Kid News This Week: Vatican and Chicago reports on new pope, India-Pakistan aerial dogfight, China-US agree on tariffs, return of lost Oz dog, NZ blobfish of the year
In this episode of world news… We give you the dope on the pope with special reports from BOTH Rome and Chicago, where the world’s first US pontiff comes from. We’ll also try to explain India and Pakistan’s conflict – the aerial dogfight (which is not at all as cute as it sounds) and ceasefire. China and the US agree on some new, cheaper tariffs. The Australian dog lost on Kangaroo Island is trapped and found – confused? Don’t worry, we’ll tell you all. And we’ll also tell you why those kooky Kiwis love the ugly blobfish.
EPISODE-198
LEELA: This episode, the new pope, India and Pakistan’s ceasefire, China-US tariffs, return of the lost Oz dog and blobfish of the year
OPENING STING – LEELA: “Hey, hey, hey. Listen up. New, new, newsy – Newsy Pooloozi!”
THEME MUSIC
LEELA: Hello and welcome to Newsy Pooloozi – the news pool for curious kids and adults!
This is your one-stop-shop for the most interesting and important news happening around the world.I’m Leela Sivasankar Prickitt and…
MAMA: And I’m Lyndee Prickitt.
MUSIC UP
LEELA: This episode…
We give you the dope on the pope with special reports from BOTH Rome and Chicago, where the world’s first US pontiff comes from.
India and Pakistan’s ceasefire after four days of an aerial dogfight – which is not at all as cute as it sounds.
China and the US agree on some new, cheaper tariffs.
The Australian dog lost on Kangaroo Island is trapped and found – confused? Don’t worry, we’ll tell you all.
And we’ll also tell you why those kooky Kiwis love the ugly blobfish.
OK then, let’s dive on in. First up, it’s the…
BIG NEWS STORY STING – VARIOUS VOICES: “The Big news story of the week!”
MAMA: Well, as you heard in our last-to-last episode, Pope Franscis, passed away and the world was waiting for a new leader of the Catholic Church to be elected.
LEELA: Yep – remember, it was all about the colour of the smoke coming out of a chimney in St Peter’s Square in Rome.
MAMA: Or, more, precisely, in The Vatican, which is like Catholic HQ or headquarters. Technically, not Rome but the smallest sovereign or independent country in the world.
LEELA: OK, but it, the Vatican, is in the middle of Rome, right?
MAMA: Yes, it’s s tiny sovereign state in the middle of the city of Rome, which is the capital of Italy.
LEELA: Whew – we’re just bursting with fab facts here, aren’t we!
MAMA: Yes, so back to the news… You’ve probably also heard that, indeed, the church leaders have made their selection.
LEELA: And it’s an American Pope from Chicago – the first pope from the USA! Go, Pope Leo.
MAMA: So, we’ll tell you more about Leo with a special report from his hometown shortly, but first, let’s cut across to Ananya Kazmin, our Rome correspondent, who has the details on how the pope was elected.
LEELA: Take it away, Ananya!
ANANYA: Thanks, Leela. As I mentioned before, it’s pretty old-fashioned – seriously low-tech – way the new pope is chosen.
If you remember, it all starts with a super-secret gathering of 133 cardinals inside the beautiful Sistine Chapel.
No phones, no outside contact – just prayer, discussion, and voting.
And, no, they don’t vote with a fancy app, but on writing down their choice on a piece of paper.
If they fail to agree, they burn those little pieces in a chimney – where black smoke can be seen by crowds gathering – and praying – in St Petere’s Square.
SFX OF CROWDS
In the past this has sometimes taken days and days of voting and waiting.
SFX OF FAINT CHANTING IN THE CROWDS
Once in the 13th century it took almost three years for the cardinals to agree!
But these days, the cardinals are more decisive (as in they decide fast) and it just took four rounds of voting over two days.
Then, the cardinals put special chemicals in the fire to make the smoke turn white, signalling to the world: Habemus Papam! – which is Latin for "We have a Pope!"
SFX OF BELLS
Of course, then everyone was wondering who-who-WHO – who is the new pope?!
An hour later, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost – from Chicago! – stepped out onto the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica as the new Pope Leo XIV.
In Rome, I’m Ananaya Kazmin, reporting for Newsy Pooloozi.
LEELA: Wow – talk about a historical moment. What a cool time to be in Rome, Ananya! Thanks for that report.
MAMA: Yeah, that’s awesome – thanks so much, Ananya! Now the big question is…
LEELA: Who is this cardinal – which is the word for a high-level priest – who’s become the first Pope in history to have been born in the U.S.?!
