Usa Ethiopia New Zealand Germany Peru

Article Analysis FirstNews Issue 753 20 – 26 November 2020 WORLD NEWS VIETNAM USA President Trump won’t give up President Donald Trump has refused to admit that he lost the US Getty election, despite the fact that Joe Biden secured 306 electoral college

votes, many more than the 270 needed to win. Mr Trump claims that Mr Getty Biden cheated, even tweeting: “He won because the election was rigged.” Lawyers working for the president have tried to fight the result, but their claims have been thrown out by courts in several states due to a lack of evidence. However, President Trump continues to claim that he New trading group won the election. President-elect Biden has said that Mr Trump’s refusal to accept the election Fifteen countries, including China, result is “embarrassing”, but that Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and it is not “slowing down” his work Australia, have agreed to become a before he officially becomes ETHIOPIA part of the Regional Comprehensive president on 20 January 2021. Economic Partnership (RCEP) at a Conflict worsens virtual summit hosted by Vietnam. Ethiopia may be on the brink The RCEP is the largest free trade

Getty of a civil war, after fighting agreement in the world, and will PERU between two groups got mean that the 15 countries involved worse. Hundreds have will be able to trade together much already died during fighting more easily. The agreement has taken between the country’s eight years of work to create. Almost

Getty government forces, led by a third of all the world’s economic Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, activity (things that involve money and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). Both or the exchange of products) will groups accuse each other of starting the fighting, be covered by the new RCEP trade but there has been tension between them since Abiy agreement. Ahmed came to power in 2018. Thousands have already fled into neighbouring Sudan. Abiy Ahmed was awarded the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize for his NEW ZEALAND Hat-trick of work in ending a 20-year conflict between presidents Ethiopia and Eritrea. Peru’s Congress (parliament) has voted to remove President Martín Vizcarra, after he was accused of bribery. The leader of Congress, Manuel Merino (above), was then made president, but huge protests broke out, during which two protesters died. In response to the violence Getty in the streets, Manuel Merino quit the job and called for “peace and unity”. Francisco Sagasti was then made Peru’s third president in a week.

GERMANY Masks back on Celebrating couch potatoes With just one new case of COVID-19 in A new advert from the German government shows an Auckland, New Zealand’s government elderly man looking back on the winter of 2020. Talking has called for the city’s citizens to wear to the camera, he says: “The fate of this country lay in a mask when on public transport, and

Bundesregierung/YouTube our hands, so we mustered all our courage and did what to work from home where possible. was expected of us, the only right thing. We did nothing. The elderly man in The country has very nearly stamped Absolutely nothing.” The advert is one of three, which all the advert looks back out all cases of the disease twice show people celebrating their laziness to stop the spread on the winter of 2020 before, and says that the response is of the coronavirus. out of “an abundance of caution”. Article Analysis FirstNews Issue 753 20 – 26 November 2020 Questions on: World News

Part A: Find and explain the facts

A1. Which country is each headline associated with?

Hat-trick of presidents

President Trump won’t give up

New trading group

Conflict worsens

Celebrating couch potatoes

Masks back on

A2. Peru has had three presidents in a week. Name them in order.

A3. Summarise the story that goes with the headline: “President Trump won’t give up”.

A4. What is the RCEP?

A5. Describe the conflict in Ethiopia.

Part B: Deduce and infer information B1. Why has Peru had three presidents in a week?

B2. Why is the RCEP significant?

B3. Why is there mention of the fact that Abiy Ahmed was awarded the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize?

B4. Why is laziness being celebrated in Germany?

Part C: Analyse the writing and presentation C1. Comment on the use of the noun “hat-trick” in the headline: “Hat-trick of presidents”.

C2. What is the purpose of the stories on the World News page?

C3. Have a look at the Home News page. If you had to choose one of those stories to be the story for the UK on the World News page, which story would you choose, and why? Article Analysis FirstNews Issue 753 20 – 26 November 2020 Questions on: World News

Part A: Find and explain the facts

A1. Which country is each headline associated with?

