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the death of Soleimani.
Iran fact file
Iran
● CAPITAL: Tehran ● CURRENCY: The rial ● LANGUAGE: Persian ● POPULATION: 83 million ● OFFICIAL RELIGION: Islam
Top Iranian military official killed in US air strike 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.
said that Soleimani was planning to attack US diplomats (officials representing a country abroad) and soldiers in Iraq and elsewhere. The strike, ordered by President Donald Trump, was aimed at preventing future Iranian attacks. A total of seven people are thought to have been killed in the attack.
How has Iran reacted?
The supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, announced three days of national mourning following Soleimani’s death. The supreme leader is the highest position in the Iranian government and head Qasem of the armed forces. On 8 January, Iran Soleimani fired missiles at two air bases in Iraq used by US soldiers. The Iranian foreign minister, Javad Why did the US target him? Zarif, said that this was in self defence and Iran was The US says that the Quds Force is responsible for the not seeking war. At the time The Week Junior went deaths of hundreds of US officials in the region, and to press there had been no confirmed casualties at has described Soleimani as a terrorist. In a statement either of the bases. Iran has also announced that it announcing his death, the US Department of Defense will no longer follow an important deal it made in
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2015 with the US, UK and other countries to stop it from developing nuclear weapons (powerful bombs that use nuclear energy). The US withdrew from the deal in May 2018. Thousands of people in Iran have protested against the US, and millions gathered in the capital city of Tehran for Soleimani’s funeral, which was held on 7 January.
How has the rest of the world reacted?
On 5 January, Iraqi politicians called for all foreign troops to leave the country. Around 5,000 US troops and 400 British troops are in Iraq to provide training to Iraqi soldiers, but the Iraqi government says that the killing of Soleimani breaks the agreement that allowed these soldiers to be there. World leaders have called for calm on both sides. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the leader of Germany, Angela Merkel, have released a statement calling on both sides to show restraint. President Trump has said that he carried out the strike “to stop a war, not to start one“. If you’re worried by this story, read our advice at theweekjunior.co.uk/advice ●
The Week Junior • 11 January 2020
This week’s big news Severe drought causes record fires in Australia A t least 25 people have died in bushfires that have devastated large parts of Australia. Thousands of homes have been destroyed and many towns and villages have been damaged. The fires are burning across the country but New South Wales and Victoria, states in south-east Australia, are particularly badly affected. In total, 80,000 square kilometres (around the size of the island of Ireland) have been burnt. Bushfires are not unusual in Australia and they often happen at this time of year. However, these fires are particularly bad because of a severe drought (a long period of time with little or no rain), record high temperatures and strong winds, which spread the fires. Climate change (long-term changes in world weather patterns, including rising temperatures) has made the fires more ferocious than usual. Australian prime minister Scott Morrison has been criticised for not responding quickly enough to the fires, which began last September. His government has now said it will spend £1 billion to help those affected. People from all over the world including celebrities have raised millions for the rescue efforts. A koala rescued from the fires.
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The skull of one of the ancient warriors.
Warrior women tomb discovered
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2,500-year-old tomb containing the skeletons of four female warriors has been found in south-west Russia. It is thought the fighters, and others like them, inspired ancient stories about a race of warriors called Amazons – of which Wonder Woman is an example. The tomb was discovered during a 10-year study of 19 burial mounds in the village of Devitsa. Archaeologists (people who study evidence of past human activity revealed from under the ground) from the Russian Academy of Sciences say the youngest girl in the grave was 12 or 13 years old, and the oldest was around 50 years old, which would have been considered quite old at the time. They were part of a group of ancient tribes called the Scythians, who lived in eastern Europe and Central Asia for around 800 years from approximately 900BC onwards. Although objects buried with two of the women seem to have been stolen centuries ago, other items
IT’S AN AMAZING WEEK FOR…
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BE , I R T T E ntury e SECtR c h t 0 he 2 n on
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.
remained in the tomb. One woman was found in the position of someone on a horse, with two spears by her side. The oldest woman also had weapons with her and was buried in a gold headdress that suggests she was well respected. Elsewhere in the tomb were knives and 30 arrowheads, which the archaeologists say proves they were warriors. The women’s role would have been to protect communities – including cattle and other property – while the men were away on expeditions further afield. The Amazons were a group of female warriors who first appeared in stories told in ancient Greece. Although it was once believed that they were just a myth, it is now thought they could have been based on Greek encounters with Scythian tribes. Archaeologists found the site 20 years ago and started investigating in 2010, but news of the findings has only recently been announced.
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 favourite player, Manchester United’s David de Gea. Evitt also received a pair of keeper gloves made especially for him for Christmas. He has a condition called ectrodactyly, which means he is missing some fingers and toes.
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.
11 January 2020 • The Week Junior
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Home news
Lisa Nandy
Jess Phillips
Clive Lewis
Rebecca Long-Bailey
Emily Thornberry
Sir Keir Starmer
Race to replace Corbyn gets under way O
n 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?
the election. Corbyn’s Labour party won 203 seats, down 59 on the previous result. The Conservatives won lots of seats in parts of the UK that had never voted for them before. On 13 December, Corbyn said he would not lead the party for much longer.
Jeremy Corbyn
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
OF WORD THE WEEK
GYM New year’s resolutions often involve going to the gym more. The word “gym” is short for gymnasium, first used in ancient Greece when contests would be held in honour of the gods. Male athletes would train naked, and the word gymnasium comes from gymnazein, “to exercise naked”.
Who is hoping to replace him?
Four of the candidates are members of Corbyn’s shadow cabinet. This is a group of senior MPs who mirror the actual Government cabinet, which is made up of top MPs from the ruling party. Each member of the cabinet and shadow cabinet has responsibility for a specific area, such as health or housing. On 18 December, Emily Thornberry became the first person to put herself forward for the Labour leadership, followed by Clive Lewis. On
THE WEEK IN HISTORY
3 January, Jess Phillips and Lisa Nandy entered the race, and Sir Keir Starmer joined them on 4 January. On 6 January, Rebecca Long-Bailey, a close ally of Corbyn, said that she would join the contest too. The Labour party is also seeking a new deputy leader, and at the time The Week Junior went to press, five MPs had said they would campaign for the role.
How will the winner be picked?
In order for MPs to become official candidates, they need to have the support of more than 10% of the party’s MPs and Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). They also have to gain support from local Labour Party organisations. Members and registered supporters of the Labour Party can then vote for their new leader and deputy. The winners will be announced on 4 April. The Liberal Democrats are also starting their search for a new party leader. Queen Elizabeth I
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.
The Week Junior • 11 January 2020
Around the world Limburg, Belgium Love interest for lone wolf
The robot has a cat-like face.
A female wolf has been spotted in Belgium, raising hopes that she might mate with the only male in the area. The she-wolf, who has been named Noëlla, was photographed in Limburg, a region near the neighbouring country of the Netherlands. The wolf mating season is in February, and the Flemish Agency for Nature and Forests hopes that the two wolves will mate and eventually have pups.
Las Vegas, US Robotic cat revealed at tech show
A robotic cat and a robot that delivers toilet roll to bathrooms were among the inventions revealed at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, US. The exhibition is one of the world’s largest technology conferences and gives inventors from around the world the opportunity to show off their creations. These included BellaBot, a robot cat that brings food to diners’ tables. When it arrives at a table it meows to tell the customers to take their food.
