Innholdsfortegnelse for No. 143 i The Week Junior

Donald Trump has had one of his toughest weeks as US president so far, after two of his most powerful former advisers appeared in court on 21 August charged with different crimes. One admitted wrongdoing; the other was found guilty by a court. Michael Cohen, who used to work as Trump’s lawyer, admitted breaking the law during the 2016 presidential election and said he had been acting on Trump’s orders. On the same day, Paul Manafort, who worked as Trump’s campaign manager, was found guilty of crimes he committed before he started working for the president. Both could now face time in jail. What did Michael Cohen do? On 21 August, Cohen said he had paid two women in the past who claimed to have had secret relationships with Trump.…

This year, the UK has experienced a series of extreme weather events – from the cold, wet winter to the summer’s record hot temperatures. Because of this, it’s thought that the cost of meat, vegetables and dairy products could rise, increasing food bills by up to 5%. That’s the equivalent of people paying up to £7 more per month on food. The weather has affected land used for growing vegetables and animal feed. Since less food has been produced, costs will rise.…

It’s a trend that is, for some people, becoming too popular. Piles of rocks or stones can be found on coastlines around the UK, left behind by visitors who might want to leave their mark on the local landscape and perhaps take a photo. Yet environment campaigners say the practice is having a negative effect on wildlife such as the oystercatcher, a coastal bird that relies on pebbles as part of its habitat. If the oystercatcher’s habitat is changed by people towering rocks on top of each other, the birds could suffer. Additionally, the creation of new stone stacks could cause confusion in places where they have traditionally been used to provide directions to walkers and climbers. So what do you think? Are piles of stones just a bit of…

Ray Bradshaw, aged 29, performs his comedy acts in both spoken and signed language. He grew up with two deaf parents, so believed everyone knew sign language. “I remember being in the playground at five or six years old and signing to the other kids and they didn’t sign back... I just thought they were dead stupid,” he explained to the i newspaper. Telling a joke can be quite different when you’re using your hands. “Sometimes it takes longer in sign language so people laugh at different points,” he said. “Someone was making a noise and I told them off for it, and then I realised they were deaf and they were laughing at the joke I’d signed. So I actually told someone off in my own show for laughing.”…

The diamond-shaped Isle of Rum in Scotland is described as the jewel of the Inner Hebrides, which is a chain of islands. There are many walks to enjoy, allowing visitors to take in both the mountain and coastal scenery, along with Kinloch Castle. In 1957, the island was designated a National Nature Reserve because it is filled with animals such as eagles, red deer and Rum ponies. It is also home to one of the world’s largest colonies of Manx shearwater (a kind of bird). Find out more at isleofrum.com…

Fifteen years ago, when a team of researchers discovered that the world’s population of Vancouver Island marmots (a large species of squirrel) totalled fewer than 30 individuals, the scientists sprang into action to help save it. Today, the population is estimated to be between 150 and 200. ● LIFESPAN IN THE WILD: On average, 10 years. ● HABITAT: Only found on parts of Vancouver Island, in Canada. They live in burrows in mostly alpine meadows. ● DIET: These herbivores munch their way through more than 50 different types of grass and flowers. ● FUN FACT: Marmots touch noses to greet one another. IS THAT A SQUIRREL? The Vancouver Island marmot is roughly the same sizeas abig house cat. It is one of the largest members of the squirrel family.…

The war in Yemen started in 2014, when Houthi rebels (who had been fighting against the Yemeni government for many years) captured the capital city, Sana’a. When President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi fled Yemen in 2015, Saudi Arabia joined the conflict on the side of Hadi’s government. The Houthi rebels are being supported by Iran. Saudi Arabia and Iran are rivals in the region. Saudi Arabia has gathered the support of other nations in the area, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and launched air strikes against the Houthi rebels. All sides have been accused of targeting civilians (ordinary people, rather than soldiers or police).…

The charity Save the Children is working in Yemen to provide families with food, medical assistance and clean water and to create safe spaces where children can learn. More than 11 million children are in need of help – which is the equivalent of the entire under-18 population of England. “It’s crucial the war in Yemen ends soon so children can go back to being children again,” said Bhanu Bhatnagar, a Save the Children spokesperson. To find out more about the charity’s work, go to tinyurl.com/TWJ-yemen…

