Mugabe’s party intimidate voters

This week's news item, adapted for MEC from a news article originally published in the Guardian Weekly, is about Zimbabwe's recent presidential and parliamentary elections and reports that Robert Mugabe’s party have tried to intimidate voters before an election runoff.

Go to the News Items section on your Work Area screen to find out more about the reported intimidation of voters and the possible outcomes of the election in Zimbabwe.

May word games

This month’s Witch's Pot topics are 'vegetables' (Easy), 'materials' (Average) and 'nouns connected with happiness' (Difficult).

The Swamp Disaster topics are 'How many legs?' (Easy), 'sports and games' (Average) and 'government and politics' (Difficult).

The Wordsearch topics are 'fruit' (Easy), 'musical instruments' (Average) and 'verbs related to light' (Difficult).

There are new Crosswords and Bridge Builders at all levels too.

Visit the Word Games area to find them all.

Scientists identify biggest challenges of the future

This week's news item, adapted for MEC from a news article originally published in the Guardian Weekly, is about a study looking at the biggest technological challenges of the next 50 years.

Go to the News Items section on your Work Area screen to find out what the challenges are and how they can be met.

Great green land grab

This week's news item, adapted for MEC from a news article originally published in the Guardian Weekly, is about the growth of private conservation, where people buy land to protect it from environmental destruction.

Go to the News Items section on your Work Area screen to find out about the effects this type of conservation may have on the environment.

You could also ask students to find out about the following organizations mentioned in the news item and what they do:

Forest Peoples Programme

Wildlands project

Barricades come down in Cyprus

This week's news item, adapted for MEC from a news article originally published in the Guardian Weekly, is about the dismantling of barricades that divided Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus.

Go to the News Items section on your Work Area screen to find out what this could mean for the future of the island.

You could direct students to the following web link for a summary of the recent history of Cyprus:

BBC Country profiles - Cyprus

Will nanotechnology change the way we eat?

This week's news item, adapted for MEC from a news article originally published in the Guardian Weekly, is about nanotechnology, which could be used to transform the way we eat.

Go to the News Items section on your Work Area screen to find out more about nanotechnology and nanofood.

Three-country plan to save gorillas

This week's news item, adapted for MEC from a news article originally published in the Guardian Weekly, is about Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo working together to help save the endangered mountain gorilla.

Go to the News Items section on your Work Area screen to find out more about the plan to save the gorillas.

April word games

This month's Witch's Pot topics are 'names of continents and oceans' (Easy), 'items in the office' (Average) and 'parts of a car' (Difficult).

The Swamp Disaster topics are 'education' (Easy), 'space' (Average) and 'words that follow 'do' (Difficult).

The Wordsearch topics are 'shapes' (Easy), 'verbs related to liking and disliking' (Average) and 'words connected with newspapers' (Difficult).

There are new Crosswords and Bridge Builders at all levels too.

Visit the Word Games area to find them all.

Scientists pioneer mind-reading technique

This week's news item, adapted for MEC from a news article originally published in the Guardian Weekly, is about a new computer technique that can tell what someone is looking at just by scanning their brain.

Go to the Headline News section on your Work Area screen to find out more about the mind-reading technique and its potential uses.

British media keeps quiet over Prince Harry's deployment

This week's news item, adapted for MEC from a news article originally published in the Guardian Weekly, is about Prince Harry's deployment in Afghanistan as a member of the British army and the media blackout in Britain surrounding the story.

Go to the Headline News section on your Work Area screen to find out more about Prince Harry's deployment and the British media's reaction to it.

UN cannot feed the world

This week's news item, adapted for MEC from a news article originally published in the Guardian Weekly, is about The United Nations' World Food Programme.

Go to the Headline News section on your Work Area screen to find out why the UN cannot afford to feed as many starving people as usual this year.

You many find it helpful to direct your students to the following website for more information on the World Food Programme. United Nations' World Food Programme

March word games

This month's Witch's Pot topics are 'school subjects' (Easy), 'verbs of movement' (Average) and 'verbs meaning going up or going down' (Difficult).

The Swamp Disaster topics are 'countryside and coast' (Easy), 'in the city' (Average) and 'media and arts' (Difficult).

The Wordsearch topics are 'countries' (Easy), 'the internet' (Average) and 'adjectives describing texture' (Difficult).

As usual, there are new Crosswords and Bridge Builders at all levels too.

Visit the Word Games area to find them all.

Global meltdown

This week's news item, adapted for MEC from a news article originally published in the Guardian Weekly, is about a report by scientists ranking the regions in the world that are most vulnerable from the effects of climate change.

Go to the Headline News section on your Work Area screen to discover more about which places are under threat and why.

This week's news item, adapted for MEC from a news article originally published in the Guardian Weekly, is about the World Bank's global economic report for 2008.

Go to the Headline News section on your Work Area screen to find out why developing countries are taking the lead.

This week's news item, adapted for MEC from a news article originally published in the Guardian Weekly, is about services in Japan which reunite couples months, and even years, after they've separated.

Go to the Headline News section on your Work Area screen to find out more about this story.

February word games

This month's Witch's Pot topics are 'months of the year' (Easy), 'words relating to computers' (Average) and 'words relating to the theatre' (Difficult).

The Swamp Disaster topics are 'sporting terms' (Easy), 'clothing and jewellery' (Average) and 'travel and tourism' (Difficult).

The Wordsearch topics are 'numbers' (Easy), 'words relating to water' (Average) and 'scientific words' (Difficult).

As usual, there are new Crosswords and Bridge Builders at all levels too.