Niort, France Historic win for amateur football team
An amateur football team from Réunion enjoyed a shock 2-1 victory over Niort in the French Cup. The team, called JS Saint-Pierroise, travelled 6,000 miles for their match against Niort, who play in the French second division. Réunion is a French-ruled island in the Indian Ocean, located between Madagascar and Mauritius. This is the first time a team from Réunion has got this far in h rench Cup competition.
India Space agency announces new mission to the Moon
The annual world Christmas tree-tossing championships have been held in the German village of Weidenthal. Each participant was given a tree, which they had to throw in three different ways. The first challenge is to throw the tree like a javelin; the second is to spin it around and launch it into the air; and the third is to throw it over a high-jump bar.
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India’s space agency has announced another mission to land a vehicle on the Moon. The news comes after its previous mission to put a rover on the Moon, in September 2019, ended in a crash-landing. The new project will be called Chandrayaan-3, which means “Moon Vehicle 3”, and it is hoped it will launch later this year or in 2021. The new rover and its landing vehicle are expected to cost around £26 million. K. Sivan, who is the chairman of India’s space agency, has said that work on the mission is going smoothly.
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Weidenthal, Germany Annual Christmas tree contest kicks off
The last mission crash-landed.
The Week Junior • 11 January 2020
Around the world Denmark Country sets green record
Kimura and his expensive fish.
Denmark generated almost half of its electricity from wind power last year – a new record in Europe. The amount of electricity generated by wind increased to 47% in 2019, from 41% in 2018. Wind turbines use the force of the wind to turn large blades. The blades spin a rotor that then generates electricity. It is better for the environment because, unlike fossil fuels, it does not add harmful emissions to the atmosphere.
Tokyo, Japan “Tuna king” buys £1.37 million tuna
A giant bluefin tuna has been bought at a fish market in Tokyo, Japan, for £1.37 million. The 276-kilogram fish was purchased by Kiyoshi Kimura, who owns a popular chain of restaurants called Sushi Zanmai. Kimura – who is known as the “tuna king” of Japan – is well known for spending a lot on fish at the annual new year auction. At last year’s event, he splashed out a record £2.4 million, and he has paid the highest price for a tuna at several auctions in the past.
Fukuoka, Japan World’s oldest person is 117 years old
The world’s oldest person has celebrated her 117th birthday. Kane Tanaka, who was born in 1903, marked the occasion on 2 January with friends and staff in a nursing home in Fukuoka, Japan. There was a big cake, which Tanaka said was very tasty. Tanaka is five years away from the record for the oldest person ever to have lived, which is held by Jeanne Louise Calment who was from France. She lived to be 122.
Jakarta, Indonesia Dozens die in flooding
At least 66 people have died in floods in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. Heavy rain started to fall on 31 December, causing floods and landslides. (A landslide is when a large mass of earth and rock suddenly and quickly moves down a hill or mountain.) The rain was the heaviest to fall in Jakarta for at least 24 years, and tens of thousands of people have had to flee. On 3 January, the Indonesian government announced that it had sent planes to spray chemicals into the clouds. Officials hope that this will break them up and stop the rain.
11 January 2020 • The Week Junior
New Zealand Archie’s woolly hat sparks a craze
A knitting group in New Zealand is struggling to keep up with orders after Archie, the son of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (the Duke and Duchess of Sussex), was photographed wearing one of its hats. In the days after the picture was posted online, the Make Give Live knitting group received 10 times the number of orders it usually gets in a month.
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The big debate
Should there only ever be one winner? Several recent awards have crowned more than one winner.
Can everyone come first?
What you need to know ● 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 2016, the winner of the Turner Prize decided to share her £25,000 cash prize with the other competitors.
s film ave b There h ry of the Oscarbest o the hist s. In 2013, thegory award editing cate sound ointly won by was j o films. tw
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wards season is well and truly under way. Actors and filmmakers are hoping to take home Golden Globes and Oscars (known as Academy Awards) this month for their work over the last year. Although only the best can win, there have been several draws at these prestigious award ceremonies over the years. In 1989, three people won the Best Actress Golden Globe, and the first draw in Oscars history happened back in 1932, at the fifth Academy Awards ceremony. There were several draws in big competitions held in 2019. The judges of the Booker Prize for fiction writing decided to split the top award between two authors, and the Turner Prize for art crowned all four nominees. So, as Hollywood hands out its top prizes, should there only ever be one winner?
Yes – there should only be one winner
Winning an award, particularly a Golden Globe, Turner Prize or Oscar – is a huge honour. Only the most worthy contenders should be given such a prize. If there’s only one award, it will encourage everyone to be the best they can possibly be. If a football match gets to full-time with a tie, then both teams keep playing until one emerges victorious. It should be the same in competitions; judges should keep deliberating until they have a single winner, not just give up and hand it out to several nominees. If there’s a tie, then most of the headlines focus on this fact, rather than the achievements of the winner. Besides, who would want to have to share an award with a competitor if you deserve to win it by yourself?
reasons why there should YES Three only be one winner
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Only the very best people deserve to win awards. If someone isn’t a clear winner, they shouldn’t be given the top prize.
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If everything ends in a draw, it’s less exciting for viewers and participants alike. Dividing an award means that the winners don’t get attention for their work – people just focus on the fact that there’s been a draw.
Sometimes two people, or even more, are equally matched against each other. It makes no sense to pick just one of these people to be the winner, when both or all deserve the top prize. After all, judges are often asked to compare things that are very different. How do you decide who is the better actor if one has played a very funny character and another has made you cry? It is only fair that judges have the option of picking multiple winners in such circumstances. Besides, although having to share a prize may not be ideal, you still get to say you’re a winner. Plus, like the nominees of the 2019 Turner Prize, you may actually want to share the award with your friends or another competitor whom you admire.
reasons why it’s ok to have NO Three more than one winner
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If two people are equally matched in a competition, then both should be rewarded.
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It’s a nice feeling to be able to share a prize with someone else – it simply means that more people get to have their work highlighted.
Choosing between different books, artworks, films and performances is very difficult. Sometimes the judges simply can’t decide.
What do you think? 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.
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No – it’s nice to share the praise
LAST TIME’S POLL In our previous debate, we asked if Christmas lights had gone too far. About two-thirds of you thought that festive lights 33% on houses and 67% YES NO shops were a cheerful way to celebrate.
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
The Week Junior • 11 January 2020
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● In December 2019, the Turner Prize (an art competition) was shared among the four nominees, who had asked that no individual winner be picked.
OU DID YW KNOeen?six ties in
People
Returning from a galaxy far, far away Actor Oscar Isaac spills the secrets of Star Wars.
