Innholdsfortegnelse for 164 i The Week Junior

Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, is under pressure to hold a new election, and there is uncertainty about the South American country’s future. Protesters have taken to the streets, and the opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, has declared himself leader of the country. The crisis has drawn international attention; countries including Brazil, Canada and the US are supporting Guaidó, whereas China, Russia and others back Maduro. What happened? On 10 January, Maduro was officially confirmed as the president of Venezuela for the second time after winning an election that was held in May 2018. However, this election is widely thought to have been unfair, carried out to make sure Maduro would win. On 23 January, Juan Guaidó declared himself the leader of Venezuela in front of thousands of demonstrators who had gathered…

A BRILLIANT DISCOVERY Workers building a new railway line have found the grave of British explorer Matthew Flinders. In 1803, Flinders became the first person to sail around Australia, proving it was an island. The grave is in St James’s cemetery near Euston station in London. POETRY FANS The UK’s first poetry pharmacy is to open in Shropshire, where “patients” will be prescribed poems instead of pills. Until now, Deborah Alma had been using a converted ambulance to lift people’s spirits. She calls herself the Emergency Poet, and has already given poetry first aid at festivals, hospitals and schools. FINDING A RED PANDA A rare red panda has been discovered safe and sound after escaping from her enclosure at Belfast Zoo. Amber left the zoo on 27 January and was…

● A digital library, called Open Library, is offering readers the chance to borrow ebooks for two weeks at a time, for free. ● An ebook is an electronic version of a printed book, which can be read on a computer or other digital device. ● With a normal public library, authors get a small payment every time one of their books is borrowed by a reader. ● Many authors are unhappy with Open Library because it doesn’t pay the writer when a book is borrowed. The UK Society of Authors, which represents more than 10,000 writers, has written to Open Library asking it to stop lending ebooks for free.…

If you had a break from school, would you take a 32-hour train journey then sleep in a tent in freezing temperatures? That’s what 16-year-old activist Greta Thunberg did. She travelled from Sweden to Davos, Switzerland, where a conference about money and business was taking place. She wants to challenge political leaders to do more to help the environment. She gave a speech to politicians, music stars and bankers, telling them to put the environment before their businesses. “I want you to act as you would in a crisis,“ she said. “I want you to act as if our house is on fire. Because it is.“…

Bursting with flowers, the gardens of Castlewellan attract visitors from around the world. The walled garden was built in the 1850s and contains plants and trees brought over from Australia, Chile, China and Japan. Its mile-long lake is surrounded by modern sculptures, and there are about 17 miles of mountain-bike trails, a horse-riding centre and adventure play parks. A large hedge maze, planted in 2000, celebrates peace in Northern Ireland. Find out more at castlewellancastle.org/forestpark…

In 2008, nine-year-old Matthew Berger was walking with his dog in the Malapa Caves, in South Africa, a world-famous fossil site called the Cradle of Humankind, when he tripped over a strange rock. He had no idea that he had stumbled – literally – across an ancient human ancestor called Australopithecus sediba. After 10 years of studying, and arguing over, the bones, experts have now concluded that this new species of ancient human is a missing link (a species that bridges an evolutionary gap) between our ape-like ancestors and early humans. The fossils were the remains of a young male and adult female, who lived around 1.98 million years ago. They had arm bones like monkeys, suggesting they spent a lot of time swinging in the trees; small feet bones,…

London Lions & Sheffield Hatters They won the men’s and women’s British Basketball League Cup. The Lions beat Glasgow Rocks and the Hatters beat Sevenoak Suns. Vivianne Miedema The striker scored her 16th league goal of the season for Arsenal Women, which is a record in the Women’s Super League. Sam Bird The British racing driver won the Formula E Santiago E-Prix in Chile. Bird leads the drivers’ championship. Laura & Jason Kenny The Olympic cycling champions both won titles at the National Track Championships in Manchester. The couple were married in 2016.…

What are you afraid of? Fairground rides! I love to watch them (from a safe distance, on the ground), but even then my heart races, I feel a bit sick and I get a nervous giggle. What is the scariest thing you have ever done? Probably my very first school presentation as an author. I don’t have any experience with public speaking so I was shaking and I didn’t sleep the night before. I’ve done hundreds now and, although I still get a bit nervous, I really enjoy them. That’s something I never thought I’d say! What was your favourite subject in school? Why? English. I loved reading and I really enjoyed discovering books, plays and poetry. It was great to find different things I would have never picked up…

Uno! Android / iOS (Free) U no! is one of the most popular family card games ever invented, responsible for many a Christmas argument once relatives start ganging up on one another. Now it has been turned into a mobile app, which you can play against friends and family, or go online to test your skills against the world. The rules follow the original game: you start with a hand of coloured, numbered cards. The aim is to be the first person to get rid of them all in order to win. Some cards will make the next player pick up more cards or miss a go. Most of your games are played online against other people in groups of four, but if you just want to play against people…

