Innholdsfortegnelse for No. 125 i The Week Junior

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health has called for a ban on fast-food outlets being built within 400 metres of schools in the UK. They say the move will help tackle the country’s childhood obesity crisis by making it more difficult for young people to pick up unhealthy snacks after school. Obesity (when someone is very overweight) is a serious problem. This year, the number of primary school children in England who are obese rose for the second year in a row.…

Lake Como, Italy Motorbike drives on lake Last year, a daredevil defied the laws of nature by riding a motorbike 3.4 miles across the surface of Italy’s third-largest lake, Lake Como. Luca Colombo set a new world record for the longest distance travelled by motorbike on freshwater, and a video of the stunt has now gone viral. Colombo achieved the feat by attaching special waterskis to his bike and keeping his speed at about 47mph. Philadelphia, US Starbucks to shut for one afternoon More than 8,000 Starbucks stores in the US will close for the afternoon on 29 May so that 175,000 of its staff can receive training about discrimination. The news comes after the coffee-shop chain was criticised following the arrests of two black men who had asked to…

Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger has announced that he will leave his job at the end of the football season. He has been in charge of Arsenal for almost 22 years and is the Premier League’s longest-serving manager. He was born in France and played football for small clubs there. He won the French championship as manager of Monaco in 1988 but was fired in 1994. When he was offered a job at Arsenal in 1996 he was managing a team in Japan’s J.League, so very few fans in the UK had even heard of him. Since then, he has overseen more than 1,000 games and has won three Premier League titles. He shared a message with Arsenal fans last week, “I urge our fans to stand behind the team to…

On the shores of Strangford Lough, in County Down, Northern Ireland, Castle Espie is home to the largest groups of native and exotic water birds, bats and migrant birds in Ireland. During the winter months, this wetland centre hosts nearly every light-bellied brent goose in the world. There are nature walks, with special hides (huts for wildlife watching) and various themed areas for children. These spaces include the Secret Swamp, which has a log den hideout. Find out more at wwt.org.uk/wetland-centres/castle-espie…

A pair of extremely rare ospreys were recently spotted on an estate near Northleach, Gloucestershire, as they stopped over on their journey from Africa to Scotland (where they breed). The birds of prey can only be seen in the area for a few weeks during the spring, and in autumn as they head back to Africa. ● LIFESPAN IN THE WILD: Up to 30 years. ● HABITAT: Ospreys live on every continent except Antarctica, near sources of both salt and freshwater. ● DIET: They’re known for plunging feet first to snatch fish from the water but they’ll also eat small mammals, reptiles and injured birds. ● FUN FACT: An osprey’s wings can reach 1.8 metres across. DID YOU KNOW? Ospreys are also called fish hawks. They have oily feathers, so…

Newspapers play an important role in revealing wrongdoing. Here are three examples of bad behaviour exposed by the press. ● Fifa corruption During the bidding process to host the World Cup in 2022, which was awarded to Qatar, The Sunday Times revealed dishonesty within Fifa – the organisation that controls international football. Some senior members of Fifa were accused of selling their vote, which means they promised to vote for a specific country in return for money. ● MPs’ expenses scandal In 2009, The Daily Telegraph reported that members of the UK Parliament were claiming large amounts of money from public funds to pay for things that they said were essential for them to do their jobs. Some of these claims were exaggerated and others were simply made up. Seven…

An international team of scientists has accidentally stumbled upon a faster way to recycle used plastic bottles, by improving a naturally occurring enzyme that digests plastic more quickly. An enzyme is a substance produced by a living thing that speeds up chemical reactions within that living thing. Plastic is cheap to produce but slow to decompose, or decay, which can cause environmental damage. In 2016, Japanese researchers found a strain of bacteria at a recycling centre that releases an enzyme that gobbles up polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the hard plastic used in bottles. Last week, a team from the University of Portsmouth announced that they had unintentionally made the enzyme 20% better at breaking down PET. It can start breaking down plastic in just a few days, a breakthrough that means…