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eleased on 19 December 2019, Star Wars: lot and having to pretend I can see whatever it The Rise of Skywalker was the biggest film is I’m supposed to be seeing.” When he first of Christmas. Cinemas have been packed at got the part he asked real pilots for ideas, but the start of 2020, as fans flock to see the final Harrison Ford, who played Han Solo and is a entry in the Skywalker saga. Actor Oscar Isaac, qualified pilot himself, told him that wasn’t who plays Resistance pilot Poe Dameron, necessary for two reasons: the film is set in spoke to The Week Junior about what it was space and it involves fake flying. like being in the film, as well as his time on If Isaac were to go somewhere in the Star The Last Jedi and The Force Awakens. Wars universe, it would be planet Coruscant, Isaac says his favourite moment was because there’s a lot to see there. He would filming in the desert at Wadi Rum, in the take C-3PO with him. “Even though he’s Middle Eastern country of Jordan, for The Rise annoying, he can communicate with anybody, of Skywalker. He says it was an incredible which would be helpful,” Isaac says. place and everyone had so much fun. The Although Dameron is assisted by BB-8 biggest challenge was the he when flying, flyin Isaac wouldn’t flying scenes, where thee wannt a real-life version background and effects oof the droid. “I’ve n i d e r are added later. “It’s never once wished appea He’s e l c n u s . ’ s pretty stupidthat I had an actual Isaac rce Awaken and o n F looking,” Isaac BB-8,” he admits. The Star Wars fa hirts s e T g e u d h explains. “I’m on a “It seems like it a omema hen he h t h g u w little tiny box with a would be more of a w bro eryone e set. v e r o f helmet on, yelling a probblem than a help.” e to th
Oscar Isaac
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Fallon Sherrock
Taking aim at history O
n 17 December 2019, the UK’s Fallon Sherrock became the first female darts player to win matches at the sport’s biggest tournament, the PDC World Championship. She beat Ted Evetts in the first round and a few days later defeated Mensur Suljovic in the second round. Sherrock said, “I’m really happy because I’ve made something for women’s darts. I’ve proved that we can play the men and we can beat them.” She eventually lost in the third round of the tournament but had already made history. “I didn’t think this was ever possible,” she said. “Hopefully I’ll be back here next year.”
11 January 2020 • The Week Junior
The actor played Poe Dameron.
Headmistress inspires school climate action A
THEY SAID IT!
t the first assembly of the new school year at South Hampstead High School in London, headmistress Vicky Bingham told students that she wouldn’t be buying any new clothes for a year in order to help the environment. Making and transporting clothes that are bought, worn just a few times and not recycled, uses a lot of water and creates a lot of waste and greenhouse gases, which add to climate change (the long-term change in weather patterns). Now pupils are promising to do things such as give up single-use plastics and take public transport. Bingham says she is “so impressed” by her students, but admits that she’s finding not buying clothes “a real challenge”.
“Aliens exist, there’s no two ways about it.” Vicky Bingham
Dr Helen Sharman, who became the first Briton in space in 1991, when asked about the possibility of extraterrestrial life earlier this year.
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EEKe!cies of
Animals and the environment Unexpected movers
sp Several can gallop, animal ng horses, includi oads – and t certain iders. sp
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.
Crocs – not just good swimmers.
New study finds that crocodiles can gallop
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any species of crocodile are capable of a surprisingly snappy turn of speed, according to a new study. Galloping is running so fast so that all four of an animal’s feet are off the grounnd at the same time. It’s often used to describe how horses run, but it turns out that a lot of crocs can put on a gallop too. Researchers at the St Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park in Florida, US, filmed the running styles of 42 individuals from 15 different species of crocodilians
A croc in mid-gallop.
(the group of reptiles that includes crocodiles, alligators and caimans). They found that eight smaller species of crocodile (up to about two metres long) could gallop, but larger ones were less athletic. In contrast, alligators and caimans could not gallop at all, regardless of size – the best they could manage was a trot, in which one diagonal pair of feet is always on the ground. Professor John Hutchinson of
A plumed basilisk lizard.
London’s Royal Veterinary College, who led the study, said, “We suspect that bounding and galloping give small crocodiles better acceleration and manoeuvrability, especially useful for escaping from danger. It seems like alligators and caimans stand their ground rather than run away.” Because galloping is so common, it may have arisen more than 200 million years ago in cat-sized crocodile ancestors with long legs. However, scientists found that, despite their different running styles, trotting alligators and galloping crocodiles both had a top speed of around 11mph – faster than a jogging human but not quick enough to catch a sprinter.
ECO TIP OF FEEDING BIRDS OVER THE WINTER THEWEEK
With January now upon us, temperatures are different foods to help them out. Things like dropping to some of the lowest that the UK apples, leftover fruitcake, mince pies, pears or experiences each year. In the cold weather, unsalted nuts work well (but be sure to put birds need to eat more food than han anything with grapes or raisins out of usual just to stay warm, and reaach of passing dogs, since shorter days mean they tthese can poison them). have less time to feed. Foods that are mouldy or ds such r i b l l a % sm Depending on what types contain lots of salt should be winter, need to eat 30h n I of bird live in your area, avoided because they are lue tits dy weight eac b s a you might like to put out dangerous to birds. ive. heir bo
OU DID YW KNO ?
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Feeding birds is a good way to see them up close.
The Week Junior • 11 January 2020
A harvest mouse in a reed bed.
Animals and the environment Animal Greater oneof theweek horned rhino
Harvest mice bounce back
Just before Christmas, a baby greater one-horned rhino was born at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo. The female calf weighed 70 kilograms – 20 times the weight of a human baby. She will be named by one of the zoo’s supporters, and is one of about 3,500 of the species left alive today, mostly found in the wild in northern India and Nepal.
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arvest mice have been discovered in a tiny mammals stayed out of sight until this nature reserve in the north-east of year, when volunteers found two fresh harvest England for the first time in 15 years. In 2004, mouse nests in the reserve for the first time. research student Wendy Fail decided to try They were in the reed beds near where Fail and reintroduce harvest mice into an area had released the mice 15 years ago. where they had previously lived. She bred When the volunteers told her about their 240 mice and released them into discovery, Fail said, “To say I’m ecstatic with reed beds at East Chevingtonn this positive result is an in Northumberland. uunderstatement. I’m proud However, when Fail that my work, along with the e s u went back to check if the vest mo dent support of volunteers and r a h e h T mice were still there in experts, has managed to llest ro a m s e h is t the years that followed, seecure the survival of one of Europe. n i she couldn’t find any. The Britaiin’s declining species.”
● LIFESPAN IN THE WILD: Up to 45 years. ● HABITAT: These rhinos are semi-aquatic, meaning they spend a lot of time in the water of swamps and rivers.
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● FUN FACT: Greater one-horned rhinos are the secondbiggest rhino species on the planet, after white rhinos.
W do giraffes have Why long, black tongues?
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● DIET: Aquatic plants, branches, fruit, grasses and leaves.
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Gemma Metcalf Deputy team leader of hoofstock, ZSL London Zoo
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.
11 January 2020 • The Week Junior
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.
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
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All about Isaac Asimov
The life and work of Discover how Isaac Asimov became one of the world’s most famous writers.
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f you enjoy reading science fiction, also known as sci-fi, you may well have heard of Isaac Asimov. The US writer, who was born 100 years ago this month, is one of the most important science-fictio authors of all time. He is considered by many peop to be a enius (someone who is exc ptionally intelligent, creat e or talented).
Asimov’s childhoodd
Asimov was born on 2 January 1920, in Russia. His parents, who were Jewish, decided to leave Russi for the US when Asimov was three years old, to escape anti-Semitism Isaac Asimov (prejudice against Jewish people). In 1923, the family moved to New York where they set up a sweet shop. The family was poor, so Isaac and his siblings helped out. Even though he had to work, he pecially in ell science. As wel as sweets, the shop so newspa and mag zines, and Asimov would later say these gave him a lov of reading. At the age of 11, he began writing, nd h sold his first story when he was 18.
