Kid News This Week: The war in Ukraine explained and tips on coping with distressing news

In kid news this week – mobile phones are banned in UK schools in line with European cell phone bans, India’s massive solar and wind park in the salt plains of Gujarat, the world’s biggest cruise ship takes week-long jaunts and Spain’s tiniest escape room creeps us out! All that and more on your wackiest wrap of world news.

Gong xi fa cai, everyone! Say what? Happy Chinese New Year, of course. Hear our Year of the Dragon special with reports from China, Taiwan AND South Korea this year from our team of kid correspondents – find out how their families celebrate the biggest event of their year and the story of the first “monster” that inspired the celebrations! Plus, find out what’s causing the “blood rain” in the United Kingdom and what dust from the Sahara Desert dust has to do with it. And hear how a town in Italy is using DNA for a “poop patrol” to locate and fine lazy pet owners.

In world news for kids (and adults!) this week… India sees the grand opening of the new Ram Temple in Ayodhya, but not everyone is happy – we dive deep to explain why. Also, a major discovery is found hidden beneath the Amazon rainforest – not just remains of the Upano people, but – thanks to laser technology – it’s discovered they were a vast and sophisticated civilization. And did you have any idea how dirty fast-food fumes can be, never mind posh cooking in big, fancy kitchens too? Well, some clever scientists in Sweden have an innovative solution – the Lepido device – for upcycling food fumes. And in Britain a zoo tries – again – to stop foul-mouthed parrots from creating a naughty pandemonium!

Happy Lohri and Pongal, everyone! No idea what those are? Never fear – this is your round-up of South Asia’s winter sun harvest festivals. Plus, scientist find miracle volcanic clay caused ice ages and in strict Singapore cats finally get credibility and can be pets in public housing after all. All that and more this week on the best news pod for kids, Newsy Pooloozi!

Also – did you hear our call-out last week? We’re expanding our team and accepting applications for MORE kid correspondents from anywhere all over the world – as long as you speak clear (and enthusiastic!) English and are curious about the world! Send us a voice note stating your name, where you’re from and where you live now (if they’re different) along with the answers to these three questions: What do you like doing in your spare time, what is your favorite class in school and which Newsy Pooloozi story has stuck with you the longest? Send the voice note to contact@newsypooloozi.com  and we’ll be in touch. We’re also looking for any older kids or adults who’d like to join our content writing team and/or our social media team. Drop us a line if so! 

Hello and happy new year, everyone! Firstly, we want to say THANK YOU for being such dedicated, steadfast listeners to our wacky world news podcast! It’s a lot of work but a labor of love we’re not ready to give up. However… we ARE going to make some changes to our output in 2024, so have a listen to our special announcement to find out the details. More importantly, we are also opening applications for new kid correspondents and writers to join the Newsy Pooloozi team so we can keep this international curiosity club going! Listen for more details and write to us at contact@newsypooloozi.com if you're interested.

As we get ready to dive into a new year, we wanted to look back at the past 12 months – the highs and lows – of news and current events. Yes, we’re talking about the Best of our Big New Stories – from the heavy stories of war and natural disasters to many stories of progress and hope. And, well, ChaptGPT which sits somewhere in the middle of it all, doesn’t it? Enjoy the reflection – we’ll be back with regular world news (the big, the wacky and all that in between) soon!

As a little holiday gift, we bring you... laughter, of course. Yes, have a listen to the wackiest world news stories from the last 12 months in this Best of Oddball round-up episode. It's guaranteed to make you smile more than once!

It's that time of year for our Best Of's - listen back to our best nature and animal stories of 2023! From the resurrection of the wholly mammoth to giraffes that do math, squirrels that sniff out more than nuts, goats that help fight fires and why chimpanzees gesture - this is the best wrap of wacky world animal stories you'll hear anywhere. Plus have you heard the beautiful - if not a little weird - sounds of the ocean? Or the giant seaweed blob that was headed for Florida? And if none of that appeals - two words: cat vaccine. But this revolutionary innovation is for your cat to take, not you! 

In kid news this week… Good news on the environment and innovation front - natural resources are being used to capture nasty carbon dioxide - from using limestone to suck it up in California to Italy’s cyanobacteria that likes to snack on it. Also, the latest dinosaur news in both Brazil and Mongolia, the history and wonder of Germany’s Christmas markets (Weihnachtsmarkt!) and China’s sleepy students lean into that doozy post-launch feeling with the help of new desk-beds!

In world news this week… Wild “super pigs” are on the rampage in North America, bears are on attack in rural Japan, blue whales return home to the Indian Ocean and a green mamba venomous snake is on the loose in the Netherlands - all that and more this week!