Hunger is falling
(and other good news)

🧠 Vocabulary challenge​
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Which of these is the meaning of the word 'extradition'?

(A) A long-established custom or belief
(B) Moving to another country to live permanently
(C) Sending someone to another country to face criminal charges
(D) Removing a person or people from a place or situation

​
(answer at bottom of email)

3 big stories…

1. India 'Cockroach' protests

In India, there have been mass protests lasting more than a week, in the capital Delhi. The protests have grown out of the joke political party, the "Cockroach Janta Party", named after India's Chief Justice, who said that young jobless people were cockroaches. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised to punish people responsible for the leak of a medical exam paper that caused 2 million people to have to re-sit exams; one of the triggers of the protests. More information in Tuesday's and today's episodes.

2. Nicaragua no elections

At a rally, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega said that Nicaragua will no longer hold elections, effectively admitting what rights groups have often said - that Nicaragua is a dictatorship.

3. Ukraine reshuffle continues

President Volodymyr Zelensky removed the military Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi this week, replacing him with the more popular General Mykhailo Drapatyi. The removal of Syrskyi was one of the demands of protests over the last week, however, the other demand has still not been met - the reinstatement of popular Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.

… and one you might have missed.

In Austria, the birthplace of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler is being converted into a police station. Officials from the town of Braunau say that they want to avoid the town being a place of pilgrimage for Neo-Nazis.

🔍 Find the synonym​
​
Somewhere in the "3 big stories", find a synonym for the word "unemployed".

Statistic of the week

The total number and percentage of people in the world who are hungry is falling, according to a multi-agency United Nations report. World hunger peaked during the COVID-19 pandemic, at 8.6% of the world's population, or 687 million people. In the report for 2026, it has fallen to 7.8% of people, or 644 million people, and has fallen for 4 years in a row.

🌍 World news question​
​

Why are people booking hotels in New Zealand for July 2028?

Quote of the week:

— United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, speaking about the escalating conflict in the Middle East.

SEND7 Supporter's corner

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Stephen’s view

As somebody who curates* the news almost every day, there is a strange paradox that I have to live with.

On the one hand, I am an optimistic person who truly believes that the world, overall, is becoming a better place. I'd like to share this with SEND7 listeners.

However, on the other hand, a lot of news is bad news. A million aeroplanes arriving safely at their destination is not news, and yet one plane crash is.

Good things tend to happen slowly, whereas bad things tend to happen quickly.

As an example, this week, the United Nations reported that hunger is falling globally. As a percentage, it sounds small - the number of people suffering from hunger has fallen from 8.6% to 7.8% in the last four years. However, as a real number, how important this is is staggering. 43 million fewer people are suffering from hunger than they were 4 years ago, despite the overall population of the world increasing. That is approximately the population of Argentina or Iraq no longer suffering from hunger in just four years.

Here's another great story that has happened so slowly that it is unlikely to make the news - the number of children completing secondary education has skyrocketed in the 21st century. In the year 2000, only 37% of children finished secondary school. By 2024, this was 61% - which in real terms was more than double the number of children (because of the world's population growth). For primary school, this rose from 77% to 88%.

It's not enough, but it's going in the right direction. Just like the world, slowly.

Have a great weekend.
Stephen

P.S. *Curates means to select, organise and present

P.P.S. If you have a question or a suggestion of something for me to write about, just reply to this email.

ANSWERS
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(don't look until you've answered all three questions!)

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🧠 VOCABULARY CHALLENGE : (C) Extradition means "Sending someone to another country to face criminal charges".

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🔍 Find the synonym : A synonym for "unemployed" is "jobless" (in the India paragraph)

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🌍 World news question : A solar eclipse. Some hotels are already fully booked, as people want to be in New Zealand on 22 July 2028, to watch a solar eclipse.

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