Writing suc ess
Asimov tudie chemistry at university, and lat worked s a emist and chemistry lecturer, he conti ued o write stories for science-ficti n magazi es. n 1950, he published his first novel, P bble n the Sky. Asimov worked hard: throughout s career, he would usually write from 7. 0am to 10pm every day. His interests went b yon science; he wrote mystery nove s and no -ficti n books on all sorts of topics. H also w ote oks for children, following the adven ures f a space ranger called Lucky Sta .
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Asim v d space
Many of As mov’s stories were inspired b idea f spa e exploration. Even before e first huma s reached the Moon in 196 , Asim v able to imagine a distant futu in w ich travel between plan t woul be s easy and common as hop ing o a train or bus. His best known book series, Fou datio , was started in 19 and is set in a future univers in which arth is part of a gro p of lanets called Gal ctic mpire.
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Asimov wrote 40 novels.
y 2020
All about Isaac Asimov
asci-fi genius
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Other Asimov stories are set in a future Earth, where humans live alongside advanced robots. In these stories, robots are programmed to follow a set of rules called the Laws of Robotics, which prevent them rom harming humans (see above). In fact, Asimov is ctually thought to be the first person to use the word obotics – although he later admitted he used it ecause he thought it was already a word. Asimov’s l ws were among the first to examine how humans nd machines could live and work safely alongside ach other, and they are still used today to guide the development of robots. Yet Asimov himself was orried that advanced technologies such as artificial telligence (the name given to a computer system at is able to “think” for itself) might one day be ed to cause harm.
I, Robot was released in 2004.
A imov on screen
Asimov’s Foundation books.
hat was Asimov’s impac ?
What is science fiction?
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 li e 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 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.
11 January 2020 • The Week Junior
S v ral of Asimov’s stories have been turned into fi ms or TV series. Bicentennial Man, released in 1999 d starring Robin Williams, was based on his novel Th ositronic Man. The 2004 film I, Robot, starring l Smith, was inspired by Asimov’s robot stories and the Laws of Robotics. In the film, a robot is s spected of harming humans.
Sci-fi stories are hugely popular.
By the time of his death in 1992 simov had completed 40 full-l ngth novels and 382 short stories, as ell as hundreds of non-fiction books. long ith Arthur C. Clarke and Robert A. einlein, Asimov is one of the so-called “ ig three” authors of science ion. Over t e course of his career, he won ve ugo Awards – the most import nt award for science-fiction writers. simov’s amazing ability to turn c mplex scientific ideas into grip ing plots won him millions of fans. stronomer and science writer Carl Sagan called Asimov won five him “the great Hugo Awards. explainer of our age”.
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nce and technology CIMON-2 floats onto the ISS.
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AI robot joins ISS crew T
he International Space Station (ISS) has just taken on a crew member with a difference. The new arrival is a floating robot called CIMON-2. Built by the Airbus company, it will stay in orbit for the next three years – but only if the station’s human astronauts agree they want it hanging around. CIMON-2 is short for Crew Interactive Mobile Companion 2. The voice-controlled robot is designed to assist its crewmates, for instance by displaying onscreen instructions for experiments so they can work with both hands free. If asked, it can also carry out tasks by itself, such as filming the crew’s activities or checking on experiments in the station’s laboratories.
An interplanetary pal...
The robot moves using 12 rotors that are built into its pill-shaped body. It only works inside the ISS, never outside in space. Its screen turns to face any crew member talking to it, and it can nod for yes and shake for no. CIMON-2 has cameras to see its surroundings, but it avoids collisions by using ultrasonic sensors. These send out sounds that are too high-pitched
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for humans to hear, which bounce off obstacles and reveal how far away they are.
A helping hand in orbit
...or a problem crewmate?
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.
CIMON-2 is an upgraded version of the first CIMON robot, which was tested in orbit last year. The original was sent back to Earth after getting a little tetchy with the crew and refusing to follow their commands because it thought they were being “mean”. It even asked astronauts to “be nice please”. As a result, CIMON-2 has been given better microphones and a new system to detect emotion in human voices. The designers hope it will now obey commands, even if its crewmates are stressed. The new system uses an artificial intelligence (a computer that mimics human thinking) called Watson, which is based on Earth. When linked up to Watson, CIMON-2 can pick up seven different emotions, including sadness and frustration. Engineers hope it can eventually be used on missions to the Moon or Mars. They have even added a small-talk The space function, so that lonely astronauts station in orbit. can chat to it.
Hitching a lift on Canadarm.
The Week Junior • 11 January 2020
Science and technology
Dinosaurs suffered from itchy lice too T
hink 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 seethrough 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 around 100 million years ago. The insects trapped with the feathers
are only about a fifth of a millimetre long, but they look a lot like the modern lice that chew through birds’ feathers, and like the headlice that scrape away at the skin on our heads and feed on our blood. The remains are 55 million years older than any previously known louse species. They show that these tiny insects evolved to feed on feathered dinosaurs like velociraptors and Tyrannosaurus rex, long before the rise of the furry mammals on which they mostly live today. “This is the earliest recorded lice or louse-like insects feeding on feathers,” said researcher Dr Chungkun Shih of China’s Capital Normal University. “It is evidence that feathered dinosaurs actually suffered from parasites that chewed on their feathers.” The first steps of a science career.
AIRBUS · NASA · TAIPING GAO · ALAMY
A science journal for kids’ research Y oung Einsteins and budding boffins in Canada have a chance to get a head start in the world of science, thanks to a scientific journal created just for them. The Canadian Science Fair Journal started by publishing the ideas of winners of school science fairs. Its only rule is that authors must be aged between six and 18. Already the journal has published details of a new system for detecting forest fires; a way to make eco-friendly plastics; and a reading tool to help people with dyslexia. The journal has been running for two years
11 January 2020 • The Week Junior
and has had more than 100 submissions. After sending in their ideas, each young scientist is teamed up with an adult expert, and the pair work together to create an article for publication. The way the journal works is similar to a system used by adult scientists, called peer review, where articles are checked by experts to ensure that only the best work is published. Several of the Canadian Science Fair Journal’s subjects have been good enough for professional scientists to take them on as research projects.
An artist’s idea of the dino lice.
K! amber YUC set of
us 7, A previos, found in 201rs remain that dinosau showedalso victims of were ucking ticks. blood-s
A louse preserved in amber.
NEW ISSUE ALERT!
BEHIND THE BLOCKBUSTERS!
Get 2020 off to a flying start as The Week Junior Science+Nature taakkes a look at the big science stories coming up during the year ahead. With Star Wars back in cinemas, our new issue explores the science behind your favourite sci-fi films. Elsewhere, we go behind the scenes enes at one of the UK’s oldest zoos;ask whether humans should leave Earth for a new home;and show you how to make your own water xylophone. Grab a copy of the new issue on sale now.
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Photos of the week Flour power
An egg-and-flour fight at the Els Enfarinats festival in Ibi, Spain.
Gold fish
GETTY IMAGES · REX SHUTTERSTOCK · PA · REUTERS · ALAMY
A new freshwater fish aquarium on the Mekong River in China.
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The Week Junior • 11 January 2020
Photos of the week Water fight
An outdoor karate training session in Florida, US.
The Polar Express
A display at the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival in China.