MAMA: Well, believe it or not, he studied math at college before getting his doctorate in canon law.
LEELA: He studied law?!
MAMA: Well… kinda… Canon law means the law of the church – especially the Roman Catholic Church as established by previous popes.
LEELA: Sounds appropriate.
MAMA: I know, right. And if that didn’t tell you how smart he is… guess how many languages he speaks?
LEELA: Ummm… three? Four?
MAMA: Close. Five – English, Spanish, Italian, French and Portuguese.
LEELA: Useful for communicating with Catholics around the world.
MAMA: Indeed. But he’s said to be pretty down-to-earth, you know, like a normal guy who watching movies and sports.
LEELA: He’s a sports fan?
MAMA: Yep, baseball apparently. But that’s all to do with his hometown roots of Chicago.
LEELA: Oh… I bet people there are pretty pleased he’s the new pope.
MAMA: Oh, yeah. In fact, we have a new newsie Olive Caruso from the “Windy City” as Chicago is called – who’s standing by to tell us more.
OLIVE: Thanks guys.
So yeah, Bob Prevost, aka Pope Leo the 14th was born here in Chi-town, on the south side.
Me? I’m a North-sider.
All that means, basically, is that I support the Cubs.
South siders, like Pope Leo, support the White Sox. But we’re not holding that against him.
People are super proud, like really proud. Restaurants are naming sandwiches after him, and memes are flooding social media. Without getting too specific, all I’ll say is Daaaaaaaaa Pope!
Anyway, with all this attention, he’s probably planning a trip back to his hometown. I would love to see him at Lou Malnati’s for a slice of deep dish!
In Chicago, this is Olive Caruso for Newsy Pooloozi!
LEELA: Thanks, Cara/Olive and welcome to the team!
[SOURCE: https://apnews.com/article/chicago-pope-leo-francis-catholic-church-cc058b0fd7cf1701c53f2e84f58abab2
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/08/pope-leo-xiv-peru-latin-america]
MAMA: Alright – moving on now to some serious news closer to home. Listeners may remember in our last episode we had some breaking news about the Indian army targeting some camps in neighboring Pakistan where it said terrorists were hiding out and training.
LEELA: And what followed was the threat of war here – no lie. It was seriously scary.
MAMA: Yes, because naturally Pakistan retaliated – which is a fancy way of saying it hit back and tried to get even.
LEELA: They got into what is called a drone dogfight.
MAMA: Well, an aerial dogfight of drones and fighter jets.
LEELA: Why’s it called a dogfight?
MAMA: Well, it’s a chaotic struggle at close range or in a small area, this time in the air, so like when planes or drones twist and turn and move aggressively like dogs fighting.
LEELA: You know, since we’ve been doing Newsy Pooloozi, we’ve reported about the Syria War, then Ukraine and Gaza. I honestly never thought it was something I’d be thinking about here, at home!
MAMA: Yeah, it got pretty real there for a while.
LEELA: Thank goodness most of the drones and missiles sent into India were intercepted. One, they say, was headed for Delhi!
MAMA: And it must have been super scary for those people – on both sides – who live near the border of the countries where the aerial dogfight was happening.
LEELA: So, I know this recent conflict was sparked after that horrible terrorists’ attack in Kashmir last month. But, like, why do the two countries hate each other so much? I mean, haven’t India and Pakistan been at war four times already?
MAMA: Yep, and in less than a hundred years too.
LEELA: But, why?
MAMA: Oh, the usual – territory, religion and power struggles… But nothing is really that simple. Or, maybe it is…
LEELA: But what’s the history? US President Trump said the two countries have been fighting for a thousand years, which is weird as both countries are only 77 years old!
MAMA: Yep, the British ruled this whole sub-continent, or massive area, for a couple hundred years before they become independent countries in 1947. But I suppose what Trump meant is that Hindus, which were mostly the native people of the subcontinent, have brushed against the Muslims, who came to the area much later, for the last thousand or so years.
LEELA: So, it's the whole my way or the highway thing?
MAMA: Well, yes, there are some who believe in live-and-let-live and that a society can have all different types of people and there are others who want only their type or their way.
LEELA: I think most people just want to get along.
MAMA: I agree. Unfortunately, it's the intolerant fanatics who ruin it for everyone.
LEELA: But it's made it even scarier that both countries have nuclear arms, which means they have nuclear weapons.
MAMA: Yes, no one wants India and Pakistan to go to war! Thankfully, there's a ceasefire and we're all just hoping it stays that way.