David Walliams is famous for his books and TV appearances, but now he’s trying something new: a podcast for young people about classical music. He has teamed up with the radio station Classic FM for the 10-episode series, called David Walliams’ Marvellous Musical Podcast. Classical music is the fastest-growing genre in the UK, and the first episode will be available on 4 February. The podcast will talk about some of the most famous composers to have lived, including Beethoven and Mozart, as well as the instruments that are used to play their music. Classic FM is promising that the podcast will be “fun, entertaining and cheeky”, and hopes that young people will listen to it with the rest of their families. The podcast will be available through apps such as…

What you need ● Warm clothes ● Compass or compass app on phone Instructions Help map light pollution (the bad effects of too much man-made light) in the UK by counting stars with the naked eye (without binoculars or telescopes). 1 On a cloudless night, use the compass to find which direction is south. Then look for the three-star “belt” of the constellation Orion (see picture, left). Once you have found it, you will then see it has four stars framing it, creating a box shape. 2 Take a few moments to let your eyes adjust to the darkness, then count the number of stars you can see within the box shape made by the four corner stars. You should not count the four stars in the corners, but you…

Between 4 and 10 February, Children’s Mental Health Week will be marked across the UK. This year’s theme is “Healthy: Inside and Out”. The idea is to focus not only on your physical health, such as eating healthily, doing exercise and getting lots  of sleep, but also thinking about your mind and mental wellbeing, too. Mental health is all about how we think, feel and behave. Most of us get angry, sad or anxious from time to time, but some people feel negative emotions for far longer – weeks or even months. This can interfere with everyday life, making it difficult to eat, sleep or go to school. Mental health and physical health are linked; a brisk walk and a good night’s sleep can improve your mood, and there are…

Teacher’s name: Mr Dhaliwal School: Meadowburn Primary School, Glasgow “Mr Dhaliwal is awesome, he makes learning as fun as possible. He is really sporty and often plays kick rounders with our class! He’s always there when we need him. Thanks for being our teacher!” Euan If we pick your teacher as Teacher of the Week, we’ll send your school three free issues of The Week Junior and your teacher will receive a STABILO Marking Pack of seven pens worth £17. Send your nominations, along with a picture of your teacher and your school’s full name and address, to hello@theweekjunior.co.uk Sponsored by…

Public libraries are an important part of communities across the UK, offering thousands of books to readers. Although people borrow the books for free, the libraries, which are usually run by local authorities, pay a small fee to the author and publisher every time one of their books is taken home. This means writers continue to get paid, rather than only receiving a payment when the library first bought a copy of their book. However, an online library has set up a different service. Open Library lends users ebooks to download and read on tablets, phones or other digital devices, all free of charge. It says it won’t pay authors each time someone borrows a book. Open Library says it is following legal guidelines, but is it a good idea?…

Angie Thomas, a US author, had her first book rejected by 150 companies and it wasn't published. Her second book, The Hate U Give (THUG), was a hit, topping sales lists around the world before being turned into a film and released last year (certificate 12A). Her third book, On the Come Up, is about to be released. Her newest book returns to Garden Heights, the fictional setting of THUG, and follows 16-year-old Bri, who aspires to be a hip-hop artist. “It does feel like a dream I’m going to wake up from,” she told The Guardian newspaper in describing her success. “It’s definitely surreal.” THUG was set in a US neighbourhood and followed 16-year-old Starr, who sees her friend Khalil being shot by the police. Starr goes on to…

Are the adults in your life the kind of people who can’t get going in the morning without a cup of coffee? Their favourite hot drink may be at risk, according to a new report, which shows that 60% of the world’s known coffee species are facing extinction. Coffee is made from the dried, roasted and ground seeds of a fruit called the coffee cherry. Although there are 124 different species of coffee, only two types are actually blended together to make coffee drinks – arabica and robusta beans. Arabica, which accounts for more than half of the world’s coffee production, is at risk. Climate change (long-term changes in the planet’s average temperature) is affecting where wild and cultivated coffee plants can grow, because coffee is very sensitive to changes…

Luke Harvey, Deputy head of predators, ZSL London Zoo Meerkats have developed a very effective strategy for eating scorpions. They attack quickly, giving the scorpion little time to react. First, they bite off the venomous tail (although meerkats have some resistance to the venom, a sting could be fatal). Next, they use sand to brush off any traces of venom from the scorpion’s body. Then, it’s mealtime! Do you love animals? ZSL London Zoo’s Junior Zoo Academy is a great way to learn about creatures from all over the world. Find out more at zsl.org/experiences…

