The time has just gone 9 o’clock

My jobs to read the news.

We’ve a catchy item from Asia

And a siege at Whipsnade Zoo.

A fire at an asbestos works;

A break-in reported at Chubb.

A strike at Swan Vestas matches plant

And a new unsinkable sub!

What’s this I hear – a civil war

In the southern states of who knows where

As fifty troops have crossed a line

A scar on the ground that’s hardly there.

The economy may or may not be improving,

There’s an exchange of ‘innocent’ spies

And the 2013, Slimmer of the Year

Has won a book on exotic fruit pies

Urgent newsflash – Man kills wife!

The kids are alright cos they’re in care.

The crisis in Syria spirals on down;

So many lives  -laced with despair.