How much an object sparkles is down to how light interacts with it. If a lot of light is bounced off an object, then we see that reflected light as brightness. Glitter is made up of hundreds and thousands of tiny reflective pieces that all face in slightly different directions. This means that light is reflected in lots of different directions. How much of this light falls on our eyes determines whether we see a glitter piece as super bright, less bright or dull. As we move our heads, different glitter pieces catch our eye and so appear brighter and duller. It is this change in brightness of individual small pieces that makes glitter sparkle. Email questions to hello@theweekjunior.co.ukwith the words SCIENCE QUESTION in the subject line. See more from…

Hela Thor’s evil sister Hela, the goddess of death, is the main villain in the second Thor film, Thor: Ragnarok. Hela was locked in a prison for millennia, but sought vengeance for her imprisonment when released. Ultron Ultron appears in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Originally created by Tony Stark to keep the peace and protect people, Ultron eventually decided that the only way to save Earth was to get rid of humanity. Loki Thor’s brother, Loki, is the god of mischief. His actions cause the original group of Avengers to form in the very first film, Avengers Assemble. The best thing about Loki is that sometimes he’s on team good and sometimes he’s on team bad. This villain really keeps us on our toes.…

“This is me outside The White House, Washington DC, reading The Week Junior during the National Cherry Blossom Festival.” Darcie, Year 6 “We loved keeping up to date on current events in China, especially while visiting Beijing.” Lucia, Year 5, and Liam, Year 7 “I made the banana and chocolate-chip muffins from issue 123, and they were amazing!” Thomas, Year 7…

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un surprised the world last week by announcing that he would end the country’s nuclear tests from 21 April. Nuclear weapons are the most powerful weapons in the world and are capable of destroying entire cities. North Korea has tested many nuclear weapons – the last was tested on 3 September 2017 – which has angered countries around the world. The news was announced before peace talks that were due to take place between Kim and South Korea’s leader Moon Jae-in on 27 April. South Korea and North Korea share a border, but have been enemies since the Korean War (1950–1953). It will be the first time there has been a face-to-face meeting between the two leaders for more than 10 years. A spokesperson for the…

Princes Charles, the Queen’s eldest son and the first in line to the throne, has a new job: he has been appointed the next leader of the Commonwealth. What is the Commonwealth? The Commonwealth is a collection of 53 countries and territories, known as member states, which used to be part of the British Empire (countries once ruled by the UK). Commonwealth countries commit to a set of values, such as peace, respect, tolerance and international security. At the moment, Prince Charles’s mother, Queen Elizabeth II, is the head of the Commonwealth, which is more of a symbolic role than an official one. Her main job is to make sure the values of the Commonwealth are upheld. What happened? World leaders and foreign ministers from all 53 member states came…

What you need to know ● The “right to be forgotten” allows people to request the removal of online personal information if it is incorrect, damaging or irrelevant (unimportant). ● Two recent court cases have made the right to be forgotten a talking point. In each case, a person requested that Google delist (hide from their search results) information about them. They both wanted details about crimes they had committed in their past to be removed. One request was granted and one wasn’t. ● New rules, known as the General Data Protection Regulation (which goes into effect in May) will give European Union (EU) citizens the right to be forgotten. The internet holds a huge amount of data, including a lot of our personal information – which isn’t great if…

Learning to play a musical instrument is hard work, so imagine learning to play four. That’s what 11-year-old Charlie Denton has managed to do – despite being completely deaf. Charlie has Usher syndrome, a rare condition that causes deafness and, in some cases, blindness, too – but it hasn’t stopped him learning the drums, guitar, piano and violin. He wears cochlear implants, a medical device that sends signals from the inner ear directly to the brain. “We were told he would have no appreciation for music, so just to see him enjoying playing and listening to music is all we could ask for,” said his mother, Emma. Charlie can also choose to turn off his implants if he doesn’t want to hear something, “He flicks them off if I’m nagging…