Australopithecus afarensis Alive: 3.85–2.95 million years ago A. afarensis swung in trees and walked upright on land. A skeleton from the species was found in 1974 and named Lucy. Australopithecus sediba Alive:1.97–1.98 million years ago Because of its ape-like face and ability to use tools, scientists think that A. sediba slots in between A. afarensis and H. habilis in the human family tree. Homo habilis Alive: 2.4–1.4 million years ago Nicknamed “handy man” because scientists believed they were the first makers of stone tools, Homo habilis was one of the first ancient humans. They had some ape-like features, but had a much larger brain than A. afarensis.…

Alex Rider: Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz (Walker Books) Meet top teen spy Alex Rider in the first book from Anthony Horowitz’s gripping series. When 14-year-old Alex is recruited into MI6, he’s armed with secret gadgets and sent to investigate Herod Sayle – a man offering state-of-the-art computers to every school in the country, but Sayle has a secret agenda, and soon Alex finds himself in danger. Taylor & Rose Secret Agents: Peril in Paris by Katherine Woodfine. Illustrated by Karl James Mountford (Egmont UK) On an assignment for the mysterious Secret Service Bureau, young detective duo Sophie and Lil must turn their talents to becoming secret agents. They put their spy skills to the test, investigating sinister goings-on in the grand boulevards of Paris before the First World War. The…

With dance moves, big beats, puppetry and a naughty, raspberry-blowing sheep, the National Theatre’s version of The Winter’s Tale is a perfect introduction to the works of William Shakespeare. Directed by Ruth Mary Johnson, the play is a reimagining of The Winter’s Tale through the eyes of Perdita, a brave and clever girl. She journeys into a world of magic and mayhem to uncover the story of why she was abandoned and later rescued. “She’s kind of like Doctor Who,” says Johnson. “She rewinds and fast-forwards time. She’s in control of everything and she guides the audience through the story.” The performance begins with Perdita looking back on her life. Johnson decides to tell the story from Perdita’s perspective because it’s the adults in the play who make all the…

Dragonheart (1996) DVD, iTunes, Prime Video This was quite an ambitious film, made at a time when Jurassic Park had set new standards in special effects. The challenge for Dragonheart was to have a fully computer-generated character – the dragon – at the heart of its story. Recruiting the original James Bond actor, Sean Connery, to provide the dragon’s voice helped its appeal to viewers, too. The plot features the King Arthur story (back in cinemas with The Kid Who Would Be King), and follows the friendship between a knight and a dragon. It’s a fun and charming story – and not short on fire. HARDACT TO FOLLOW An assortment of sequels have followed, although none got a cinema release.…

Forged Fantasy Android / iOS Monsters, treasure and powerful heroes – Forged Fantasy has all the familiar ingredients needed to make a fun roleplaying game (RPG). And even though it’s a mobile game, it looks as good as many games you’d play on a console such as PS4, Switch or Xbox One. You have to collect a team of heroes – you can choose from 27 – and take them off battling. As you go, you’ll upgrade their skills to make them stronger, so they’ree fit for more difficult missions. You can play its Campaign Mode alone, but there are also online battles. In-app purchases can speed up your progress, but aren’t essential.…

Follow The Week Junior on Popjam@TheWeekJunior. You can download the free Popjam app from the App Store or Google Play. On International Holocaust Memorial Day, the world remembered the millions of people who were killed during the Holocaust. You said... “The Holocaust should never be forgotten” “I’ve visited a concentration camp” Public Health England is planning to get pupils to learn how much sugar is in their food. We asked our Popjammers if schools need to teach this... “Yes! Kids should know how much sugar is in their food” “It will teach them not to eat too much junk and maybe persuade them to eat their greens!” Tell us what you think of this week’s issue and we’ll print some of the best comments here. The Week Junior is delivered…

Inside a painting craze It’s a bit of a puzzle, but there’s a man who painted a woman who painted a man who painted a woman who painted a swan. Sound confusing? It’s the latest viral trend, which began when someone posted a photo of his mum with her painting of an egret (a bird that others said looked more like a swan) on the Reddit website. Another user saw the image and decided to paint it, and he was then captured in paint by another artist. Like a Russian doll, the trend grew and grew, taking the internet by storm. Liverpool star sent off by his teacher Despite being 33 years old, it seems Liverpool midfielder James Milner can still get into trouble with his primary school teachers. The…

1Where was an ancient rock from Earth discovered? 2True or false? Babies in Leicester will be tracked by scientists to see what effect art activities have on their lives. 3What sort of animal did a three-year-old boy say looked after him while he was lost in the woods? a) A panda b) A bear c) A wolf 4True or false? The average author in the UK gets paid more than £100,000 a year. 5The title of which book by Angie Thomas can be shortened to THUG? 6Why is Bear the hedgehog getting massages? a) To help him walk b) To help his spines grow back c) To help him to poo 7Which anniversary is the RSPB celebrating? 8True or false? Saturn’s rings formed 4.5 billion years ago. 9What did a…

