23 April 2022 • The Week Junior 3
B
ridges made out of the living roots of trees
have been put forward for UNESCO’s World
Heritage List. UNESCO is the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organisation. The World Heritage
List protects parts of the world
that are of “outstanding
universal value to humanity”.
The root bridges are in the
Meghalaya region of north-
east India. It gets lots of rainfall
and is one of the wettest areas
on Earth, which creates lots of
lakes, rivers and waterfalls, making
it difficult to build roads. However, for
hundreds of years, the local Khasi people have
been growing root bridges across rivers and streams
to make it easier for them to move around the area.The bridges are made by stretching the roots of
living trees over the river and winding them around
bamboo structures to guide them in the right
direction. The roots can take up to 20
years to grow into a complete bridge.
The Indian government has
suggested Meghalaya’s root
bridges should be recognised as
a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
This means they will get special
recognition – just like Egypt’s
pyramids or the Great Barrier
Reef in Australia – which should
attract more tourists and money
to the area. Morningstar Khongthaw
from Meghalaya, told The Guardian
newspaper, “We want to multiply this knowledge so
that future generations benefit.”IT’S AN AMAZING WEEK FOR...
A NEWBORN SEA EAGLE
The hatching of a wild white-tailed sea eagle
has been caught on camera in the UK for the
first time. The hatching, which took place in
a nature reserve in Scotland, was filmed by a
camera that was hidden three metres away
from the nest, to avoid disturbing the birds.Bridges’ world heritage bid
ON THE COVER: REX SHUTTERSTOCK · GETTY IMAGES. ON THIS PAGE: GETTY IMAGES · REX SHUTTERSTOCK · MOJ/GOV.UK · ALAMY · JARED WHIPPLE · RSPB SCOTLAND
Protests against rising
costs in Sri Lanka
FINDING ART IN A BIN
Jared Whipple from Connecticut, in the US,
is set to make lots of money after he found
hundreds of valuable works of art in a large
bin. The paintings and drawings, by the artist
Francis Hines, could be worth millions of
pounds at auction.A YOUNG DARTS PLAYER
On 10 April, 18-year-old Beau Greaves,
a darts player from Doncaster, England,
became the youngest person to win a world
championship in the sport. Five years ago,
aged 13, Greaves had predicted that she
would one day win, saying, “I think anybody’s
beatable. Any girl can play darts.”Protesters in
Sri Lanka.Living root bridges in
Meghalaya, India.The Pyramids,
in Egypt.S
ri Lanka, an island nation in South Asia, is facing
an economic crisis with food shortages and rising
prices. The country is also suffering from frequent
power cuts that often last for several hours a day.
Many people blame the president, Gotabaya
Rajapaksa, for the crisis, and thousands have
protested in the city of Colombo to demand
that he quit his job. Food has become 30% more
expensive than a year ago, which means that
many Sri Lankans cannot afford enough to eat. Fuel
shortages mean that drivers have to wait for hours at
petrol stations and buses often can’t complete their
journeys. Exams were even cancelled because schools
did not have enough paper.
The crisis happened because Sri Lanka’s foreign
currency reserves (the money it has in other countries’
currencies, such as the British pound) are running out.
This means Sri Lanka is struggling to buy goods, such
as fuel, food and medicine, from other countries.
On 19 April police clashed with protesters in the
town of Rambukkana. Protesters were angry after Sri
Lanka’s main fuel company put up prices by almost
65%. One person died and 14 people were injured in
the clashes.Whipple (left) with
one of the works.Proud
parents.Greaves
celebrates.This week’s big news
ANCIENT
ROOTS
Some living root bridges
have been in place for
more than 600 years.Banca do Antfer
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