Police search for missing girl in Wales

Police and volunteers are searching for a five-year-old girl who went missing on Monday night.

April Jones was playing with friends near her house in a village near Powys in Wales when she disappeared.
Around 200 volunteers have spent the night searching streets and nearby woodlands looking for her.
She was reportedly last seen getting into a grey van. Police are speaking to the children she was playing with to find out exactly what happened.
Police have arrested a 46-year-old man who they hope will be able to help in their investigation. (CBBC Newsround)

Great Barrier Reef loses half of its coral

Australia's Great Barrier Reef is disappearing, according to new research.

The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system covering a mega 1,600 miles along Australia's north east coast.
But scientists have found that than half of it has been destroyed in the past 27 years.
They think that a mixture of bad storms, rising sea temperatures and coral eating starfish is to blame.

Researchers in Australia, who carried out the report, are worried that the coral cover could halve again by 2022 if things don't change.

Coral can recover from damage but it can take up to 20 years for it to get back to full health.
The team are going to try and stop the coral being eaten by crown-of-thorns starfish, who they think are responsible for destroying almost half of the reef.
Coral reefs are an important part of the marine ecosystem, they provide food and act as protection for young fish to hide in. (CBBC Newsround)

Halloween

Ordering food

Shakira is pregnant

Shakira is 'very happy' to announce that she is expecting a baby.
This will be the first child for the Grammy Award-winning Colombian superstar and her beau professional soccer player for FC Barcelona Gerard Pique.
In light of the good news Shakira, 35, will take a little break from her singing commitments.
"As some of you may know, Gerard and I are very happy awaiting the arrival of our first baby!' she wrote on her Facebook page.
'At this time we have decided to give priority to this unique moment in our lives and postpone all the promotional activities planned over the next few days. This means I will not be able to be a part of the iHeartRadio Music Festival, but I''m sure this weekend in Las Vegas will be spectacular and I will be closely following everything that happens there! I''d like to thank Clear Channel and my fans for their constant love and understanding."
(Music-News.com)

Organic Food No More Nutritious

Scientists have revealed that organic and non-organic food contain pretty much the same amounts and kinds of vitamins and other nutrients. This might be surprising news for those of us who choose to buy organic believing it to be healthier. Researchers from America's Stanford University concluded that there might not be any extra health benefits to buying organic, thus people might be better off saving their money and buying non-organic produce. Lead researcher Dr Crystal Smith-Spangle said there was no difference in the vitamin content in fruit, vegetables, meat and dairy products in organically- and conventionally-produced food. She said the only difference was slightly more phosphorus in the organic products.
Dr Smith-Spangle's review of over 200 different reports on organic food suggests people should perhaps revise their shopping choices, based on the levels of pesticides. Smith Spangler said both organic and conventional foods rarely exceeded the allowable limits for pesticides in the USA. She said the evidence wasn't too clear on whether the difference in pesticides would have an effect on health. She concluded by saying consumers should know there is overwhelming evidence that eating fruit and vegetables is good for your health, so people should eat more fresh produce, whether it is organic or conventional. Organic foods accounted for $31 billion in sales in the USA last year, up from $3.6 billion in 1997. (Breaking News English Lessons)

Soldier's surprise baby birth in Afghanistan

A British soldier who didn't know she was pregnant has given birth to a baby boy at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan.

The woman, who worked with front-line troops, only found out she was pregnant when she had stomach pains.
She went to medics on camp and they told her it was because she was in labour and about to give birth.
A statement from the The Ministry of Defence(MOD), which employs the armed forces, said: "Mother and baby are both in a stable condition."
Normally, if a soldier is pregnant, the MOD wouldn't allow them to work in a dangerous environment like Afghanistan.
The MOD said: "It is not military policy to allow servicewomen to deploy on operations if they are pregnant. In this instance the MOD was unaware of her pregnancy."
A team of medics from an Oxford hospital is being flown out to Afghanistan to help the new mum and baby on their flight home to the UK.
It was discovered the baby was born five weeks premature.
This is the first time a front line British soldier has given birth.  (CBBC Newsround)

Large demonstration in Madrid against the Government's policies

It's estimated that there were 50,000-65,000 at the protest organised by the unions and other organiations.

The march and demonstration organised by the unions CCOO, UGT on Saturday saw tens of thousands on the street in protest at the Government’s economy policy and the cuts in health and education.
The Madrid Government says there was between 50,000 and 65,000 protestors on the streets.
There was a festive atmosphere, not so when demonstrators tried to access Calle Génova where the main Partido Popular headquartes are located .Police cordons set up in the road stopped them.
Some of the demonstrators were detained for not supplying their identification.
La Cumbre Social demanded that the Government put any rescue to a referendum, and the unions also asked for a referendum or they said there would be a General Strike. (typicallyspanish.com)