Innholdsfortegnelse for 213 i The Week Junior

A top Iranian military general has died after he was hit by a US air strike on 3 January. The general, Qasem Soleimani, was one of the most powerful people in Iran. He was outside Baghdad airport in neighbouring Iraq when the attack took place. Who was Qasem Soleimani? Soleimani was head of the Quds Force, which is a part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – an Iranian military force separate to the army that was set up in 1979. The Quds Force carries out operations outside Iran. It has supported President Bashar al-Assad in the civil war in Syria, as well as other groups across the Middle East. Soleimani was a hero in Iran. Why did the US target him? The US says that the Quds Force is…

LITTLE TERNS A type of bird known as the little tern had a good 2019, according to the National Trust. The organisation, which looks after properties and land in the UK, reported 108 pairs nesting and 78 chicks on the Norfolk coast. There were no new chicks in 2018. A LIFE SAVER A 73-year-old man in the US has been praised for saving the lives of 864 people through his regular blood donations. James Michelini, who lives in Florida, has given blood every two weeks for the past 43 years. More than 375 litres of his blood has been used over the years, saving hundreds of lives. THIS YOUNG GOALKEEPER Kai Evitt, a nine-year-old from Belfast, was delighted to start 2020 with a pair of signed goalkeeper gloves from his…

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 there should only ever be one winner, 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 see esu.org…

Many animals can move in surprising ways. Mention a vampire bat, and you probably imagine it flying by moonlight, but it turns out they can also run quickly across the ground. Several animals can walk on water, including the plumed basilisk, nicknamed the Jesus lizard, and an insect called the water strider, which can support 15 times its weight without sinking. The golden wheel spider escapes predators in the Namib Desert in southern Africa by rolling into a ball and cartwheeling away.…

Science fiction, also known as sci-fi, is a type of storytelling that is inspired by science and technology. Common themes of sci-fi include time travel, space, scientific experiments, alien societies, and what Earth might look like in the distant future. Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein is often called the first example of science fiction. Other early sci-fi writers include Jules Verne, who wrote A Journey to the Centre of the Earth, and H.G. Wells, author of The War of the Worlds. On screen, science fiction has inspired TV shows like Star Trek and popular films like the Star Wars series.…

Think of a dinosaur and you probably imagine a creature so fearsome that it would have no enemies in our time. Newly discovered remains from Myanmar, in south-east Asia, suggest otherwise. It turns out that dinos were plagued by the same tiny creatures that bother many large animals (including humans) today: itchy lice. The remains in question are dinosaur feathers and tiny wingless bugs that were eating them, all trapped in amber – a hard but see-through golden substance that forms from ancient dollops of gooey tree resin. If living things are trapped in the resin before it hardens, their remains can be preserved in perfect detail. As well as dino feathers, things found in amber include ancient spiders, plants and even entire lizards. These particular pieces of amber formed…

Lori and Max by Catherine O’Flynn (Firefly Press) Lori wants to be a detective, but so far the most exciting mystery she has solved is the disappearance of her nan’s specs. Max is the new girl at school who doesn’t fit in. When some money goes missing and Max disappears, Lori must put her sleuthing skills to work to find out the truth and save her new friend. The Boy Who Fooled the World by Lisa Thompson (Scholastic) When one of his art-class paintings unexpectedly sells for thousands of pounds, Cole becomes an instant celebrity. Suddenly he’s rich and famous – but he has a secret that is spiralling out of control. Can Cole solve the riddle of a mysterious painting and put things right? A Double Detectives Medical Mystery:…

A Knight’s Tale (2001) DVD, Prime Video, iTunes, Google Play, YouTube Heath Ledger is most famous for playing The Joker in the 2008 Batman film The Dark Knight. He died just after filming it, but his work lives on. One of his most popular films is the historical action adventure A Knight’s Tale, which mixes medieval jousting with rock music and plenty of humour. Before getting the part, Ledger hadn’t had a starring role in a big action film – the director of A Knight’s Tale was shown some footage of another film he was making, and cast him because of that. HIT SONG Listen out for a brilliant use of the Queen song We Will Rock You early in the film.…