Avery unusual work of art has been put up for sale in New York. It is expected to fetch up to £9,000, even though it was made by a computer using artificial intelligence (AI, a system that can learn how to programme itself). It is a portrait of Edmond De Belamy, an imaginary person who was made up by a computer programme. The computer was set to work by a trio of artists from Paris, who call themselves Obvious. To begin with, the team fed their computer data from 15,000 of the best portraits painted over the past 700 years. The computer then began to produce portraits. The results looked like people and included visible brushstrokes and other artistic flourishes. Next, the artists built another AI s ystem to spot…

What you need ● 1 large banana ● 2 medium eggs ● Pinch of baking powder ● 3 drops of vanilla extract ● 1 teaspoon of oil ● Any topping you like ● Bowl ● Fork ● Frying pan Instructions First, peel the banana before breaking it into chunks and putting it into the bowl. Using the fork, mash it until it looks sloppy and has no lumps. Add the eggs, baking powder and vanilla and mix thoroughly. Place the frying pan on a medium heat and tip in the oil. Swirl it around to cover the bottom of the pan. Spoon in the batter to make two round pancakes and cook for 1–2 minutes on each side. Take them out, and repeat until the batter is used up. Decorate…

“Just So Festival was great fun! There was loads to do and see. One of our favourite shows was ‘That Was The Week For Kids’ and we took part in the Big debate with Vanessa Harriss, the managing editor of The Week Junior.” Daniel, Year 4 and Henry, Year 3 “Here is a picture of our journalism workshop team holding the article we produced.” Eva, Year 6, and Amy, Year 3 Journalism workshop: These front covers were designed by roving reporters after we shared our ideas on how to create an eye-catching design.…

The South American country of Venezuela is in crisis, with thousands of people escaping across the border. That’s because Venezuela’s economy is in serious trouble, which has led to a shortage of basic goods such as food and medicine. Venezuela should be very rich. It has lots of oil, which it sells to other countries. However, the global price of oil has fallen sharply. This means that the government has less money to buy goods, and these problems, along with the government’s response to them, have led to something called hyperinflation. This is when the price of ordinary goods spirals out of control; at the same time, the value of money falls. The government has reacted by printing more money, but this is only adding to the problem. The more…

On 23 August, Dominic Raab, the member of the Government who is overseeing Brexit, revealed what might happen if the UK is unable to make a Brexit deal with the European Union (EU). What is Brexit? Brexit is the word used to describe the UK’s exit from the EU – an organisation of 28 European countries who trade together and follow the same rules. On 23 June 2016, around 52% of UK voters chose to leave the EU. This is due to happen on 29 March 2019. There will be a transition period until 31 December 2020, when EU laws will be replaced in the UK. What’s the problem? Despite voting for Brexit two years ago, the UK has not yet reached a deal with the EU as to how…

UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid has apologised to some members of the Windrush generation who have been badly treated by the Government. The Windrush generation is the name given to people from the Caribbean who came to the UK to work after the Second World War. Some of the first to arrive travelled on a ship called the Empire Windrush. Although they were given the right to stay in the UK for as long as they wanted, several were later affected by a Government plan to create a “hostile environment” for illegal immigrants. This plan was designed to make life harder for people who aren’t allowed to stay in the UK. Javid’s Government department, the Home Office (responsible for immigration), looked at thousands of historic records and found that 11…

Three young golden eagles have been released by conservationists into the wild at a secret location in the Scottish Moffat Hills, in the hope of boosting the species’ population in the south of Scotland. The trio – named Edward, Beaky and Emily by local primary-school children – were moved from their former home in the Highlands, where most of these birds are found. The South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project’s chairman, Mark Oddy, explained that in recent decades, south Scotland’s golden eagle population has needed a helping hand. Once widespread in this part of Scotland, the eagles have been greatly affected by human activity and changes to the landscape. As a result, there are fewer than five breeding pairs in the area. With such a small population living there, it’s…

In 2017–18, the UK sent £250 million worth of aid to Yemen. However, the UK, the US and France have been selling weapons to the Saudi-UAE forces and have been warned by the UN about their involvement in the war. Since the war began, the UK has sold more than £4.6 billion worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia, according to the Campaign Against Arms Trade. On 9 August, a bomb hit a school bus in north Yemen, killing 51 people, including 40 children. The US sold the bomb to Saudi Arabia.…