Hat-trick of presidents

President Trump won’t give up

New trading group

Conflict worsens

Celebrating couch potatoes

Masks back on

A2. Peru has had three presidents in a week. Name them in order.

......

A3. Summarise the story that goes with the headline: “President Trump won’t give up”.

......

A4. What is the RCEP?

......

A5. Describe the conflict in Ethiopia.

......

...... Article Analysis FirstNews Issue 753 20 – 26 November 2020 Questions on: World News

......

Part B: Deduce and infer information B1. Why has Peru had three presidents in a week?

......

B2. Why is the RCEP significant?

......

B3. Why is there mention of the fact that Abiy Ahmed was awarded the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize?

......

...... Article Analysis FirstNews Issue 753 20 – 26 November 2020

B4. Why is laziness being celebrated in Germany?

......

Part C: Analyse the writing and presentation C1. Comment on the use of the noun “hat-trick” in the headline: “Hat-trick of presidents”.

......

...... Article Analysis FirstNews Issue 753 20 – 26 November 2020

......

C2. What is the purpose of the stories on the World News page?

......

C3. Have a look at the Home News page. If you had to choose one of those stories to be the story for the UK on the World News page, which story would you choose, and why?

......

...... 6. HOME NEWS FirstNews Issue 753 20 – 26 November 2020

G e tt y SCOTLAND MORECAMBE Ancient ammuniti on Green scheme Amateur archaeologists have A northern version of the Eden discovered a hoard of ammuniti on Project is set to regenerate the more than 250 years old. The 215 seaside town of Morecambe if £125 musket balls were found alongside million can be found to fund new gold and silver butt ons and coins near plans. Built on the site of a former the shores of Loch nan Uamh. It’s swimming pool called Bubbles, the thought they arrived by boat in 1746 new centre will be a year-round and were sent to Bonnie Prince Charlie desti nati on appealing to every age. to help his army ﬁ ght government It is expected to att ract a million forces. However, they arrived two visitors and create many jobs. It weeks aft er the Jacobites were could have environmental and

defeated at the Batt le of Culloden G e tt y social beneﬁ ts, and bring money and were hidden away instead. into the area aft er this pandemic. STAFFORDSHIRE LEICESTER Christmas queues Shoppers searching for Christmas trees

G e tt y caused huge traffi c jams outside a garden centre in Leicester. The eff ect of COVID lockdowns and the prospect of a very diff erent Christmas Day have driven people to look for some early Christmas cheer. Garden centres have remained open during lockdown, but they are only supposed to sell essenti als. For some, a Christmas tree in November is clearly an essenti al! EAST SUSSEX

Disney defendants Lawyers in Stoke-on-Trent were surprised to discover that some classic cartoon characters were due to arrive in court. Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Buzz Lightyear were G e tt y some of the names that appeared on a list of defendants to face the judge. Rubik’s results Thankfully, the animated favourites Chris Mills from East Hoathly was hadn’t really turned to a life of crime! a winner at the Rubik’s Cube World Their names had been used to test an Cup. The 18-year-old won gold in the upgrade to a computer system and Re-scramble event. Given a solved should have been deleted before the cube, competi tors have to match one courtroom lists were published. Also that has been randomly scrambled. scheduled to appear were Captain It’s not easy, as there are 43 quinti llion Hook and Cruella de Vil – at least possible combinati ons (that’s 43 you might expect those two to be followed by 18 zeroes). Chris took in trouble with the law! just 17.57 seconds to solve it! PEMBROKESHIRE COAST WILTSHIRE Windfarm for Wales Road tunnel approved

Nearly 90,000 homes in Wales could be G e tt y A new dual carriageway tunnel near the supplied with electricity from a fl oati ng famous Stonehenge monument has been wind farm. The Erebus project could help given the go-ahead by the Government. meet Welsh climate targets by supplying The Nati onal Trust and some local renewable power. Seven to ten turbines residents are in favour, as it should constructed around 28 miles (45km) off reduce traffi c jams on the A303. Others, the coast of Pembrokeshire would provide including environmental campaigners and electricity via an undersea cable. Members archaeologists, are against the two-mile