Visit the Word Games area to find them all.

This week's news item, adapted for MEC from a news article originally published in the Guardian Weekly, is about China and other countries' plans to ban plastic bags in an attempt to reduce littering.

Go to the Headline News section on your Work Area screen to find out more about this story.

News items

This week's news item, adapted for MEC from a news article originally published in the Guardian Weekly, is about new hope for the political crisis in Kenya.

Go to the Headline News section on your Work Area screen to find out more about the disputes and the proposed negotiations.

You might want to encourage your students to do some background research on the African Union and what they do. The following website may be useful. African Union

MEC Editor Sarah Cumming writes:

News items

This week's news item, adapted for MEC from a news article originally published in the Guardian Weekly, is about studies in evolutionary biology.

Go to the Headline News section on your Work Area screen to find out why some scientists believe that humans continue to evolve and others believe that natural selection is no longer important.

You might want to encourage your students to find out more about evolutionary theories. The following websites may be useful:

Evolution

Understanding evolution

MEC Senior Editor, Jeremy Smith, writes:

News items

This week's news item, adapted for MEC from a news article originally published in the Guardian Weekly, is about the overpopulation of elephants in South Africa.

Go to the Headline News section on your Work Area screen to find out why there are too many elephants and the possible solutions to the problem.

You could also direct your students to the following websites of organizations mentioned in the news item:

Kruger National Park 

Welgevonden Game Reserve 

Please also check out the news item for 1 January on the crisis in Darfur.

January word games

This month's Witch's Pot topics are 'words relating to the classroom' (Easy), 'types of scenery' (Average) and 'adjectives describing scenery '(Difficult).

The Swamp Disaster topics are 'describing children'(Easy), 'clothing' (Average) and 'words that follow "make"' (Difficult).

The Wordsearch topics are 'things in the kitchen' (Easy), 'animals' (Average) and 'adjectives describing furniture' (Difficult).

As usual, there are new Crosswords and Bridge Builders at all levels too.

Visit the Word Games area to find them all.

This week's news item, adapted for MEC from a news article originally published in the Guardian Weekly, is about Mongolia and a gold mining boom that is taking place there.

Go to the Headline News section on your Work Area screen to learn more about the gold mining and the effects of the boom.

New item for the Christmas period will be:

• Health Train - 25th December

Iran is not nuclear

This week's news item, adapted for MEC from a news article originally published in the Guardian Weekly, is about a surprise report by US intelligence agencies which states that Iran stopped its nuclear weapons programme in 2003. Go to the Headline News section on your Work Area screen to learn more about the report and its consequences.

The MEC word games for December are available now!

This month's Witch's Pot topics are 'adjectives to describe a restaurant' (Easy), 'words that follow "self-"' (Average) and 'past participles to follow "I had my hair"' (Difficult).

The Swamp Disaster topics are 'the natural world' (Easy), 'health' (Average) and 'words that mean "exclude"' (Difficult).

The Wordsearch topics are 'space travel' (Easy), 'parts of a newspaper' (Average) and 'adjectives describing animals' (Difficult).

As usual, there are new Crosswords and Bridge Builders at all levels too.

Visit the Word Games area to find them all.

News item

MEC Editorial Assistant, Sarah Cumming, writes:

A virtual world

This week's news item, adapted for MEC from a news article originally published in the Guardian Weekly, is about the growing popularity of virtual worlds and the effect this could have on society in the future. Go to the Headline News section on your Work Area screen to learn more.

To find out more about different virtual worlds, including the one mentioned in the news item, visit the following website: Virtual Worlds

Pakistan elections in state of emergency

This week's news item, adapted for MEC from a news article originally published in the Guardian Weekly, is about the president of Pakistan calling elections while the country is in a state of emergency. Why has President Musharraf done this? Go to the Headline News section on your Work Area screen to find out more.

You could get students to find out about more about Pakistan and its government by visiting the following website:

BBC Pakistan country profile

Africa becoming more mobile

This week's news item, adapted for MEC from a news article originally published in the Guardian Weekly, is about improving access to mobile phones in sub-Saharan Africa and the impact this could have on these African countries. Go to the Headline News section on your Work Area screen to find out more.

You can get students to find out about the following organizations mentioned in the news item by going to their websites:

The GSM Association

Connect Africa

This week's news item, adapted for MEC from a news article originally published in the Guardian Weekly, is about the increase in obesity in Britain.  Go to the Headline News section on your Work Area screen to find out why there is such a problem.

You can get students to find out more about obesity in Britain by directing them to the websites of the following organizations mentioned in the news item:

International Obesity Taskforce

National Obesity Forum

November word games

The MEC word games for November are available now!

This month's Witch's Pot topics are 'places in or around the house' (Easy), 'camping' (Average) and 'adjectives describing build' (Difficult).

The Swamp Disaster topics are 'words related to shopping' (Easy), 'words related to money' (Average) and 'materials' (Difficult).

The Wordsearch topics are 'office items' (Easy), 'travelling by plane' (Average) and 'words meaning '"miserable"' (Difficult).

As usual, there are new Crosswords and Bridge Builders at all levels too.

Visit the Word Games area to find them all.

India outsources outsourcing

This week's news item, adapted for MEC from a news article originally published in the Guardian Weekly, is about Indian technology companies setting up global networks of offices to offer services to multinational companies. Go to the Headline News section on your Work Area screen to find out why they are doing this.

Infosys, Wipro and Tata are three major software and technology companies in India. You may wish to ask your students to look at the following websites for more information.

Infosys

Wipro

Tata