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Arts
KIDS NEWS 2025: evergreen holder artwork WINTER HOLIDAYS, 4:3 thumbnail plus subs. Picture: Darren Gover

What’s on over the winter break

School’s out and the Kids News team is taking a short break too – but if you are looking for something fun to do these holidays we’ve got you covered. Check out what’s on offer in your region

Explainers
Residents across Sydney and parts of NSW are battering down the hatches as a bomb cyclone hits the region, bringing lashings of rain, blistering winds and dangerous conditions. Picture: Windy

What is the NSW ‘bomb cyclone’?

Storm terms have ripped a page from the battleground playbook, with torrential rain, flooding and 124km/hr wind gusts in parts of Australia now dubbed a ‘bomb cyclone’ – here’s how to stay safe

VIDEOAnimals
Mother koala

Koala’s healing hug from its mum

The touching moment a koala joey was reunited with its mum following a traumatic car accident has warmed hearts across the country. See the photos of the cutest koala cuddle

Animals
Supplied image of the Large Whale Disentanglement Team, volunteers at ORRCA and NSW Police Force Marine Rescue NSW, to free a young 2 to 3-year-old whale from entangled ropes earlier this week of Sydney's Northern Beaches.   , Originally spotted late Sunday afternoon off Sydney’s Northern Beaches, this young 11-tonne whale was tracked by ORRCA volunteers so that our disentanglement team could take to the water and try to free it.   , The team made multiple cuts and removed several rope loops from the whale’s body. Two small pieces of rope remain on the whale; we expect them to naturally fall off in time. Pic: ORRCA Australia. **Imagery disclaimer** Special permission was given for this drone to be flown within 100 metres of the whale to assist in disentanglement activities.

Whale free after daring rescue

Rescuers risked their lives to free a whale that was tangled in rope off Australia’s east coast. But why are whale rescues so dangerous and how can we stop such situations from happening?

Health
Sugar Bag Bees on flowers

Sugarbag honey ‘the bee’s knees’

Honey from Australia’s stingless ‘sugarbag’ bee has been found to have amazing antimicrobial properties, meaning it could be used to heal infections. But what gives it its amazing power?

Society and Culture
Kate Princess of Wales with her daughter Princess Charlotte travel in a carriage along the Mall to the Trooping of Colour in London, Saturday, June 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

Games the royals can’t play

Not even princes and princesses get everything they want. The royal kids have to follow a strict set of rules – including a ban on popular games that most kids love. Find out what they can’t play

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SPECIAL FEATURES

The newshound hub

The newshound hub

Find facts sheets, classroom activities, How To videos, AI updates and related news HERE!

Continuous culture

Continuous culture

Welcome to our dedicated page for news and current affairs relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Ask Healthy Harold

Ask Healthy Harold

Healthy Harold has been educating Australian students about health and wellbeing for 40 years – he’s also a monthly contributor here at Kids News!

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EDITOR'S PICKS

History

Secret weapon of ancient battles

Pompeii's ancient scars. Picture: Supplied

Ancient Romans fought some of history’s most famous battles with a highly advanced weapon that mimicked the action of a machinegun, new research suggests after a remarkable discovery

VIDEOSpelling Bee

Where are our Bee champs now?

UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL MAY 17, 2025, Do not use unless cleared by Kids News editor Di Jenkins and Sat Mags national editor Laura Chalmers. PMs Spelling Bee 5th birthday national feature for the Sat mags - Look back with the 11 national champions. Victorias three national champions - 2021 Green level (Years 3-4) champion: Arielle Wong 13 now year 8, 
2022 and 2023 Red Level champion Zachary Cheng, now in Year 10, and 2021 Year 5-6 (orange) winner Theekshitha Karthik, then 12 now 15 year 10. 
Picture: David Caird

With over 200,000 registered students since 2021, the Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee turns five in Term 3 when the fun, online Kids News comp opens. Meet our champions and TRY THE BEE

News

Take the Kids News reader poll!

