The Week Junior - USA (2021-11-12)

6 The Week Junior • November 12, 2021

Around the world

Yucatan, Mexico
Rare canoe found
An extremely rare wooden canoe believed to be more than
1,000 years old has been found nearly completely intact in a
freshwater pool known as a cenote. Measuring a little over 5
feet long , the boat is thought to have been used by the Maya,
a group of people that originated in Central America and
were the main civilization from about 250 AD to 900 AD. The
boat was found by builders working on a rail project.

Sicily, Italy

Rare hurricane causes fl ooding

A rare Mediterranean hurricane, known as a Medicane, hit

the island of Sicily, causing mass fl ooding and torrential rain.

Sicily’s President Nello Musumeci confi rmed that two people

died in the extreme weather and one was missing. Streets in

the city of Catania resembled rivers, as the area experienced

as much rain in 48 hours as it would typically get in a year.

Switzerland

Bikinis no longer required

Under a new rule from the International Handball

Federation, based in Switzerland, women’s beach

handball players will no longer be required to

compete in bikinis. Instead, players can wear fi tted

tank tops and shorts. Norway’s women’s team was

fi ned more than $1,700 for competing in shorts in

July. News of the fi ne sparked worldwide outrage.

Paris, France

Government to return treasures

The French government has agreed to return its

Abomey treasures to the West African country of Benin.

France controlled Benin for many years, until it gained

independence in 1960. Soldiers looted (stole) the treasures

from the Royal Palace of Abomey in what is now Benin. The

items, which include royal thrones and wooden statues, are

being transferred to Benin’s Ouidah Museum of History.

West Antarctica

Glacier named

Scientists named a glacier “Glasgow”

after the Scottish city where the

COP26 climate conference is taking

place (see p2). They want it to serve

as a reminder of the importance of

taking action to address the planet’s

environmental problems. The glacier

is an area where the ice is melting

fast due to rising sea temperatures

brought on by climate change (the

long-term changes in weather

patterns, including temperature,

largely due to human activities).

A fl ooded

street in Sicily

The stolen

statues

The wooden

canoe discovery

Melting ice

in Antarctica

Norway’s beach

handball team in shorts