Games developers can’t make big promises about improving your health (physical or mental) without any evidence, so can Dr Kawashima’s exercises really train your brain? In 2013, researchers ran tests using the original DS version of the game, studying a mixture of young and older people who played it for 15 minutes a day, five times a week, for a month. They found that players did show improvement in certain areas, including “brain processing speed” (how long it takes someone to complete a mental task). However, it’s not just a game that can have this effect. Crosswords, jigsaw puzzles, sudoku, sums and lots of other mental activities can also train your brain.…

With more than 10,000 schools taking part and roughly 2.3 million children involved across the world, the Daily Mile is a huge project that’s also taking place in the UK. It’s a fun, free scheme that encourages young people to run or jog for 15 minutes every day at school, either around the playground or sports field. You don’t change into PE kit, but you can wear trainers or a coat if it’s chilly – although you’ll soon warm up. The Daily Mile is a simple activity that improves your health and makes you more alert. Your teacher decides when to send the class outside for their Daily Mile, which takes place outside of your break or lunchtime. The scheme is aimed at primary school pupils. Sometimes one class will…

“I took this photo while waiting to meet my grandparents in Granary Square, London. I liked the reflection of the Christmas tree in the water and I wanted to take a photograph of it because it looked really cool.” Gilbert “Greta Thunberg has inspired us to be more environmentally friendly, so we decided to use The Week Junior issues instead of wrapping paper. We hope this will make other people more aware of why we need to protect our planet.” Rachel and Sarah “Our old The Week Juniors were piling up, so we made a globe with a balloon and made our magazines into papier mâché. It was really fun!” Gabriella and Hannah…

On 7 January, the contest to replace Jeremy Corbyn as the leader of the Labour Party formally got under way. Six Members of Parliament (MPs) are hoping to take over from Corbyn, who announced in December 2019 that he would be standing down. Why is Corbyn resigning? On 12 December, the Labour Party suffered its worst result in a UK general election since 1935. A general election is a nationwide vote in which people decide who is going to represent their local area (known as a constituency or seat) in Parliament. The Conservatives, led by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, won 365 seats – 47 more than they had held before the election. Corbyn’s Labour party won 203 seats, down 59 on the previous result. The Conservatives won lots of seats…

Released on 19 December 2019, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was the biggest film of Christmas. Cinemas have been packed at the start of 2020, as fans flock to see the final entry in the Skywalker saga. Actor Oscar Isaac, who plays Resistance pilot Poe Dameron, spoke to The Week Junior about what it was like being in the film, as well as his time on The Last Jedi and The Force Awakens. Isaac says his favourite moment was filming in the desert at Wadi Rum, in the Middle Eastern country of Jordan, for The Rise of Skywalker. He says it was an incredible place and everyone had so much fun. The biggest challenge was the flying scenes, where the background and effects are added later. “It’s pretty stupid-looking,”…

Gemma Metcalf Deputy team leader of hoofstock, ZSL London Zoo Giraffe tongues are more than 50 centimetres long, allowing them to pull leaves from the tallest trees. Giraffes mainly eat leaves from thorny acacia trees, and their long flexible tongues allow them to reach around spikes without hurting themselves. Their tongues are dark because of a special chemical that protects them from sunburn. Enjoy unlimited visits to ZSL London and Whipsnade Zoos, plus a host of other benefits with ZSL Membership. Find out more at zsl.org/membership/zsl-membership…

My Feel Good Book by Françoize Boucher (Walker Books) Get the new year off to a great start with this inspirational guide to feeling confident and “happy to be you”. There are 90 feel-good tips and exercises to try, all of which can help boost your happiness. Have a go at giving yourself compliments, setting “happy reminders” on your phone, inventing your own upbeat song, or even building a den out of books. You might also be inspired to try out yoga or meditation, explore nature and the great outdoors, and even disconnect from technology (for a bit). Illustrated with lots of wacky doodles and silly scribbles, this fun book does its best to put a spring in your step and a smile on your face.…

Young Carers From 28 January to 2 February, Tate Liverpool looks at the experiences of young people who are carers (that means they regularly look after a child or someone who is ill, elderly or has a disability). The films, drawings, photos and poetry celebrate Young Carers Awareness Day, which is on 30 January. Dippy the Diplodocus It’s the last chance to see Dippy the Diplodocus at the National Museum Cardiff. Dippy is made up of 292 bones, is 21.3 metres long, 4.25 metres high and probably lived 156–145 million years ago. It is on display until 26 January in Cardiff, and then the exhibition moves to Rochdale. Turner in January The Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh is displaying works by one of the UK’s most famous artists, Joseph Mallord…