A spring wing clean
The Royal Air Force (RAF) Museum Cosford gets a clean.
11 January 2020 • The Week Junior
Bright future
New year celebrations in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
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I L D O Y S HERE’es’ mascot is
m The Gamame comes fro en of Yodli. Thlling” – a form used “yode ched singing o high-pitiss shepherds t by Sw eir animals. call th
Sport Skiing is one of the sports p at the Games.
Winter wonderland…
Madi Row wlands won a gold medal in ski half-pipe in 2016.
● The Winter Youth Olympic Games b began in 2012 and is held every four years in a differe ent country. ● For the fi first time there is an equ ual number of male and female athletes at the co ompetition, with 940 of ea ach. ● Great Brritain won four medals at a the 2016 Games, picking u up two golds and two bron nzes. ● Spectato ors can attend all the even nts for free.
British teens take to the snow and ice
THE WEEK’S WINNERS... 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.
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if the ground is too challenging, before skiing back down the slopes. There’s also mixed-nationality three-a-side ice hockey, women’s doubles in the luge (sled riding) and women’s Nordic combined, which involves cross-country skiing and ski jumping. Abby Rowbotham, aged 14, from Sheffield is Team GB’s youngest competitor at the Winter Youth Olympics. She will be hoping for glory in the ice hockey event. The 2020 Games mainly take place in the mountainous region of the Swiss Alps, and three events take place in neighbouring France. The competition ends with a closing ceremony in Switzerland on 22 January.
Members of the British team.
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.
The Week Junior • 11 January 2020
DAVID SANDOZ · GETTY IMAGES · REX SHUTTERSTOCKK
he 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games began on 9 January in Lausanne, Switzerland. Great Britain has a team of 28 teenagers all hoping for a gold medal. In total there are eight winter sports at the Winter Youth Olympic Games, including bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, skating, skiing and snowboarding, with 1,880 athletes from 70 countries joining the action. There are separate events within each of these sports, including different types of skating and skiing. Alongside traditional winter sports are some brand new activities. Ski mountaineering is a tough competition in which athletes climb mountains on skis, or carry their skis
Book club
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delightful detective stories
Start your 2020 by investigating some strange and gripping mysteries. 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: The Cure for a Crime by Roopa Farooki (Oxford University Press)
Twins Ali and Tulip know all about first aid, medicine and the ways of the hospital, thanks to their mum, who’s a surgeon. In the first of a new series, they set about using their medical know-how – plus a combination of quick thinking, fast talking and rule breaking – to solve a crime.
BOOK OF THE WEEK
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.
READERS RECOMMEND
Name: PopJam user
ILLUSTRATIONS © 2019 FRANÇOIZE BOUCHER REPRODUCED BY PERMISSION OF WALKER BOOKS LTD
(Nosy Crow)
Agatha Oddly: The Silver Serpent by Lena Jones (HarperCollins Children’s Books)
In the latest mystery for 13-year-old detective Agatha Oddly, an assistant at London’s National Gallery has gone missing in strange circumstances. Agatha’s investigation will take her all over London and into the very heart of a plot that’s far bigger than she could ever have imagined.
11 January 2020 • The Week Junior
For a chance to win a copy, just send your name and address to competitions@theweekjunior.co.uk and put GOOD in the subject line. Closing date: midnight Friday 17 January. See theweekjunior.co.uk/terms for rules. rules
ASK THE AUTHOR
Françoize Boucher
The My Feel Good Book writer on the recipee for happiness and new year’s resolutions.
Clifftoppers: The Fire Bay Adventure by Fleur Hitchcock Aiden, Chloe, Ava and Josh are spending the holidays at their grandparents’ cottage by the sea. The cousins are excited about the Fire Festival, but when suspicious blazes start breaking out across town, they realise something sinister is going on. Can they uncover the secret of Fire Bay?
WIN!
We’re giving away five copies of My FeelGood Book
Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy “I love Skulduggery Pleasant because it is a mix of mystery, fantasy, action comedy and loads more! There are tons of books in the series and when I was reading them, I almost forgot completely about the outside world. It’s the best, most gripping, funniest book I have EVER read!”
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
*If you are the competition winner, we will only use the details you provide to contact you and arrange delivery of your competition prize. Further details about how we manage the data you provide can be found at www.dennis.co.uk/privacy-policy
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 afraid of? I try not to be afraid that bad things could happen, because as you grow older you realise that being afraid is useless. Things happen in life, but they are rarely the ones you were afraid of. Do you have any new year’s resolutions ? A lot. Every year I write a list, but it’s always the same – share more love, fun, joy and precious moments with friends and family.
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This week’s big exhibi A few of the items on display.
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What a load of rubbish
A new exhibition at the British Museum looks at what humans have thrown away.
A
n exhibition about rubbish might single-use cups are not the invention of our not sound that appealing, but modern society. In fact they can be the British Museum has some traced back thousands of years.” wonderful items on display to Farley gives the example of the make visitors think about the Minoans, who lived on the Greek topic. It turns out that it’s not just island of Crete around 3,500 modern humans who are years ago and were one of the wasteful – throughout history, most advanced civilisations in people have not been very good Europe at the time. They made about reusing everyday items. cups out of clay, used them once and Disposable plastic Julia Farley, the exhibition’s then threw them away. Farley said damages the planet. co-curator (a person responsible for thousands of these cups have been deciding what should be on display), said, “People discovered across Crete, and they were a way for the may be very surprised to know that disposable rich people to show off their wealth. “They would
throw great big parties,” she said, “and much like today, nobody wanted to do the washing up.” The exhibition also features photographs from the Pacific Ocean to show how plastic is damaging the planet and how people are tackling it. The idea is to see what we can learn about the past through rubbish, and the damage today’s waste is doing to Earth. The British Museum is also trying to be more sustainable; more than 90% of the plinths and cases in the exhibition were used in previous displays. The exhibition is called Disposable? Rubbish and Us. It is on at the British Museum in London until 23 February and is free to visit. To find out more, take a look at tinyurl.com/TWJ-rubbish
Three other exhibitions to start the new year 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.
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.
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Turner in January
The Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh is displaying works by one of the UK’s most famous artists, Joseph Mallord William Turner (who was born in 1775 and died in 1851) until 31 January. His landscape paintings changed the way people painted and influenced future generations of artists.
The Week Junior • 11 January 2020
Entertainment THIS WEEK’S WATCH LIST Missing Link was released in 2019.
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Story gon The Toy Train Your Drausly How to ave all previo for series h olden Globes . won G nimated Film Best A
Golden Globes names Missing Link best animation
T
he surprise winner of the Golden Globe for Best Animated Film has been revealed as Missing Link. The film beat some better-known blockbusters to the prize, including Frozen 2 and The Lion King. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World and Toy Story 4 were also nominated. The Golden Globes, which took place on 5 January, is the first big film award ceremony of 2020. The Best Animated Film award was first ppresented in 2007, and Disneyy has scooped 10 of
THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM · BBC/LINDSEY PARIETTI/RACHEL JOSEPH · CEFAS AT DEFRA · AMGUEDDFA CYMRU – NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WALES · NATIONAL GALLERIES OF SCOTLAND/ANTONIA REEVE · REX SHUTTERSTOCK · ALAMY · 2019 SHANGRILA FILMS LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FILM CLUB
the prizes since then. However, despite its three nominations this year, it was beaten by Laika and Annapurna Pictures, the companies that made Missing Link. The film, which made just under £20 million in ticket sales around the world, tells the story of Mr Link – a Sasquatch (mythical ape-like creature) who travels with an adventurer and an explorer to find his long-lost relatives. It features the voices of David Walliams, Hugh Jackman and Zoe Saldana, among others.