The amount of carbon dioxide being produced by ships at sea is going to be monitored for the first time. Most large ships are powered by fossil fuels, which when burned, give off a gas called carbon dioxide. The bigger the ship, the more of the gas it emits. Increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is linked to rising global temperatures and changing weather patterns, which is called climate change. In an attempt to tackle climate change, the International Maritime Organization – an organisation that has 170 countries as members – agreed this month that its ships would halve their carbon dioxide emissions by the year 2050. Aeroplane emissions get lots of attention, but air transport accounts for only about 2% of the world’s man-made carbon dioxide emissions.…

Flying off on holiday is very exciting. As the aeroplane begins to climb, your belly bubbles with anticipation, but all too often the in-flight food just doesn’t take off, tasting bland and dry. So why do airline meals taste so bad? As the plane gains altitude, your body experiences a few changes. The cabin pressure drops and the air becomes very dry. This is because, at 9,000 metres, air is cold and cannot hold much moisture. The combination of low pressure and dryness reduces the sensitivity of your taste buds to sweet and salty foods. It doesn’t help that meals are often made a few days before, frozen and then reheated. Bruno Goussault, chief scientist at a company called Cuisine Solutions, believes the way forward is sous-vide cooking. This process…

On 22 April, Sir Mo Farah broke the UK record when he finished third in the London Marathon. The four-time Olympic gold medallist ran his first marathon for four years in two hours, six minutes and 21 seconds. That was enough to smash the previous British record, set by Steve Jones in 1985, by 52 seconds. Eliud Kipchoge, from Kenya in Africa, won the men’s race for a third time. He finished the 26.2-mile event around the streets of London in two hours, four minutes and 17 seconds. In the women’s race, Kenya’s Vivian Cheruiyot (above right) took first place in two hours,18 minutes and 31 seconds. The fastest British female runner was Lily Partridge. She finished in eighth position with a time of two hours, 29 minutes and 24…

The first of 2018’s two new Harry Potter mobile games is now available. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery puts fans in the shoes of a new Hogwarts student, trying to get to the bottom of the disappearance of your brother. To do it, you’ll also have to get to grips with life at the famous magical school, learning broomstick skills, duels and potion-mixing, as well as making friends with your fellow pupils. Famous actors including Dame Maggie Smith – who plays Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter films – have provided their voices for the game too. The game will be followed later in the year by another Harry Potter mobile game called Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. That’s being made by the same company as Pokémon Go, and will have fans…

Bake chocolate and vanilla swirl cookies What you need 250g butter 330g caster sugar 2 eggs 2 tsp vanilla extract 450g plain flour 1 tsp baking powder 25g cocoa powder Baking tray Greaseproof paper Wooden spoon Large mixing bowl Sieve Two small bowls Cling film Rolling pin Pastry brush Knife Instructions Preheat the oven to 180° C/fan 160° C/gas mark 4 and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Mix the butter and sugar in a bowl, then add the eggs and vanilla extract. Beat the mixture until it’s combined. Sieve the flour and baking powder into the mixture and stir again. Once smooth, divide equally into two bowls. Mix cocoa powder into one of the bowls, then cover both with cling film and place in the fridge for 30…

Every year, more than eight million tonnes of plastic ends up in the oceans. This is putting many creatures at risk, from the turtles and birds who get tangled up in it, to the animals who fatally mistake it for food and eat it, clogging up their stomachs. To encourage young readers and the book-publishing industry to ditch plastic, 50 of the UK’s most famous authors and illustrators have joined forces to launch a campaign called Authors4Oceans. The campaign aims to help people find eco-friendly alternatives to plastic. Quentin Blake, Michael Morpurgo and Jacqueline Wilson are just a few of the big literary names lending their support, but it’s not just down to them – you can get involved, too. Firstly, you can sign the pledge on the Authors4Oceans website,…