KIDS NEWS 2025: reader survey artwork, 4:3 thumbnail plus subs. Picture: Darren Gover

Welcome back – Term 2, here we come! Here’s a reader poll to help us make Kids News an even better free literacy resource for your classrooms. Tell us what you think by taking the poll HERE!

ANIMALS

VIDEOJust for Fun
Flock of sheep in China rush rest stop and throw down the coffees like they own the joint. Picture: Newsflare via Reuters Connect

Latte-loving sheep guzzles coffee

Table manners were missing in action as a flock of sheep crashed a casual coffee catch up in China – should someone have stopped this woolly wag from chugging the caffeine? TAKE OUR POLL

Animals
A scorpion was caught in the kitchen of a Sydney northern beaches home.

Scorpion surprise in Aussie home

A straying scorpion caused quite a stir after it was found cruising around a suburban kitchen – but this creepy-crawly turned out to be the one who needed saving. Find out what happened

UPDATEDAnimals
, , An exuberant gorilla at Werribee Open Range Zoo is challenging the common belief that this species avoids the rain – and he’s making quite a splash doing it., , , The 25-year-old silverback, Ganyeka, has been filmed on discreet keeper cameras enthusiastically enjoying the rain, putting a cheeky spin on the classic phrase ‘singing in the rain’. Picture: Zoos Victoria

Gorilla caught playing in the rain

Discreetly placed cameras have captured the wonderful moment a gorilla decided to let loose and play in the rain after his brother took shelter from the wet weather. Watch the funny footage here

Animals
Valerie the Dachshund turns three! Picture: The Paws Room

Happy Birthday! Valerie turns three

She’s the mischievous pup who captured the world’s attention after spending 529 days missing on a Kangaroo Island – now Valerie is celebrating back home with her big 3rd birthday bash

SPORT

VIDEOSport
Gout Gout, of Australia, celebrates after winning the men 200 meters during the Ostrava Golden Spike athletics meet in Ostrava, Czech Republic, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Gout wins 200m in Euro debut

Australian teen sprinting star Gout Gout has showed the world what he is made of by breaking his own national record and winning the 200m at the Ostrava Golden Spike in Europe

Sport
Australia under-16 rugby union representative Agapetos Lote-Felo has signed with the Sydney Roosters. Picture: Rugby Australia

Roosters poach GPS rugby talent

One NSW private school has scored 16-year-old rugby union star Agapetos Lote-Felo, who will play league for the Roosters in a transfer from QLD to play both rugby codes in Sydney

Sport
DAILY TELEGRAPH JUNE 18, 2025. Junior footballers from left Declan Stone, 11, Kurt Burton,11, and Cooper Daniels, 11, for a story about the weight for age league for young players, pictured at the Panthers Rugby League Academy. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Weight-for-age levels play for kids

The launch of one Australian state’s first weight-for-age rugby league competition promises to make junior footy safer and more accessible for kids but will it bring them back? Take the poll

Sport
emerging 11-year-old Aussie chess prodigy Reyaansh Chakrabarty composite.Picture: NewsWire

Aussie 11yo’s world champ gambit

First inspired by a fictional chess player, rising Australian whiz kid Reyaansh Chakrabarty has since beaten Grandmasters for real – here’s his plan for becoming Australia’s first world champ

SOCIETY & CULTURE

Explainers
Mark Knight cartoon for Herald Sun, June 25, 2025

‘Peace in our time’ blast from past

The US President claiming a total ceasefire as hostilities continued in the Middle East recalled a cautionary quote nearly a century old that reminded Mark Knight of the fragility of peace in war

UPDATEDExplainers
IN FLIGHT - JUNE 24: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media aboard Air Force One on the way to the 2025 NATO Summit on June 24, 2025 in flight. This year's NATO summit, which brings together heads of state and government from across the military alliance, is being held in the Netherlands for the first time. Among other matters, members are to approve a new defense investment plan that raises the target for defense spending to 5% of GDP.   Andrew Harnik/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Andrew Harnik / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Shaky ceasefire btwn Israel, Iran

US President Donald Trump claimed credit for a ceasefire that Israel and Iran both denied before a shambolic day of uncertainty and breaches – now what? RED LEVEL (YEARS 7-8)