H Historical aaction meets leegendary rock music.
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.
A Knight’s K i h ’ TTale l (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 liant l i r b a r lives on. One of his most n out fo ueen song e t s i L popular films is the historical of the Q k You early e s u action adventure A Knight’s Will Roc film. e W Tale, which mixes medieval in the 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.
G HIT SON
11 January 2020 • The Week Junior
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 became hugely popular. In the new version, expect messy studio games, variety acts from around the world, comedy sketches, and much more.
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On screen What’s the verdict?
There are many types of puzzles.
The Week Junior’s games expert Stuart Dredge gives his e tthoughts on Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training. B There are lots of different exercises, to keep the gameplay varied. You only need 10–15 minutes a day to play (and there’s no punishment for missing days). If friends and family are playing, it makes for a fun competition. There’s no slot to store the stylus in the Switch itself, so make sure you don’t lose it.
Train your brain
Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training is back to test your mind.
N
intendo made its first brain-training game back in 2006 for its handheld DS device, based on the research of a Japanese neuroscientist (a scientist who is an expert in the nervous system, including the brain) called Dr Ryuta Kawashima. It went on to become a series, including this month the first ever version for Nintendo’s Switch console. Like those past games, it’s a collection of exercises that test your thinking skills and are designed to be played for a short time every day to “train” your brain to be as sharp as possible. There are lots of exercises to make sure you don’t get bored, using a combination of the Switch’s
Joy-Con controllers, its touchscreen, and a stylus (a small plastic stick that comes with the boxed version of the game) to complete them as quickly as possible. Many of them involve holding the Switch vertically, like a giant smartphone. Examples include Scrabble-style exercises to make words from a jumble of letters; sums you have to solve with your fingers; counting birds; memory tasks – such as remembering which photos you’ve been shown – and even versions of sudoku and paperscissors-stone. Like the older Dr Kawashima games, your performance in the exercises is translated into
Does it really work? 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
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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.
a “brain age score”. Twenty years old is the best, and older ages are worse – don’t worry about being younger than 20 when you play, as the game makes it clear that the brain-age score is just a guide. Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training is great as a game to play on your own every day, tracking your progress, but it’s also fun to get friends and family involved. Using the two Joy-Cons, you can play against someone head to head, and you can also see how your scores compare to other players around the world in online rankings. Nintendo will also be holding World Brain Training Championship tournaments this year. A study found that the game helped your brain.
The Week Junior • 11 January 2020
On screen Lewis Capaldi had the most-streamed song.
OF WEBSITE THE WEEK
TOKYO 2020
tokyo2020.org/en This July, the latest Olympic Games will begin in Japan. The official Tokyo 2020 website will get you in the mood early, with its guide to the venues, mascots and sports that will be showcased this summer.
Music streaming passes £1 billion
L
ast year was a huge one for streaming music and video in the UK, according to new figures released at the start of 2020. People in the UK spent more than £1 billion on music-streaming subscriptions last year for the first time ever, thanks to the popularity of Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and their rivals. The figure was published by the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA), the organisation that represents music, video and games services and stores. It also calculated that streaming made up 71% of all the money that British people spent on music in 2019.
A different set of results, published by the BPI, a group of record companies and music makers, showed that people in the UK streamed 114.2 billion music tracks in 2019, compared to 90.9 billion the previous year. That’s just audio tracks; video streams on YouTube aren’t included in the figures. Lewis Capaldi’s Someone You Loved was the most-streamed track, with more than 228 million plays last year. ERA’s stats also revealed that people in the UK spent £2.1 billion on digital video (downloads of TV shows and films plus subscriptions to services such as Netflix) in 2019, and a whopping £3.8 billion on games.
SECRETS & HACKS
NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION APPS
From reading more books to helping out with chores or getting daily exercise, new year’s resolutions can be a healthy challenge. For added motivation, habit-tracking apps such as Streaks, Strides, Done and Habitify will help you track your success in sticking to your plans.
VIRAL VIDEO
BABY SHARK IN NAVAJO
tinyurl.com/TWJ-navajoshark
Podcasts can be downloaded.
NINTENDO · GETTY IMAGES · REX SHUTTERSTOCK
More podcasts for young listeners
P
odcasts – radio-style shows that can be downloaded or streamed from apps such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify – have been a big hit with adults for some time (and you may already be listening to The Week Junior Show each week!) Now a US company called PRX wants to make more podcasts for nine to 13-year-olds. It has raised £1.2 million to create a new network (group) of podcasts for young people called Trax, and it plans to launch a collection of shows later in 2020.
11 January 2020 • The Week Junior
You may have heard quite enough of the original Baby Shark song by now, but this new version has an interesting twist: it’s in the language of the Navajo Native American people, to promote the efforts to preserve and revive that language. All together now:“Łóó’shkéii awéé’, doo doo doo doo doo doo...”
PRX is working with another company, called Gen-Z Media, which already has lots of experience in podcasts, making shows such as Pants on Fire, where young people have to tell the difference between an expert and someone who’s only pretending, and Earth Rangers, a podcast about science and nature. Trax’s shows will sit alongside those, as well as other podcasts for young people, such as The Week Junior Show, on apps where people listen to podcasts.
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Do something “ANYONE CAN TAKE PART”
“Thhe Daily Mile is a run we do eevery morning. We run around W ouur school playing field to get us fit fiel Name: Emma and ready to learn. Other classes do the run with us, and all our teachers encourage us and help us along the way. Anyone can take part, and it is fun to enjoy with others. I like doing it because everybody joins in and participates.”
HOW,WHAT, WHERE? 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.
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den ld’s l The wor e Self-Transcen York, h w race is t ile Race in Nehas been 3,100 Mastest time it s, nine f US. The leted is 40 dayutes. comp and six min hours
Emma says everyone joins in.
Talk to your teacher about the fun and benefits of doing… Any top tips?
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a fun and interesting school activity every day, and you will be able to talk and enjoy yourself as you do laps or circuits with your friends. It’s not a competition, and everyone does it at their own pace. TThe aim is to run or jog for the full 15 minutes w without the need to rest by walking or stopping. Those with mobility difficulties can be supported so that they join in too. The Daily Mile happenns all year round, come rain or shine, you to the seasonal weather and it helps connect c world. Your teacher can join in too, if and the outside w they like. A group called the World Health Organization recommends that young people do 60 minutes of physical activitty every day. Doing something like the Daily Milee can make you feel happy and confident, and help you to concentrate on school work andd tasks afterwards.