WORLD WRAP STING – LEELA: “What’s that? I’ll tell you what. That’s the halftime bell! Which means… it’s time to hear what’s making news around the rest of the world. Hold on tight, it’s around the world in 80 seconds.”
MAMA: Two million people in Gaza are on the brink of starvation as food trucks fail to deliver critical supplies. humanitarian groups warn that 100 trucks alone cannot reverse the impact of 11 weeks without food.
Ukrainian accuses Russia of "trying to buy time" to prolong their war. This comes despite the US saying ceasefire talks are moving forward thanks to their help.
Two baby orangutans are rescued after being found in a basket at a gas station in Thailand’s capital, Bangkok. The smuggler was arrested and police are working to find out if the orangutans were born in Thailand or abroad.
And sticking with bad things happening to animals… a cat in Costa Rica was being used to smuggle drugs into a prison. We’re happy to say police discovered this plot and the feline is now being looked after by authorities.
[SOURCE: https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cjwqqnlgn1vt
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgddel17kvo
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/05/16/asia/thailand-police-arrest-orangutans-trafficking-intl-hnk
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/05/19/world/video/cat-smuggle-drug-into-costa-rican-prison-digvid]
LEELA: Well, thank you so much for that – oh, you know what’s coming, don’t you know, newsies??? That… whippity-whappity-zippity-zappity wrap of what’s making headlines elsewhere in the world, Mama.
MAMA: Anytime, Leela. And now, after revisiting our story about the new pope and about the military operations between Indian and Pakistan, let’s revisit two more stories we’ve told you about in the past few weeks infact...
LEELA: And those would be?
MAMA: Well, one is about the trade war between China and the U.S.
LEELA: And the second???
MAMA: Is about that adorable wiener dog that went missing in Australia!
LEELA: Great then! This calls for a TOP UP!
TOP-UP TIME STING – VARIOUS VOICES: “Go on give me a top up, please? It’s top-up time. Top-up time! Top-up time! Top-up time! Top-up time! Top-up time! Now? Yeah, now. It’s top-up time.”
MAMA: So, first things, first. The trade war between the U.S. and China is officially... well, if not on ice, then it’s cooled off, shall we say?
LEELA: Oh!? What happened? U.S. President Trump seemed really mad at China. As we discussed a few weeks ago, in Episode 195,
MAMA: Yep that’s right the U.S. had imposed massive tax, called tariffs, on all Chinese imports
LEELA: first 54% and then up and up to 145% which is craaaaazy.
MAMA: Yep, and China was just as angry. They had imposed 125% tariffs on goods U.S. goods going into their country! But really, neither side wanted the chaos that was created.
LEELA: So, they agreed to just, like, stop imposing tariffs on each other?
MAMA: Pretty much! Representatives recently from both sides met in Switzerland and agreed that the U.S. would drop their tariffs to 30 percent and that China would drop theirs to 10. For the next 90 days at least.
LEELA: Wow! That easy... simple somehow?
MAMA: And yet... well, let’s see… Moving on – to the adorable Oz dog story of Valerie!
LEELA: Otherwise known as the hotdog story… as in Valerie, the Weiner dog who got stranded on Australia’s Kangaroo Island for more than a year!
MAMA: Yep – Valerie went missing after escaping into the woods while on a camping trip. She was missing for 529 days! Can you believe it? And if you want the full story, do have a listen to Episode 195.
LEELA: So… do we have good news, then? I remember they decided to set a trap for her and… well…? Did it work?
MAMA: Well…
SFX OF DRUMROLL
MAMA: It sure did!
LEELA: Fantastic! It’s pretty remarkablethat a little ol’ sausage dog could survive in the wild for so long without... Oh, I dunno ... being eaten maybe?
MAMA: In fact, not only was she NOT eaten, clearly, she put on weight out there in the wild. And here we were all thinking this domesticated dog would struggle on her own, but no.
LEELA: Wow guess Kangaroo Island has, well, some good wildlife beyond the 65,000 (!) kangroos, which I’m SURE Valerie was… nice too...
MAMA: I’m sure! And what a reunion it was when she was able to meet her humans again. Hot-diggidy-dog!
LEELA: Ha ha… you said! So, I guess Valarie recognized her humans straight away?
MAMA: She did indeed. And her owners say she’s now re-adapting to a life luxury and humans instead of kangaroos.
LEELA: I hope her humans like hip-hop.
MAMA: Umm, why?
LEELA: Well, you know, hanging out with all those kangaroos she must really be into… you know… hip-hop music!
MAMA: Very good… And now… let’s head over to the Lucky Dip Machine and see what it’s got for us this week?
