterdam’s city council asked civil servants and Syrian immigrants with teaching experience to help resolve the teacher shortage. And a New Zealand town announced a ban on domestic cats.

The World News Crossword - September 16th, 2018 - 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 on The Tragedy of Julius Caesar (from our book of Shakespeare Word Puzzles), (3) a crossword on Croatia (from our A World of Crosswords series), and (4) a crossword on Women in Science and Technology (from our soon-to-be-released ‘Women who changed the world’ book). So, what happened in last week’s news? A mega-hurricane. A malaria outbreak on Lombok Island. And an earthquake off the south-west of Australia. Needles in strawberries in Australia. Environmentalist in treehouses in Germany. And a whale in a stream in Madrid. London’s Mayor wants another Brexit referendum. Spain’s Prime Minister published his Ph.D. thesis online. Nigeria’s Finance Minister resigned because of forgery. And Italy’s Foreign Minister said African migrants are like slaves. Some Kenyans made a boat out of plastic rubbish collected from their beaches to highlight the problem of plastic pollution in the ocean.

**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 - 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 - 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.

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!!

Where on Earth? Crosswords #2 is a simple resource for use with students - from young to old. Crosswords are a simple task that help to promote neat handwriting, thinking skills, and in the case of these puzzles, world geographical knowledge. There’s something about crosswords thought that makes students need to finish them. What's the capital of Canada? And South Africa? South Korea? Australia? IN which country is New Orleans? Dubrovnik? Sofia? Cairo? Tunis? Did you say Dubrovnik? That's where Game of Thrones and Robin Hood were filmed. It's beautiful there and just a short drive south is Montenegro (change your clock when you cross the border) with a beautiful little sea town called Kotor. Then it's Albania and then it's Greece and a short boat trip from there is Istanbul. Wow!! These puzzles are handy to have pre-printed in the bag ready for an unexpected substitution lesson. Put the kids into groups because people are all a little tribal, and have them compete. ‘Which team will win?’ is all you have to say. They’ll work furiously, with or without their smartphones, to compete and win - and in the process they’ll learn more about the world around them.

The World News Crossword (August 13th, 2017) is a simple crossword made up of news events from the last week. New volcanoes discovered in the Antarctic. Less migrants from Libya to Italy in July. A camp built for migrants walking from the US to Canada. Twelve HUGE pipes washed ashore in Norfolk. A Canadian policeman paid for the shirt and tie that a young shoplifter tried to steal for a job interview. The egg scandal spread to 15 EU countries, Switzerland and Hong Kong. Tainted papayas make 100 or so people in the US sick while millions of Yemeni children are suffering from cholera. Train wreck in Egypt. The US president threaten d military intervention in Venezuela. And a Canadian diplomat suffers hearing loss in Cuba because of a sonic weapon. A Danish submarine captain was charged with manslaughter after a Swedish journalist died when the submarine sank. Of course the answers are included. It's an excellent resource for PSHE, Geography, Economics, Social Studies, GATE... There are 3 additional BONUS crossword puzzles - Afghanistan, Albania, and Japan.

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 (August 20th, 2017) is a simple resource made up of a crossword (with answers) based on last week's news events - and THREE bonus crosswords. This week's bonus puzzles focus on Argentina, China, and New Zealand. The World News Crossword is reasonably simple to complete because its purpose is to engage students with their world and some of the many events that affect them. A two-week-old wildfire in Greenland. A terror attack in Barcelona. A baby dolphin killed because of tourists' curiosity. Venezuela went from bad to worse. 3000 Syrians returned home from Lebanon. Saudi Arabia negotiated to rebuild Iraq's cities. The US president used Twitter, again. Floods affected millions of people in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal. A tortoise escaped in Japan. But it's less about what happened last week than why and hopefully, if students work in groups to solve these puzzles, they'll chat among themselves about the stories in the puzzle. Why did Rwandans vote their president back for a third term? Why should Zimbabwe's Grace Mugabe escape prosecution for assaulting a model in a hotel in South Africa? Why is the US investigating China's intellectual property policies? And what's so wrong with an Australian politician holding dual-citizenship?

The World News Crossword (August 27th, 2017) is a simple resource made up of one crossword based on last week's news events and three more crosswords each focussing on a country. This week its Algeria, Azerbaijan, and Japan. And there might even be another crossword for special teachers and their students. The resource is a pdf document so it's quick to download, store on a USB/flash drive, ready to print at a moment's nice. It's ideal then for substitute lessons, PSHE lessons, English, Geography, Economics, Business... Let's be clear, it's a great resource for any subject at almost any level. Students will learn about the world (their world) and some of the events that shaped last week. Why did Brazil open up national reserves to mining companies? Why would a teenager try to smuggle a Bengal tiger cub from Mexico to USA? Will the EU allow Bayer to take over Monsanto? Did the UN really send a warning to the US about racial discrimination? Why were there big storms in Macau and the US? (Oh and it rained in Ireland, but that's not normally news, is it? So why was it news?) The New Zealand men's rugby team beat long-time rivals Australia on the same day that the New Zealand women's rugby team won the World Cup. The ex-governor of the Norfolk Islands recommended Norfolk Island become part of New Zealand and not Australia. Qatar's government passed a law limiting the working hours for domestic staff and India passed a law banning instant divorces. An Australian politician proposed a national day for indigenous Australians - to be on Queen's Birthday. Really?