We cannot see the wind, just feel it as the air rushes past, but a new satellite has been launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) that will change that. Named Aeolus, the orbiter will make maps of the winds blowing all around the globe, which is something meteorologists (weather scientists) have never seen before. The meteorologists hope that this extra information will make their weather forecasts better, especially in tropical areas. The tropics are the warm regions north and south of the equator (an imaginary line drawn around the Earth’s circumference), and it is here that much of the world’s most violent weather occurs, including hurricanes. Watching the winds will make it possible to predict this kind of weather earlier, which will save lives. The satellite, which is named…

You might think that a turtle’s most notable characteristic is its shell – but did you know that it hasn’t always had one? A new discovery in China of a fossil reptile from 228 million years reveals just that. The fossil, which is about 2.3 metres long including its tail, has a toothless beak – just like today’s turtles – and the long ribs, too, but it has no shell at all. A modern turtle’s shell is made from sheets of bone that grow over the reptile’s long ribs. This suggests that the ancestors of turtles already had wide ribs, and therefore wide bodies, before they evolved armour. We don’t know why they have wide ribs; they might have helped turtles to dig for food or to make nests. Another…

On 6 September, the new UEFA Nations League football competition kicks off. It’s an international tournament for all men’s national teams in Europe. The top 12 ranked teams are placed in League A, the next 12 best in League B, the next 15 in League C and the remaining 16 in League D. The event will take place every two years. The aim is to create exciting games when no World Cup or European Championship matches are taking place, because some fans think one-off friendly matches, which are not linked to any tournament, can be a bit boring. Countries have either two or three other teams in their group. They play each other at home and away between September and November 2018, which means they play either four or six…

Geraint Thomas Geraint Thomas made Tour de France history this year after becoming the first Welshman to win the event. He’s been a professional for 12 years and is also a double Olympic champion. Last year’s Tour of Britain ended in his home city of Cardiff. Chris Froome Cycling since the age of 12, Chris Froome has won the Tour de France four times – three of the victories were in a row (2015–17). He was born in Kenya but switched to compete for Britain in 2008. Charlie and Harry Tanfield These cycling siblings were a Commonwealth Games success story. Charlie (right) won a gold and a silver, and Harry took home a silver. The pair are competing as part of the reigning Tour of Britain champion team Canyon Eisberg.…

Would you change your mind because of a robot? A study by the University of Plymouth suggests many young people would. The research involved seven to nine-year-olds (as well as adults) taking a test. It asked them to look at a screen showing four lines and say which two were the same length. When children were alone in the room they did well, scoring 87%, but when the robots joined in, the children’s score dropped to 75%. Almost three quarters of the wrong answers were the same as the robots’, suggesting that the children were more likely to give the same answers as the robots, even when the answers were obviously wrong. The adults in the test weren’t nearly so easily swayed. “What our results show is that adults do…

What you need ● A piece of A4 paper ● Scissors ● An audience Instructions Show your audience the piece of paper and tell them you’re going to step through it. Fold the piece of paper in half lengthways, then hold the paper up vertically. Start at the bottom and cut a line horizontally from the folded side, but don’t cut all the way across. Continue to do this, alternating which side you cut from, leaving a centimetre or two in between each cut. The final cut you make must be from the folded side. Cut through the folded edges, apart from the first and last fold. Open it up, and step through!…

Since 2016, a British-Iranian woman called Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been held in a prison in Iran after she was found guilty of spying – a charge she strongly denies. She was sentenced to five years in prison. On 23 August, there was some good news after Zaghari-Ratcliffe was temporarily released for three days so that she could spend time with her family, including her four-year-old daughter, Gabriella. At the time of her arrest, Zaghari-Ratcliffe worked for a charity. She was arrested at Iran’s Tehran airport after visiting her parents, who live in Iran, with her daughter. Her daughter’s UK passport was temporarily taken away by authorities – which means Gabriella had to stay with Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s family in Iran. Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband, who didn’t travel to Iran with them, is in the…

Brussels, Belgium This Is Not a Street Street This Is Not a Street (Ceci n’est pas une rue) has been chosen as a street name in the Belgian capital of Brussels. The name refers to a painting by one of Belgium’s most famous artists, René Magritte (1898–1967), who painted a picture of a pipe and wrote, Ceci n’est pas une pipe (This is not a pipe) underneath. Magritte was part of the surrealism movement. Surrealists made art that seemed like a strange dream. Dublin, Ireland Pope makes historic visit to Ireland Pope Francis has spent two days visiting Ireland, 39 years since the last visit by a pope. The head of the Catholic Church celebrated mass (a religious ceremony) with several hundred thousand people in Dublin’s Phoenix Park during his…

Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas doesn’t usually aim for individual glory. The Welsh cyclist has been credited with helping his cycling teammates, including four-times Tour winner Chris Froome, to win races, but Thomas’s purpose hasn’t always been to take the top prize himself. In cycling, a lot of energy can be wasted if you’re in front of the other riders, because you face the most air resistance, which is very hard work. Teams competing in long races such as the Tour de France let their best cyclist (for Team Sky, that’s Froome) go behind their teammates so that they can save their energy. For a long time, Thomas had held Team Sky’s position of “domestique”, a rider whose role it is to take on the force of the air…

On 14 August, the New Caledonian government voted for tougher protection for some of the world’s cleanest coral reefs. New Caledonia is a French territory in the Pacific Ocean, made up of dozens of small islands. It is home to more than 9,300 marine species, including green sea turtles and 2.5 million sea birds. Some of the healthiest reefs in the world can also be found here, brimming with creatures such as sea bass, several rare types of crab and two species of giant clam. Although these particular coral reefs are very healthy, the planet’s reefs overall are declining because of pollution, overfishing and climate change (the long-term shift of the Earth’s average temperatures and weather patterns). Reefs are also at risk from tourists, who are eager to see up…

Yemen is an ancient country with a rich culture, famous for its beautiful landscapes and buildings. It is thought to be the place where coffee was first brewed. Located in the south-western corner of the Arabian peninsula, it is where the Middle East, Africa and Asia meet. In recent times, most people only hear about the country because of its terrible civil war – which is when people from the same country fight each other. The war has led to what the United Nations (UN) – an organisation made up most of the world’s countries that takes action on human rights, peace and climate change – has called “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis”. FACTS ABOUT YEMEN ● Population  Around 28 million ● Language  Arabic ● Religion  Muslim 99.1%, other (Jewish,…

According to Greek mythology, Aeolus was the king of a small island near Sicily, who had been given power over the winds by the gods. In one story, Aeolus is visited by the explorer Odysseus, who is lost and wants to get home to Greece. Aeolus gives Odysseus a strong west wind to blow him all the way there, and a bag containing all the other winds just in case. As the exhausted Odysseus nears home, he falls asleep, and his crew decide to look in the bag. The winds blast out at once and blow the ship all the way back to Aeolus. Today, the islands north of Sicily are called the Aeolian Islands.…

Rumour has it that actress and singer Zendaya will play the lead role in Disney’s upcoming live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid. Reports say that a source close to Walt Disney Studios has admitted that Zendaya had been offered the part of Ariel, the mermaid obsessed with the human world. Both Disney and Zendaya’s representatives have refused to comment on these stories, so fans will have to wait to find out if it is true. Although little is known about this under-the-sea adaptation, it has been confirmed that Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote most of the songs in Moana, is working on the music. Even The Little Mermaid’s release date remains a mystery, however Disney has a number of live-action films already lined up for next year including Dumbo, Aladdin and…

Microsoft’s HoloLens headset can be used for fun, allowing you to project Minecraft onto a table in front of you, for example, but it also has a more serious side. Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool is planning to use the device in its operating theatres, for surgeons as they work on operations. For example, surgeons may use the augmented-reality (AR) features of the HoloLens to see information about their patients in front of them as they work. Rafael Guerrero, a cardiac (heart) surgeon at the hospital, says he will be able “to have a patient’s scans in front of me while I’m doing the operation”. Alder Hey will need a special app to do this, which is being developed now. HEFTY PRICE TAG It costs more than £2,700 to…

Jean-François Thomas de Thomon was a French architect who designed many buildings in St Petersburg, Russia. To pay tribute to his work, the city commissioned a statue of him that was unveiled seven years ago. However, Russian website Fontanka realised the statue is in fact of a Scottish professor called Thomas Thomson. The sculptor based the statue on a Wikipedia picture and did not consult historians to make sure it was right. What do you think? Was a statue of a professor incorrectly put on show or have we got all mixed up?*…

The Rock Aqua Jays water-ski show team is hoping to have broken a world record with a human pyramid on water formed by 80 of its members. The 20-time national champion waterskiers joined two other teams in Wisconsin, US, for the incredible stunt. At the moment, the record for the largest human waterskiing pyramid is 64 people, achieved in 2017, but it will take several weeks before the Rock Aqua Jays find out if their efforts will be formally recognised by Guinness World Records.…