Home |   Resources |   Planning Calendar |  Teacher's Guides  |  CE News Blog  | More for Teens

 

Tell a friend   Print   Feedback!

Welcome to Current Events !

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.
The important thing is not to stop questioning.”—Albert Einstein

The world events of today shape our future in every way, from how well we understand one another to how healthy we keep our planet. Current Events gathers the most important and unique news stories into a magazine written and designed for students. Our readers don't just learn facts, they learn to think critically about the influences within their world and about their own responsibilities to make this a better world for everyone.

On this site you'll find story updates, additional resources, including Smart Stuff quizzes, and links to CE’s News Blog for students. Be sure to check back each issue!

Issue 1 News Updates

• On September 3, the United States offered the Republic of Georgia more than $1 billion in aid to rebuild after Russia’s August invasion. The next day, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney flew to Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital. Standing beside President Mikhail Shaskashvili, Cheney pledged U.S. support for the democratically elected president and warned Russia not to try to topple the Georgian government. In making the offer of $1 billion in aid, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the money would help rebuild bridges, roads and port facilities destroyed by the Russians. “The free world cannot allow the destiny of a small independent country to be determined by the aggression of a larger neighbor,” Rice said. “Georgian democracy and independence endure.”

• The European Union (EU), headed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, called for an international investigation into the causes, actions and results of the Russia-Georgia conflict. The EU foreign ministers also said on Sept. 6 that they want to send an EU observer mission to Georgia to make sure Russia is complying with the peace agreement.

• Something was literally lost in translation in the peace agreement between Russia and Georgia, France's foreign minister acknowledged on Sept. 6. The agreement, coordinated by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, was written in French and then translated into English and Russian. The translation problem involved the establishment of buffer zones to protect Georgia's breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The Russian version referred to buffer zones "for" the two regions. The version given to the Georgians referred to buffer zones "in" the two regions. Russia says the agreement it signed allows it to keep peacekeeping troops in Georgia beyond the borders of the breakaway regions to protect the two regions from Georgian attack.

For Weekly Reader’s political convention coverage—including daily reports from our student reporters—go here.

Along with CE’s issue 4, you’ll receive your 2008 Election Kit, “Ready, Set, Vote.” To preview and download the kit, go to www.weeklyreader.com and log in with your subscriber account on the address page of your Teacher’s Guide. And be sure to check out these subscriber-only exclusives: online, interactive election kit pages; access to Weekly Reader’s exclusive student presidential election poll; and historic Weekly Reader coverage of past elections with teaching activities.

A New Tool For Teachers
WR BOOST gives your students online access to Current Events stories. Students can earn points for taking quizzes about those stories, and you get useful reports outlining how they did. Interested? Find out more at www.wrteachers.uboost.com.