The parents of a footballer who disappeared when his flight vanished over the English Channel have launched a new search for him and the pilot. Cardiff City footballer Emiliano Sala had been on a light aircraft travelling from Nantes in France to Cardiff in Wales on 21 January when it lost contact with air-traffic control while flying over the island of Guernsey. Sala was the only passenger on the plane, which was being flown by an experienced pilot, Dave Ibbotson. Ibbotson had asked air-traffic control for permission to descend, shortly before officials lost contact with the plane. Guernsey Police immediately launched a search for Sala and Ibbotson, but no sign of the plane or its life raft were found, and on 24 January the search was called off. Harbourmaster David…

Now that you’ve read a bit more about it, tell us what you think by voting in our poll at theweekjunior.co.uk/polls . Vote YES if you think that libraries should lend ebooks for free, or NO if you don’t. We’ll publish the results next week. The aim of the Big debate page is to present two sides of an issue fairly and objectively, in order to stimulate discussion and allow our readers to make up their minds. The views on the page do not reflect those of The Week Junior, and the page is not funded by third parties. The page is created in association with the English-Speaking Union, an educational charity helping young people discover their voice and realise their full potential. For more information, please…

Bear the spineless hedgehog A hedgehog that lost its prickles is receiving daily massages to help them grow back. Bear, who was found in Shropshire, had suffered from an ear mite infection and the stress probably caused his spines to fall out. Bear is also receiving weekly baths to treat his skin. Wild caribou in the US The last caribou in the contiguous United States (the 48 states that are connected – so not Hawaii and Alaska) has been removed from the wild. The mammal was captured and will be released alongside two other animals in Canada. It is hoped that this will boost population numbers.…

This year marks 130 years since Emily Williamson and a group of women set up an organisation to save several species of bird from extinction. In 1889, Williamson started a group that became the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) – now the UK’s largest nature-conservation charity. There are more than 10,000 species of bird across the world – and they play a vital role in our lives. They live in a range of habitats from jungles and mountains to cities and the countryside. Not only do birds’ beautifully patterned feathers and chirping songs bring joy, they are also essential to the wellbeing of the planet. They eat insects, fertilise flowers by transferring pollen, and spread seeds. Unfortunately, birds still need protection today because many species’ numbers are…

A quiet seaside village is not the usual setting for an exciting international championship, but Hopton-on-Sea is a bit different. The coastal resort in Norfolk, England, hosted the World Indoor Bowls finals on 11–27 January. Julie Forrest and Stewart Anderson, both from Scotland, were crowned the women’s and men’s champions. Bowls can be played indoors or outdoors. Singles players have four bowls, which they send rolling, in turn, towards a smaller ball called a jack. One point is scored for every bowl that’s nearer than their opponent’s to the jack. At the World Indoor finals, the singles competition involved two sets of 11 “ends”. An end is over when each player has bowled four balls. A new game begins by bowling in the other direction. Forrest beat Alison Merrien 8-7…

by Lisa Thompson (Scholastic) Maxwell has hit rock bottom. He’s constantly in trouble at school, and things are no better at home, where his parents are constantly arguing. When he falls out with his best friend Charlie and causes chaos at a school event, things go from bad to worse. Escaping to the house of his elderly neighbour Reg, Maxwell finds himself wishing he’d never been born. Thanks to Reg’s mysterious cabinet of curiosities, his wish unexpectedly comes true – and Maxwell finds himself suddenly erased from his life, as though he’d never existed. It’s fun being anonymous at first, but soon he misses his family and his old life. Can Maxwell find a way to change things back? This mystery is an entertaining story about family, friends and finding…

The Greatest Dancer 7.30pm on 2 February, BBC One It’s the first live show of the series, and the nine remaining dancers face their toughest challenge yet. For the first time, it will be up to the viewers at home to decide who deserves to remain in the competition and get a chance to win £50,000 and appear on Strictly Come Dancing. Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase trailer tinyurl.com/twj-nancy-drew Nancy Drew, the teenage detective who first appeared in 1930, is back. She has popped up regularly over the decades, and this version sees her investigating spooky events in her town. Eurovision: You Decide 7.30pm on 8 February, BBC Two Six acts, including MAID, are battling it out to represent the UK at this year’s Eurovision contest. Each act will…

How safe is flag football? It’s virtually contact-free so there’s much less chance of getting a contact injury, like in rugby or American football. Playing and training regularly is good for your general fitness and will improve your team skills, too. What’s the minimum age? The British American Football Association organises leagues for under-12s and there’s no minimum age. What’s more, there are plenty of adult leagues, so young fans never have to give it up. What do I need? You don’t need expensive padding or helmets like the NFL players do, just normal sports clothing or team colours, footwear suitable for running on a field, and two flags per person. Flags can even be school ties or made from strips of old material. If you don’t have a proper…