Bone Detectives: Britain’s Buried Secrets 8pm on 11 January, Channel 4 Bones often crop up at historical digs across the UK, and this new series investigates what we can learn from them. Led by Toni Herridge, scientists work to find out about the lives of the people whose bones have been discovered. Baby Chimp Rescue 8pm on 16 January, BBC One Jimmy and Jenny Desmond, who run a home for rescued chimpanzees, in Liberia, west Africa, are being kept very busy. They have 28 chimps to care for, and a deadly cold has broken out among the youngest animals. Crackerjack! 6pm on 17 January, CBBC Although modern viewers might not be familiar with this show now, Crackerjack! was first shown on the BBC all the way back in 1955 and…

Will I really run a mile? In the 15-minute walk or jog, you might run one mile, but it’s more important to stay active for that time rather than think about the distance. Along with your teacher, you can work out how many laps of the playground or field it takes to complete a mile and use that as something to aim for. What if I’m 12 or older? Secondary school pupils also need to exercise and be active every day. The Daily Mile has a scheme called Fit for Life, which encourages older pupils to do at least 15 minutes of easy and simple activity each day. Any top tips? Try running with different people each day. If you have a friend at school that you may not get…

It’s our first issue of 2020 and it’s a corker. We’ve got galloping crocodiles, the discovery of a tomb of ancient warrior women and a feature delving into the extraordinary imagination of Isaac Asimov, one of the most famous science-fiction writers of all time. His Three Laws of Robotics, which you can find on page 13, changed our understanding of how robots should operate and behave so that they don’t harm humans. Meanwhile, in The Week Junior office, plenty of team members are embracing a brand new year by making a new year’s resolution. Editor of Science+Nature magazine, Dan, says he will try to watch less TV; our art director, Dave, wants to do more exercise; picture editor Rachel says she will drink more water; and our managing editor, Vanessa,…

Teacher’s name: Miss Bayliss School: North London Collegiate School “I would like to nominate Miss Bayliss as Teacher of the Week because she is kind, caring and funny. But also, instead of giving us Christmas cards, she spent that money on reserving a place for a homeless person at Christmas in a shelter managed by Crisis. Well done Miss Bayliss!” Amaya If we pick your teacher as Teacher of the Week, we’ll sendyourschoolthreefreeissuesof The Week Junior. Send your nominations, along with a picture of your teacher and your school’s full name and address, to hello@theweekjunior.co.uk…

15 January 1559 Queen Elizabeth I is crowned On 15 January 1559, Queen Elizabeth I was crowned Queen of England in a special ceremony known as a coronation. She was the daughter of King Henry VIII, and became Queen after the death of her half-sister, Mary I. The coronation was held in Westminster Abbey in London and it was said that as she walked along a carpet laid out for her, crowds cut out pieces of it to keep as souvenirs. She was 25 years old when she was crowned Queen and reigned until 1603 when she died.…

More than 1,000 people, including celebrities, politicians, sports stars and members of the public, have been celebrated in the New Year’s Honours List. The list recognises people who have done outstanding work in their communities or in their professions. They are chosen by the UK Government each year. Singer Elton John received this year’s highest acknowledgment – the Companion of Honour. This is a special award granted to those who have made a major contribution to the arts, science, medicine or politics over a long time. Elton John was awarded the honour to celebrate his long career in music and for his charity work. In the last 50 years he has sold more than 300 million records and raised money for 23 causes. Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason was awarded an MBE…

● Although most famous prizes are only given to one winner, some judging panels in 2019 decided to award their top medals to several competitors. ● The Booker Prize, given to the author of an outstanding novel each year, was split between two writers in October 2019 because the judges couldn’t decide whose work was better. ● In December 2019, the Turner Prize (an art competition) was shared among the four nominees, who had asked that no individual winner be picked. ● In 2016, the winner of the Turner Prize decided to share her £25,000 cash prize with the other competitors.…