Learn more… Look at the Daily Mile website with a grown-up and talk about it with your teacher to see how to get involved. Go to thedailymile.co.uk ●
The Daily Mile Fit for Life website, for secondary school students and adults, is thedailymilefitforlife.com ●
The Week Junior • 11 January 2020
GETTY IMAGES · REX SHUTTERSTOCK · ALAMY
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ith more than 10,000 schools taking part and roughly 2.3 million children invoolved across the world, the Daily Mile is a huge projectt that’s also taking place in the UK. It’s a fun, free scheme s that encourages young people to run or jogg for 15 minutes every day at school, either aroound the playground or sports field. You don’t change into PE kit, but you can wear trainers or a coat if it’s chilly – althouggh you’ll soon warm up. The Daily Mile is a simple activity that t improves your health and makes you more alert. Your teacher decides when to seend the class outside for their Daily Mile, whicch takes place outside of your break or lunchtime. Thhe scheme is aimed at primary school pupils. Sometimes one o class will go outside to run, or maybe the whole year groupp will do it together at the same time. There are lots of ways to make the Daily Mile
Try running with different people each day. If you have a friend at school that you may not get to talk to very often, have a chat with them during your Daily Mile. You could also sing songs as you run, or help each other with your spellings, for example, if you have a spelling test later that day.
How to… What you need ● ● ● ● ●
Icing sugar 1 packet of natural, uncoloured marzipan Food colouring Dried spaghetti Cloves
Get in touch We were inspired to feature this after Anna and Dominic sent us these photos of the marzipan fruit they had made. If you want to send any creations into the magazine, you can email hello@ theweekjunior.co.uk
Instructions
First, choose which type of fruit to makee – apples, bananas, lemons, oranges, peaches or pears all work well. Coat your hands in icing sugar and divide thee marzipan into lumps. Marzipan is a thick paste made from almonds – so it is not suitable for people with nut allergies. Take one lump, add some foodd colouring to it and knead the lump with your fingers until the colour is even. Now mould the lump into the shape of a fruit. If you are making an orange or a lemon, take a piece of spaghetti and prick small holes in the surface to make it look like the skin. When creating an apple or a banana, use a clove as the stem of the fruit. For a peach, lightly brush some red food colouring to give a blush effect on the surface. Then use scraps of marzipan to make little leaves. These look great decorating a cake, or just on their own (and they’re delicious!).
These are not suitable for people with nut allergies.
Make beetroot smoothie What you need ● ● ● ● ●
1 raw beetroot 1 raw carrot 1 banana 1 teaspoon grated ginger (optional) 300ml water
Instructions
Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. If the liquid is too thick, you can add some more water. You can use any fruits you have, and you may want to make it taste a bit sweeter by adding an apple or some blueberries.
WARNING!
Cover surfaces and wear an apron – beetro o juice will stain. t
Sorting your room is a good place to start.
Get organised The beginning of the year is a good time to get organised. Have a look for clothes you don’t wear, books you won’t read again and toys you don’t play with any more. All of these can be given to charity so someone else can enjoy them, and will free up space in your room. Store in boxes the toys you want to
keep, and group them together into types so you know where they are. You could put these in a cupboard or under the bed, if you can. You could also ask for a shelf to be put up in your room, so you can order your books. When sorting clothes, group them into different types, and label the drawers so you know where to find them.
A refreshing beetroot smoothie.
Got an idea? Made something cool? Share it with us at hello@theweekjunior.co.uk 11 January 2020 • The Week Junior
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Over to you Editor’s note 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, has promised to use less plastic. My new year’s resolution is to try to learn a new word every day. As I write this, my word of the day is “brumal” – which means wintry. It seems a fitting word for this time of year. What’s your new year’s resolution? Let us know at hello@theweekjunior.co.uk
Editor
CHARITY OF THE WEEK
Bingbong World: the Everything Charity Blog Name: Bingham
“
I created my first blog called Bingbong Books which was launched in 2018, because I needed to create a project for my school that helped other people. I love my collection of books, but I started too run out of space for them all. Therefore, I decided to create my first blog to review my books and help find a new home for them. My book blog allows people to buy books that have been recommended by me. You can buy them, and all the money goes directly to a charity called Shelterbox, which helps remote communities around the world that have been affected by disaster. I only have one book of each available and payments are made through my fundraising page. Bingbongbooks won my school STEAM fair in 2018, and that’s when I had an idea for growing it into something bigger to be able to share different topics. I am now expanding my company by creating Bingbong World, which will introduce my
Bingham (left) and his blog.
new blog called Bingbong ingbong Trav Travels, vels where I talk about different places I have visited. Bingbong Travels will help families with ideas about where they could take their kids for their next holiday, or just to learn about interesting places. At the same time it will help to raise money for the Ruth Strauss Foundation (who was the mother of my school friend Luca Strauss). Visit bingbongworld.com
What’s going on at your school? Have you taken part in a sporting event, put on a show or done something fun to raise money? Whatever you’re up to, we want to hear about it at hello@theweekjunior.co.uk
”
JOKE THE W OF EEK “Why was
C delaye hristmas d? Becau se all t had tin he elves selitis .” Effi e
GET INVOLVED D
Voices 2020
National Deaf Children’s Society The National Deaf Children’s Society helps deaf children and their families. It believes that every deaf child should have the same opportunities as any other child, so it tries to enhance lives by providing emotional and financial support to those affected. To learn more about what the charity does, visit ndcs.org.uk
Junior
Roving Reporter
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Dream up a great story.
Coram, a charity that supports vulnerable young people and their families, has opened its annual national writing competition for children in care, called Voices. This year, Coram iss encouraging people to write about dreams. Entries can be written as a poem, a rap or a short story – it’s up to you. Head to coramvoice.org.uk/voices to find out more, and remember to submit your entry before the 12 February deadline.
GETINVOLVED
Email your news, viewsandpictures to hello@theweekjunior.co.uk The Week Junior • 11 January 2020
Over to you YOU OU
love to see your snaps. Send them to us at hello@theweekjunior.co.uk O OTOS We’d Don’t forget to tell us why you took them.
“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 “Our old The Week “Greta Thunberg has inspired us to be Juniors were piling up, more environmentally friendly, so we so we made a globe decided to use The Week Junior issues with a balloon and made instead of wrapping paper. We hope our magazines into this will make other people more aware papier mâché. It was of why we need to protect our planet.” really fun!” Rachel and Sarah Gabriella and Hannah Presents wrapped in old The Week Juniors.
Puzzles page answers
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.
OF THE WEEK 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!”
Anagrams: stocking, radio
REX SHUTTERSTOCK · ALAMY
Amaya If we pick your teacher as Teacher of the Week, we’ll send your school three free issues of 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
1 b) Russia 2 False, but Labour and the Liberal Democrats are 3 India 4 b) The Oscars 5 False, he plays Poe Dameron 6 No, but crocodiles can 7 c) He wrote science-fiction books 8 False, ISS stands for International Space Station 9 Flour and eggs 10 a) Yodli 11 True 12 Missing Link 13 c) More than £1 billion 14 True 15 A plane
Please ensure you include your full name and address so that we can send you one of our Roving Reporter badges if your contribution makes it onto the page. We will only use the details you provide to arrange delivery of badges, and we will not share them with anyone else. By submitting your reports and pictures, you give consent to The Week Junior to print them in the magazine and digital editions. Please get your parent/guardian’s permission before sending anything to us.
11 January 2020 • The Week Junior
Junior
SH W
If you’ve enjoyed this issue of The Week Junior, why not take a listen to our brand new podcast, The Week Junior Show. Each week, Bex from Fun Kids radio and members of The Week Junior team discuss stories from the magazine. Have a listen at tinyurl.com/ TWJshow, or wherever you get your podcasts.
