FirstNews ISSUE 275

FirstNews ISSUE 275 9 – 15 SEPTEMBER 2011GLOBAL STORIESFor more world news, pictures and videos go to www.firstnews.co.uk/news11SNIPPETSMelbourne in Australia hasbeen named as the mostliveable city this year, aftertaking over the top spot fromVancouver, Canada.USATake that, bear!What would you do if you saw abear carrying your dog away in itsmouth? Brooke Collins didn’t havetime to think when it happenedto her dachshund, Fudge, so herinstinct took over and she ran upto the bear and punched it on thenose! 22-year-old Collins, fromJuneau, Alaska, said: “It was all sofast. All I could think about was mydog was going to die.”USALucky escapeGettyA Denver school teacher wastaken to hospital after beingstruck by lightning. 56-year-oldChip Wiman was leaning againsta tree to shelter from the rain,but lightning hit the tree andthrew him to the ground. Wimanjoked that his big bum saved himby taking the force of the blast.GettyWorld NewsCanadaMystery continuesAnother human foot has washed upon a Canadian shore, the 11th in fouryears. A young boy found the mostrecent foot floating in False Creek.Early tests suggest that the footdetached naturally from a body thathad been in the water for a long time.It is still unclear why so many feethave washed up in the area.BoliviaTraffic stoppedThe country has held its first everNational Day of the Pedestrian, whichsaw all motorised transport bannedfor 24 hours. The aim was to makepeople aware of the environment,although the government has beencriticised for allowing a motorway tobe built through the rainforest.SwedenPost-it wars spreadThe so-called ‘Post-it wars’ havemoved from France to Sweden.Bored workers have been battlingover who can make the best imagesfrom Post-it notes on their officewindows. Check out a galleryof some of the amazing results,including cool scenes from MarioKart, at www.firstnews.co.uk now!NigeriaDeadly rivalryMore than 50 people have died aspolitical and religious rivalry haserupted into violence. The deathswere mostly in Plateau state,which lies between the Muslimnorth and Christian south of thecountry. Some locals say that thearmy has killed people in theirefforts to control the violence.GermanyHave our money!A group of wealthy Germans hasjoined a growing number of richpeople across Europe and offeredto pay more tax. One of the group,Dieter Lehmkuhl, estimates that thewealthy could add an extra £87.5billion to the German budget overthe next ten years. He says that theincreasing gap between rich andpoor harms society.IraqBomb tollA new study has found that almost12,300 civilians were killed by suicidebombers between 2003-2010. Ofthe known victims, 75% were men,11% were women and 14% werechildren. Suicide bombs accountedfor 11% of the 108,624 civiliandeaths in that time period.RussiaChemical releaseNearly 150 people had to betreated in hospital after brominegas started to leak from afreight train in Chelyabinsk.Most of the victims complainedof irritation to the throat andeyes. Large doses of brominecan cause a range of healthproblems, especially in the lungsand nervous system, althoughofficials insist that no-one wasexposed to such high levels.JapanDeadly typhoonMore than two dozen peoplehave been killed after a powerfultyphoon tore through thewestern side of the country.Typhoon Talas has been themost destructive in the countryfor seven years and resultedin almost half a million peoplebeing evacuated from theirhomes. You can see a report atwww.firstnews.co.uk/news.SNIPPETSCongestion fees will beintroduced for some streetsin Beijing, China, in a bid tocontrol the city’s growing trafficproblem. It is hoped that morepeople will use public transport.GettyGettyA KID’S WORLDName: Tricia Chimbinga Age: 13 Lives: Lusaka, ZambiaA SIMPLE pair of glasses could help Tricia to see properly.“I have problems at school becauseof my sight. Sometimes when theteacher writes on the blackboard Ican’t see, so she writes bigger for me.I sit right at the front in class.”“At home sometimes I can’t seethings I have dropped on the ground,so I can’t pick them up. I have nospecial equipment to help me to seeat the moment. I think that I needglasses, but no-one else has glassesin the school.”“I often fall behind in class but myolder sister helps me to read and writeat home so I can catch up. When I’molder I’d like to be a teacher because Ilove my class teacher.”Now that Sightsavers has foundTricia and tested her eyes, she isgoing to get a pair of glasses soTo find out more about Sightsavers visit www.sightsavers.org/kidzonethat she can see properly.There are millions of children inthe world who are missing out oneducation because they are blind orwho could be helped to see again.Sightsavers is working hard to findthese children and help them. Youcan learn more about our worksupporting children like Tricia atwww.sightsavers.org/kidzone.Kerstin Hacker/Sightsavers