In today's news roundup, deadly flooding and landslides in Kinshasa kill over 140 people, South Koreans will become younger next year, and members of Parliament in the United Kingdom take a test meant for 11-year-olds - and do far worse than the students.
Published in “Science”
US scientists announced a huge step forward for fusion energy. For the first time ever, they got more energy out of the process than they put into it. Fusion power is a long way off, but the news is major progress toward a powerful, clean energy source.
NASA's Orion spacecraft splashed down safely on Sunday, successfully completing the space agency's Artemis I mission around the moon. In other moon news, a private Japanese company launched a lunar lander that will deliver a rover and a robot to the moon.
COP15, an important United Nations meeting of nearly 200 countries, is being held in Montreal, Canada. The goal of the meeting is to agree on how to best protect all the different kinds of living things on our planet - Earth's "biodiversity".
Last Sunday was the official birthday of the world's oldest land animal. Jonathan, a Seychelles giant tortoise living on the island of Saint Helena, turned 190 years old. The event was celebrated with a big party, which included a special "salad cake".
Last Friday, Britain’s Prince William announced the winners of this year's Earthshot Prize. The prize is meant to encourage new ideas and rapid action to help protect the planet. Each prize-winner won $1.2 million for their efforts.
Two large, powerful volcanoes have recently erupted, releasing rivers of lava and clouds of toxic gas. On Sunday, Indonesia's Mount Semeru erupted, forcing thousands from their homes. Last week, Hawaii's Mauna Loa erupted. Both eruptions are still active.
Switzerland has opened a massive "water battery" that will help store energy for Europe. The plant works by storing water, which can later be used to generate power. Storing energy is very important as the world depends more and more on renewable energy.
In 1547, the King of Spain sent a coded letter to his ambassador in France. Now, after nearly 500 years, researchers have finally cracked the code and can read the letter. It turns out that the king was worried someone might be trying to kill him.
Today NewsForKids.net takes a look at several recent stories of space exploration. India has launched its first private rocket into space. Uganda and Zimbabwe both recently sent their first satellites into space. And NASA's Orion mission has reached the moon, and gone past it.
At the COP27 climate meeting in Egypt, nearly 200 countries agreed that rich countries should help poor countries deal with the effects of climate change. That represents progress for developing countries, but the meeting fell short in other areas.