G e tt y of the public are being asked for their (3.2km) road. It’s claimed that up to half opinions over the next month. a million buried artefacts could be lost. Article Analysis FirstNews Issue 753 20 – 26 November 2020 Teacher Answers

AIM OF THE NEWS COMPREHENSIONS: News reports are unique non-fiction texts. Being real, they naturally engage students, and with the range of topics that are covered, help to develop pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the wider world outside the classroom. The reports are ideal for short, focused comprehension or discussion activities. Along with the opportunity to find fascinating facts and appreciate the opinions of those involved, there is plenty to be inferred and deduced to understand in more depth what is being reported. Like authors, journalists play with language, so news ‘stories’ are rich nuggets of text to investigate and provide the opportunity for literacy programmes. TEACHER ANSWER GUIDE: The teacher answers are intended to provide a guide to the reading skill each question is practising. Suggestions are given for a starting point for responses that students would be expected to give at the start of KS3. Further suggestions then give fuller, more developed responses that students will work towards by the end of KS3, in preparation for the non-fiction elements of GCSE English language.

Part A A1. Which country is each headline associated with? READING SKILL — Find and explain information Possible answer Expected response

Hat-trick of presidents Peru

President Trump won’t give up USA

New trading group Vietnam

Conflict worsens Ethiopia

Celebrating couch potatoes Germany

Masks back on New Zealand

A2. Peru has had three presidents in a week. Name them in order. READING SKILL — Find and explain information Possible answer Expected response ● Martín Vizcarra ● Manuel Merino ● Francisco Sagasti

A3. Summarise the story which goes with the headline: “President Trump won’t give up”. READING SKILL — Find and explain information Possible answer Starting point ● President Donald Trump has refused to admit that he lost the US election. Development ● Joe Biden needed 270 electoral college votes to win and he secured 306. However, Mr Trump claims that Mr Biden cheated. Trump’s lawyers have tried to fight the result, but their claims have been thrown out by courts in several states due to a lack of evidence. President-elect Biden has said that this is not “slowing down” his work before he officially becomes president on 20 January 2021.

A4. What is the RCEP? READING SKILL — Find and explain information Possible answer Starting point ● The RCEP is the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. Development ● It is a free trade agreement, and will mean that the 15 countries involved will be able to trade together much more easily. Article Analysis FirstNews Issue 753 20 – 26 November 2020 A5. Describe the conflict in Ethiopia. READING SKILL — Find and explain information Possible answer Starting point ● There are fears that Ethiopia may be on the brink of a civil war due to fighting between the country’s government forces, led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. Development ● Both groups accuse each other of starting the fighting, but there has been tension between them since Abiy Ahmed came to power in 2018. Hundreds of people have already died and thousands have fled to neighbouring Sudan.

Part B B1. Why has Peru had three presidents in a week? READING SKILL — Infer information and justify with evidence from the text Possible answer Starting point ● Peru has had three presidents in a week because of accusations of corruption, and protests. Development ● Peru’s Congress voted to remove President Martin Vizcarra after he was accused of bribery. However, when the leader of Congress, Manuel Merino was made president instead, huge protests broke out and two protesters died. Consequently, Merino quit the job. Francisco Sagasti was then made Peru’s third president in a week.

B2. Why is the RCEP significant? READING SKILL — Infer information and justify with evidence from the text Possible answer Starting point ● The RCEP is significant because it is the largest free trade agreement in the world. Development ● Almost a third of all the world’s economic activity will be covered by the new RCEP trade agreement and it is hoped that it will help the economies of the countries involved to recover from the coronavirus pandemic. The RCEP has taken eight years of work to create. This shows that it has been a complicated agreement to negotiate and that it is significant because those involved must believe that it is worthwhile.