The World News Crossword - March 18th, 2018 is a 30-45 minute crossword activity based on last week’s news events. There are. 3 additional crosswords in the download (one each on France, New Zealand, and Australia). The World News Crossword encourages accurate and neat handwriting, logic and problem-solving, and research skills. Perhaps it’s less about the crossword and more about the discussion about the news events. Who is Robert Mugabe and why does he refer to a military coup in Zimbabwe? How could a plane drop 200 bars of gold on the runway as it was taking off? Why are only 400 Rohingya people allowed to return to their homes in Myanmar? Why would Saudi Arabia want nuclear weapons? Why would the president of USA tell lies to the prime minister of Canada? And why did the government of Bali block the internet on mobile phones for a whole day?

The World News Crossword - March 25th, 2018 is a simple pdf document that can be downloaded in minutes, saved to a flash drive, ready to be used ‘in a flash!’ There are 4 crosswords in this resource. The main crossword is made from events in last week’s news. Facebook’s value fell by $58 million. No wait, $58 BILLION. Why? India put 11 vigilantes away from life. Why? Australia’s cricket captain cheated. Why? The US probably began a trade war with China. Israel admitted attacking a Syrian nuclear reactor as a warning to Iran. Turkey and the US both sent oil exploration ships to Cyprus. The puzzle is a simple way for students to learn about what happened in the world last week, but it’s even more valuable when it prompts them to discuss why these events occurred. There are 3 more puzzles. One is about France, another is about Austria and the third is all about Egypt. Crosswords are an excellent tool for supporting research skills, logical thinking and problem solving, and of course students have to write neatly. Solutions for all the puzzles are included.

The World News Crossword - August 12th, 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. The World. News Crossword 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…?’ 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 crossword about Burkina Faso because it was in the news last week because of a malaria/bed-net trial that appears to have reduced the infection rate of malaria by 12%, (3) A crossword all about Climate Change, because it’s always in the news despite what Australia’s agriculture minister said, (3) And a crossword about Julius Caesar that can be shared with an English teacher. It’s included because in last week’s news there was a bit of a performance in front of the Trevi Fountain in Rome. All for just £2. So what happened last week? Australia’s agriculture minister said that the drought affecting almost all of Australia has nothing to do with man-made climate change. Excessive monsoon rain caused deaths, wide-spread displacement, and property damage in Kerala. The Swiss government announced measures to help farmers affected by the drought which has been caused by the heatwave in Europe. Two trucks crashed on the highway near Bologna in Italy, a plane crashed near Seattle, and another plane crashed in Indonesia - and a 12 year old boy survived. There was a magnitude 6.2 aftershock near Lombok Island, also in Indonesia. Brazil closed its border to Venezuelans. Singapore trialled eye-scans at its border. And speaking of borders, it seems (based on surveys) that at least 100 constituencies in Britain that previously voted to leave the EU would now vote to remain in the EU. A German man called the police because he was being chased by a baby squirrel. (Tyranny comes in many forms.) In France, crows were trained to collect cigarette butts and exchange them for food. And Christopher Robin was banned from China (the movie, not the boy) - something to do with Winnie the Pooh. All that (and three bonus puzzles) for just £2.

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’.

The World News Crossword - May 6th, 2018 is 4 word puzzles in one easy-to-download and save PDF. The first puzzle is a crossword based on last week’s news events. Lava flowing in Hawaii. Women allowed in Japan’s bull-fighting rings. People traffickers intercepted leaving Sri Lanka. Protests in France and Russia. An election in Lebanon after 10 years. A game keeper attacked by a lion in South Africa. A crack in the core of a nuclear reactor in Scotland. The next two puzzles and Search & Cloze puzzles - an extended passage with words removed and put into a word search grid. The first of these two puzzles is a Brexit explainer, and the second is a discussion about data protection. The fourth puzzle is a crossword about climate change. All of these puzzles encourage research skills, logic and problem solving skills, and even handwriting skills. More significantly each of the puzzles will prompt discussion about the events in the puzzles. Who owns our personal data? Why aren’t firms like Facebook and banks fined when they lose our personal information? Why don’t they even apologise? The Syrian war has been going longer than World War 2. And MH370 is still missing - after 4 years of high-tech. searching, can an airliner still be missing? Why is Russia so concerned about simple street protests? These are xxcellent activities for Business, Economics, Geography, Social Studies, PSHE, ESL, and SEN.

The World News Crossword - May 20th, 2018 is a teaching and learning activity based on the events of last week’s news. There is a crossword on last week’s news events, there are two background/explainer search and cloze puzzles (The Venezuela crisis and Jerusalem), and there is another crossword based on a country mentioned in the news crossword (this week it’s Comoros). What happened in last week’s news? India inaugurated a hydro-electric dam that prompted protests from Pakistan because it affects water flowing into the Indus River. Ebola cases were reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and 4000 vaccine doses arrived in Kinshasa. Comoros’ ex-president was arrested on charges relating to selling citizenship. Malaysia’s ex-PM’s residence was raided of bags of cash and jewelry. A mountain lion killed a mountain biker in the US. Hawaii’s volcano erupted, prompting more evacuations. Australia and the US were the only countries to vote against a UN investigation into the Israeli killings of Palestinians in Gaza. The two background/explainer puzzles aim to teach more about ongoing news stories. This week there is an explanation of why Jerusalem is central to the Middle East troubles. There is also an explanation of Venezuela’s economic and human crisis. These puzzles are excellent for driving students’ research skills. When students work in small groups they learn cooperation and team work. They help with concentration and, of course, handwriting. But best of all, these puzzles generate real-world discussions. The students leave the less asking questions like, ‘Why would North Korea even want nuclear weapons and why does the US care?’ ‘Why does China want a military base in the South China Sea?’ ‘Why have some UK supermarkets added a ‘plastic-free’ label on some products?’