A bronze statue of Dame Millicent Fawcett was unveiled on 24 April in Parliament Square in London. She is the first woman to be commemorated with a statue in the square. Born in 1847, Millicent Fawcett was a fierce campaigner for women’s rights. She was born at a time when women didn’t have the right to vote in elections. In 1897, Fawcett became president of a group called the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies. The group believed in using non-violent methods to persuade the Government that women deserved the right to vote. They called themselves the suffragists and held meetings, paraded with banners and wrote letters to the Government. Not everyone was happy with the group’s methods. In 1903, Emmeline Pankhurst grew impatient with the group’s law-abiding ways. She…

A newly discovered species of plankton has been named after the BBC’s wildlife series, Blue Planet. This is the first species to have been named in honour of a television programme. Scientists from Japan, Spain and the UK involved in the discovery named the microbeast Syracosphaera azureaplaneta. The second part of its name, azureaplaneta, means blue planet in Latin. Plankton are tiny floating plants and creatures, and they are incredibly important to marine ecosystems. In fact, they are vital to the health and balance of all of life on Earth. This new species is a single-celled creature, only 10 microns across – that’s seven times smaller than a human hair. Although the scientists first discovered the Blue Planet plankton in the South Atlantic, it actually lives in all the world’s…

The pen is mightier than the sword is an old saying. It means that words more than violence have the power to shape people’s opinions and change events. So it’s vital that newspapers and magazines – just like TV and radio shows – are free to gather and share information with the public. Among other things, it means politicians can be criticised and made to prove that their decisions and actions are the right ones. This idea, known as freedom of the press, is so important that in 1993, the United Nations, an organisation that promotes world peace, declared 3 May World Press Freedom Day. The purpose of the day is to raise awareness of this principle and to campaign for it to be protected, especially in countries where journalists…

Contact lenses are thin, curved plastic lenses placed directly onto the surface of the eye to correct the vision of people who are short- or long-sighted. Wearing contact lenses can make users sensitive to bright lights, which can be annoying when heading outside on a sunny day. Contact-lens manufacturer Acuvue claims to have solved this problem, developing contact lenses that automatically darken when exposed to bright environments. The new lenses, which contain “Transitions Light Intelligent Technology”, are made with a substance that reacts to ultraviolet rays – a type of light found in sunlight. When the wearer steps back inside, the lenses return to normal.…

The Avengers (“Earth’s Mightiest Heroes”) are assembling on the big screen once more – and this time, there are rather a lot of them. This film is the third in the Avengers series, following Avengers Assemble in 2012 and Avengers: Age of Ultron in 2015. However, the filmmakers have said that every film in the Marvel universe – since the very first Iron Man movie, which was released in 2008 – has been leading up to Avengers: Infinity War. That’s 18 films in total, just to get to this point. Marvel heroes from across the galaxy will be joining forces in Infinity War to stop Thanos (also known as The Mad Titan), a villain whom film fans first met at the very end of Avengers Assemble and who later appeared…

In May last year, there was a terrorist attack at Manchester Arena where US singer Ariana Grande was performing, and 23 people lost their lives. Two weeks after the attack, Grande held a concert called One Love, which raised £18 million for the people who were injured and the relatives of people who died. On 20 April, Grande released her first single since the incident, called No Tears Left To Cry. In the song, Grande refers to overcoming fear and hatred “even when it’s raining down”. At the end of the 24-year-old’s music video, a worker bee is seen flying towards the camera. This is in honour of the city – the bee is the symbol of Manchester. Check out Grande’s new song at tinyurl.com/TWJ-notearslefttocry VICTORY! Ariana Grande got her…

Too tall for basketball US basketball player David Simon can no longer play in the Korean Basketball League (KBL) because he is too tall. Basketball players are usually tall, but KBL has decided to enforce height restrictions on foreign players. Out of the two non-Korean players each KBL team is allowed, one must be no taller than 1.85 metres, and the other no taller than 1.98 metres. Simon is 2.02 metres tall, which makes him too tall to play. Simon has already played in Bulgaria, France, Kazakhstan and Russia, so he’ll probably be jetting off to another league. Leopard in the loo On 15 April, a wild leopard found its way onto the streets of a busy Indian city, then strolled into a house and made itself comfortable in the…