27
Word fill in 4 letters Gobi Thar
5 letters Karoo Namib Negev Ordos 6 letters Gibson Mojave Sahara Syrian Tanami
Puzzles All of these names of deserts fit in the grid. Can you work out where each word goes to complete it?
7 letters Atacama Karakum Simpson Sonoran
WORDSEARCH
Can you find all of these countries? They are hidden horizontally, vertically or diagonally, and may read forwards or backwards.
8 letters Kalahari 10 letters Patagonian
AUSTRALIA BRAZIL CANADA CHINA CUBA
ANAGRAMS
Rearrange the scrambled letters to form a word.
TICKSONG
(CLUE: Something seen around Christmas)
AIRDO
(CLUE: Audio receiver)
NEW ZEALAND RUSSIA SOUTH AFRICA SPAIN TURKEY
Numb tower
Put a number in each square to complete the number tower. The correcct value is the sum of the numbers in the two squares directly below it. These two pictures of robots appear to be the same, but take a closer look. There are actually five differences. Can you spot them?
REX SHUTTERSTOCK
Spot the difference
ANSWER CAN S FOUNDBOE PAGE 27N
INDIA JAPAN KENYA MEXICO NAMIBIA
28
The Week Junior • 11 January 2020
That’s un
Tape collector turns basement into shop
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. Ice from skating rinks was used.
The house took 20 years to build.
House built to look like a plane
A house in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, has been built to look like a plane. The house was created by a construction manager called Said Jammal during his spare time and holidays. It took 20 years to build and Jammal’s children often helped him with the digging after finishing school. Jammal says he made the house for his wife because she loves to travel and can now feel like she is always on a plane. He also wanted the house to be a gift to the country of Nigeria, and it has become a tourist attraction.
Real OR Rubbish?
Nick Collins’s basement.
It’s snow joke: Moscow gets a fake freeze
Artificial snow has been used to turn Russia’s capital city, Moscow, into a winter wonderland. The city usually has freezing temperatures in December and January, which means that it is often blanketed in snow for the new year. However, the weather has been warmer this year and no snow fell, so local authorities brought in crushed-up ice from nearby skating rinks to make the city centre look festive.
Will the anthem be heard here?
Anthem written for planet Mars
An anthem has been written for the planet Mars. Opera singer Oscar Castellino was asked to write it by the Mars Society, an organisation that wants human beings to live on Mars in the future. The song is called Rise to Mars and its lyrics are: “Rise to Mars, men and women! Dare to dream, dare to strive. Build a home for our children. Make this desert come alive.” Castellino hopes that in the future there will be an “intergalactic performance” with people singing it on both our planet and Mars. Does this sound real to you, or should we come back down to Earth?*
11 January 2020 • The Week Junior
UK Government receives odd requests
Someone called the UK Government in 2019 to complain about the quality of food on board aeroplanes, it has been revealed. The Foreign Office – a Government department that supports UK citizens when they are abroad – revealed its annual list of bizarre requests at the end of 2019. One caller wanted help to find a lost pair of headphones in a French hotel, and another wanted to buy some A4 paper because she couldn’t find any in Texas, US.
*Real! An anthem really has been written for Mars. Dr Robert Zubrin, who is the president of the Mars Society, says he hopes the anthem will inspire people to “dream and look up to Mars and beyond”.
NICK COLLINS · BBC PIDGIN · GETTY IMAGES · REX SHUTTERSTOCK
Would you complain to the Government about this?
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Quiz of the week 1 In which country was a tomb of female warriors found?
10
8 True or false? ISS stands for Interstellar Space Saloon.
3
a) Romania b) Russia
9 What two ingredients were seen being thrown at a traditional festival in Ibi, Spain?
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?
10 What is the name of the mascot for the Winter Youth Olympic Games? a) Yodli b) Miraitowa
13
c) Someity a
4 What are the Academy Awards also known as?
■ b■ c■
11 True or false? The Skulduggery Pleasant series was written by Derek Landy.
a) The Golden Globes b) The Oscars c) The Baftas a
■ b■ c■
ANSW CAN BERS FOUND E PAGE 2ON 7
5 True or false? Oscar Isaac plays C-3PO in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
13 How much did people in the UK spend on music streaming last year? a) Around £250 million
6 Can alligators gallop? 7 What is Isaac Asimov famous for?
12 Which film won the Best Animated Film at the 2020 Golden Globes?
b) Just under £500 million 14
6
a) He was the first man on the Moon
c) More than £1 billion a
■ b■ c■
14 True or false? The world’s longest race for runners is held in New York, US.
b) He invented the retractable dog lead c) He wrote science-fiction books
■ b■ c■
Acting production editor: Philip Clough Contributors: Steve Clarke, Susie Dent, Stuart Dredge, Tom Jackson, Rebecca Messina, Stephen Editor-in-chief: Anna Bassi Patience, Kevin Pettman, Giles Sparrow, Colin Editor: Felicity Capon Williams, Katherine Woodfine Features editor: Ben Isaacs The Week Junior editorial founders: Contributing editor: Dan Green Avril Williams, Ed Needham Staff writers: Michael Dalton, Stevie Derrick, Publisher and chief executive: Kerin O’Connor Huw Poraj-Wilczynski, Ciaran Sneddon Founder, The Week: Jolyon Connell Editorial assistant: Kaye O’Doherty Editor-in-chief, The Week: Jeremy O’Grady Art director: Dave Kelsall Chief customer officer: Abi Spooner Designer: Elton Lam Direct marketing director: Luise Mulholland Picture editor: Rachel Billings Group advertising director: Caroline Fenner Managing editor: Vanessa Harriss Senior marketing manager: Jemma Foster, Production editor: Hugh Porter Anna Lavelle (maternity cover)
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15 What has a house in Nigeria been built to look like?
Schools marketing manager: Ruth Leblique Advertising manager: Carly Activille Account director: Hattie White (hattie_white@dennis.co.uk) Sales executive: Clement Aro Production manager: Lawrence Brookes Senior production controller: Ebony Besagni Operations director: Robin Ryan Chief executive: James Tye Dennis Publishing founder: Felix Dennis Dennis Publishing Ltd, 31–32 Alfred Place, London WC1E 7DP. Tel: 020-3890 3890. Copyright © Dennis Publishing Ltd 2019. All rights reserved. The Week and The Week Junior are registered trademarks. Neither the whole of this
publication nor any part of it may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of the publishers. Editorial: editorial@theweekjunior.co.uk Subscriptions: subscriptions@theweekjunior. co.uk Tel: 0330-333 9494. Annual subscription rate UK: £85; overseas: £95. School subscriptions: 40-week term-time subscription rate from £54.
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PRINT PRODUCT OF THE YEAR 2019
PRINT PRODUCT OF THE YEAR 2018 BEST ART TEAM 2017
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2018
WINNER EDITORS’ EDITOR 2018 (ANNA BASSI)
LAUNCH OF THE YEAR 2016 BEST NEW LAUNCH 2016
The Week Junior • 11 January 2020
NASA · GETTY IMAGES · REX SHUTTERSTOCK · ALAMY
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£6.99 • Suitable for 9+ readers
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Please get a parent’s or guardian’s permission before entering. Competition closes 1st March 2020. Full terms and conditions www.nosycrow.com/ElephantCompetition
ARTWORK © DAVID DEAN 2020
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