B3. Why is there mention of the fact that Abiy Ahmed was awarded the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize? READING SKILL — Infer information and justify with evidence from the text Possible answer Starting point ● There is mention of the fact that Abiy Ahmed was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize because Ethiopia is now in the middle of serious conflict while under his leadership as prime minister. Development ● This could be being mentioned because it is ironic that just a year after Ahmed won the prize he couldn’t even maintain peace within his own country. Or, it could be being mentioned to end the story on a more positive note. Perhaps if Ahmed was able to end a 20-year conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea, then he will be able to help end the conflict within Ethiopia before it breaks into full civil war.

B4. Why is laziness being celebrated in Germany? READING SKILL — Infer information and justify with evidence from the text Possible answer Starting point ● Laziness is being celebrated in Germany as a way of helping to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Development ● Laziness is usually considered to be a negative trait. However, a new advert from the German government suggests that doing “absolutely nothing” is necessary at the moment in order to halt the virus. References to “the fate of this country” and the need to muster “all our courage” are associated with war, and war usually requires action to be taken. However, the advert shows that in this war against the virus, people need to have the courage and patience to be inactive. They are being given an excuse to be lazy and are being asked to see it as a positive thing.

B5. New Zealand’s government has called for the citizens of Auckland to wear a mask on public transport, and to work from home where possible. Why has this been referred to as “an abundance of caution”? READING SKILL — Infer information and justify with evidence from the text Possible answer Starting point ● The new guidelines on the wearing of masks in Auckland have been referred to as “an abundance of caution” because there is just one new case of COVID-19 there. Article Analysis FirstNews Issue 753 20 – 26 November 2020

Development ● If there is an “abundance” of something then it means that there is a lot of it. Therefore, New Zealand’s government is aware that it might be being overly cautious. As there is only one person with the virus in the whole of the country, some people might argue that the new rules about the wearing of masks in Auckland are unnecessary. However, the country has nearly stamped out all cases of the disease twice before, and it did so by taking early and hard action to tackle the virus. As their approach has been successful in the past, the government wouldn’t want to take any chances regarding this new case of infection. By admitting that they are responding to the new case with “an abundance of caution” the government would be wanting to reassure people that there is no need to panic about the reintroduction of masks because it is just precautionary.

Part C C1. Comment on the use of the noun “hat-trick” in the headline: “Hat-trick of presidents”. READING SKILL — Recognise effect of language choices Possible answer Starting point ● The noun “hat-trick” is used to show that there have been three presidents in quick succession. Development ● However, the noun is more commonly used in the world of sport. For example, in football it refers to the scoring of three goals in a game and in cricket it refers to the taking of three wickets by the same bowler with successive balls. As a hat- trick in sport is quite rare, the use of the word in the headline highlights how unusual it is for there to have been so many presidents in just a week. However, whereas a hat-trick in sport is considered a special achievement, the story of the three presidents is based on corruption and violence, so is not a very positive occurrence at all.

C2. What is the purpose of the stories on the World News page? READING SKILL — Understand writer’s intent Possible answer Starting point ● The stories on the World News page are written to inform. Development ● The stories all clearly tell the reader something and contain facts. The stories on the World news page are concise because they are intended to be read together in order to provide a snapshot of what is going on around the world.

C3. Have a look at the Home News page. If you had to choose one of those stories to be the story for the UK on the World News page, which story would you choose, and why? READING SKILL — Develop opinions and provide justifications for view points Possible answer Starting point ● I would include the story about Morecambe’s ‘green scheme’ to represent the UK on the World News page. Development ● This news story is positive because it is about plans to build a northern version of the Eden project in the seaside town of Morecambe. The Eden project is an environmental complex and the northern project will focus on the marine environment. The fact that it is going to be built on the site of a former swimming pool called “Bubbles” adds interest. Also, the focus is on how the project could have environmental and social benefits. Environmental and social issues are of interest globally, especially as we are in the middle of a global pandemic. Therefore, I think that people around the world would be encouraged by this story. (Award an alternative answer if a convincing argument is provided.)