With January now upon us, temperatures are dropping to some of the lowest that the UK experiences each year. In the cold weather, birds need to eat more food than usual just to stay warm, and shorter days mean they have less time to feed. Depending on what types of bird live in your area, you might like to put out different foods to help them out. Things like apples, leftover fruitcake, mince pies, pears or unsalted nuts work well (but be sure to put anything with grapes or raisins out of reach of passing dogs, since these can poison them). Foods that are mouldy or contain lots of salt should be avoided because they are dangerous to birds. DID YOU KNOW? In winter, small birds such as blue tits…

Vito the bionic cat A cat called Vito has become the first in Italy with two prosthetic (artificial) legs. The six-year-old received his new limbs after being hurt in a car accident, and his story has become popular on Italian social media. Vito’s owners were inspired by a British cat, Oscar, who has two prosthetic paws. A lake in Cambodia Water levels in south-east Asia’s largest freshwater lake have dropped to a record low. Tonlé Sap, in Cambodia, is home to many fish and other creatures, and changes to the water level have a huge effect on them. Species are also affected by a growing number of dams in the area.…

The ISS has two other robot helpers working on the outside. Canadarm is a heavy-lifting robot arm made by Canadian space engineers. Seventeen metres long with multiple joints, it can be controlled from inside the station and by technicians back on Earth. It was one of the first parts added to the ISS in 2001, and was used to haul new modules into place during the station’s construction. The second helper, Dextre, is a smaller robot with two arms on a 3.5-metre body that rolls up and down the outside of the station on rails. Dextre can change batteries, check the hull for leaks and make repairs without the need for risky space-walks.…

Leo Carter The New Zealand cricketer hit six sixes in one over. An over is six balls in a row. A six is when the ball goes over the pitch boundary without touching the ground. Ashleigh Barty The Australian tennis player will donate her prize money from the Brisbane International event to help tackle fires in her country. Vince Carter On 5 January, Carter, aged 42, became the first basketball player to compete in the NBA, North America’s top league, in four different decades. Curtis Jones The 18-year-old footballer scored a brilliant goal for Liverpool to beat Everton 1-0 in the FA Cup. It was Jones’s first goal for the club.…

What gave you the idea to write this book? Being happy in life, growing up as a happy teenager and then becoming a happy adult is not just something that happens by chance (or maybe only for the very, very lucky ones). You need to know the rules, the ingredients and the recipe – and to apply them every day in a joyful way. So I decided to write a very easy-to-follow recipe book for feeling good. Did any of the ideas of the book help you to stay happy? All of them. It works, I promise, on everyone, at any age. Just open the book randomly and apply one simple rule, and you will start feeling better. It also makes people around you feel good. What are you most…

Follow The Week Junior on PopJam@TheWeekJunior. You can download the PopJam app from the App Store or Google Play. Ben Stokes won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2019. You said... “Yes! I love cricket so much.” “He deserved to win.” “Well done him!” We asked our PopJammers if they were excited about the new Star Wars film. Here’s what they had to say: “I watched it last week and it was AMAZING.” “Yes. *switches lightsaber on and cuts the sofa in half*” Tell us what you think of this week’s issue and we’ll print some of the best comments here.…

A videotape collector has turned his basement into a replica of a Blockbuster shop. Blockbuster used to be a popular worldwide chain of more than 9,000 shops that rented out films on videotape. Now there is only one Blockbuster shop left in the world, in the US. Nick Collins says he started collecting tapes four years ago and then built the fake shop in his house. He posts pictures of the videotapes on social media to share his memories of the past with people in other countries.…

1 In which country was a tomb of female warriors found? a) Romania b) Russia c) Rwanda a ■ b ■ c ■ 2 True or false? The Conservative Party is looking for a new leader. 3 Which country recently announced it was launching another mission to the Moon? 4 What are the Academy Awards also known as? a) The Golden Globes b) The Oscars c) The Baftas a ■ b ■ c ■ 5 True or false? Oscar Isaac plays C-3PO in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. 6 Can alligators gallop? 7 What is Isaac Asimov famous for? a) He was the first man on the Moon b) He invented the retractable dog lead c) He wrote science-fiction books a ■ b ■ c ■ 8 True or…