[SOURCE: https://www.reuters.com/breakingviews/post-truce-state-us-china-trade-looks-dire-2025-05-19/
https://www.csis.org/analysis/understanding-temporary-de-escalation-us-china-trade-war
ODDBALL STING – VARIOUS VOICES: “Step right up, step right up… Have a go at the lucky dip machine… What’s it gonna be today, eh? An oddball, no doubt!”
LEELA: Wow. What an honour! Get this, Mama, the world’s ugliest fish has just been voted the “fish of the
Year” in New Zealand! Here, looks at a picture.
MAMA: Oh. Ooooooooh. Yes, I can for sure see how that... creature… was voted ugliest fish of the year! Goodness! It looks like a swollen pile of flesh… like… a pile of melted ice cream…I want to use the word globule??
LEELA: Ugh... Yes, all good descriptions. And for anyone who wants to see a pic, check out our transcriptfor the link.
MAMA: Yes, so those lovely New Zealanders care so much about conservation and make sure there’s a diverse marine and freshwater life that they created the "Fish of the Year" award to make sure it gets attention. And, boy, this year did it work. Anyway, I think we need to hand this over to our team in Wellington, New Zealand for more.
LEELA: Yes! And it’s another new newsie Hazel Wisker, who’s gonna fill us in on the… well, I’ll let Hazel tell you! Welcome to the news pool, Hazel, over to you!
HAZEL: Thanks guys.
So yeah, New Zealand’s fish of the year for 2025 is, drum roll please…. The blobfish.
Voted ugliest fish in 2013, the blobfish looks, well, like a blob. They’re primarily greyish and whitish
pink. They have big, black eyes and loose, flabby skin.
Unlike other fish, they don’t have scales or a full skeleton – only a few bones and muscles – hence the
blob-type look.
And here’s a fun fact about the blobfish: They actually look like normal fish underwater. Crazy, right?
They rely on water pressure to keep their shape, and then they turn more pink and blobby when
They are pulled out of the water.
And, because they are lazy, they eat crustaceans and anemones or whatever happens to flow into
their mouths!
Scientists say it’s hard to study these fish because they live in what’s called the “midnight zone”, a
deep ocean layer where the sun cannot penetrate, in the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
For now, there are only about 420 blobfish in the whole world. But we’re proudly protecting all the
blobbies out there with conservation efforts here in New Zealand and in Australia.
This is Hazel Wisker, reporting from Wellington, New Zealand, for Newsy Pooloozi.
LEELA: Thanks Hazel! Welcome to the NP team! And gotta say, I’m glad blobfish are getting respect
they deserve.
MAMA: You’re right. These guys are somehow cuter in water. I guess you could say in this case, beauty is
in the “fish” eye of the beholder.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/what-blobfish-really-look-like
FAB FACTS STING – LEELA: “And it’s time to wrap up the podcast with the top five fab facts heard today. Here goes…”
MAMA: FAB FACT NUMBER 1 – The Catholic Church has a new pope, who is elected by how many cardinals?
133
LEELA: FAB FACT NUMBER 2 – And this election takes place in the headquarters of the Catholic church, which is actually the smallest sovereign, or independent, country in the world, which is called what?
Vatican City
MAMA: FAB FACT NUMBER 3 – The new pope Leo XIV, who was called Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, is the first from the USA, who studied mathematics and canon law. What is canon law?
The law of the church – especially the Roman Catholic Church as established by previous popes
LEELA: FAB FACT NUMBER 4 – India and Pakistan are in a ceasefire after exchanging fire across their borders. When did the two countries, which used to be ruled by the British, become independent nations?
1947
MAMA: FAB FACT NUMBER 5 – Once called the world’s ugliest fish, New Zealand now names the blobfish “fish of the year.” Why is it hard to study these fish?
They live deep in the ocean’s “midnight zone”
And don’t forget, if you want to test yourself later on, then go to the Lucky Dip page of our website, newsypooloozi.com, that’s pool-o-o-z-i, and take this quiz online in your own time!
LEELA: And that almost brings us to the end of this episode of Newsy Pooloozi! But first…
MAMA: We would like to thank the lovely Jyoti Chuahan for her production help and Julie Noce for helping write this episode!
BOTH: Thanks, you guys!
THEME MUSIC
LEELA: If you enjoyed this dip in the coolest pool of news and information then HIT that subscribe button on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Alexa or wherever you get your podcasts.
MAMA: While you’re at it… Give us a good rating. Or better still, leave us a review! Go on – we’ll read it out loud if you do…
LEELA: Alrighty then, see you next week in the happy, splashy giant Newsy Pooloozi!
-ends-