First News Edition 233 by Daphne Anazodo

THE AWARD-WINNING WEEKLY NEWSPAPER FOR KIDS £1.20 12 – 18 NOV 2010 ISSUE 233 First News supports children’s charities

Working with

A MERRY CHRISTMAS FOR ALL?

Christmas around the world

HARRY POTTER SPECIAL

RESCUED TO RACE

Sneak peek on the movie set

Chile miner runs a marathon

MARCH AGAINST BULLIES 15 – 21 NOVEMBER ANTI-BULLYING WEEK IMAGINE lying awake in bed at night being terrified to go to school the next day because of bullies. This week is anti-bullying week – and we all have the chance to join celebrities, our friends and families to stand up to those who think it’s okay to abuse, spit at, ignore, punch, kick or beat up other people. To mark the beginning of the week, on 15 November thousands of people will be marching across 50 websites, including our First News site, to ask the Government for help in protecting children from bullying, violence and harassment. The Big March will be a digital first – a campaign hosted entirely online which will end at 10 Downing Street where virtual marchers will hand in a petition. The Big March will see avatars of children, parents, teachers and celebrities march across computer screens to take a

by editor Nicky Cox stand against bullying. To take part in The Big March yourself, you need to register. You make a little avatar of yourself and give it a username. Then, on 15 November, the day of The Big March, you will be among all the avatars spread across the websites taking part – such as First News, YouTube, Girlguiding UK, the Metropolitan Police, Google, Fruit Shoot, the Prince’s Trust and many more. When David Cameron took over as Prime Minister he said bullying was an important issue to deal with. Now The

Big March is calling upon his Government to make it against the law to hurt, harass or bully children in schools or online, by bringing in a Schools Safety Bill and a cyber bullying law. First News, too, called for bullying to be made a crime last year (see right). More than a third of all school absences are caused by bullying. Two thirds of children with learning diffi culties say they have been bullied. Nearly half of all suicides by young people are linked to bullying. And a third of 11 to 16-year-olds have been cyber-bullied. That’s why this march matters.

BE PART OF THE DIGITAL MARCH ACROSS THE INTERNET TO BEAT BULLIES PAGE 4

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FIRST NEWS HEADLINES

Volcano claims more lives

IN BRIEF Lottery winners give it away A COUPLE who won the lottery in Canada have given almost all of it away.

Violet and Allen Large won more than $11 million and have only kept about $200,000 for themselves. They have given the rest of the money to family, friends, hospitals, churches and charities. The generous pair say they already have everything they need and that money cannot buy happiness.

Queen joins Facebook THE royal family has their own Facebook page, after joining Twitter, Flickr and YouTube.

Mount Merapi’s funnel of smoke is covering the area in ash and debris

MOUNT Merapi is continuing to erupt, killing more people and covering the area in ash. People in villages as far as 11 miles away from the volcano were thought to have been out of the danger zone but have been killed by the heat and ash coming from the mountain. The number of people killed by the volcano is rising and authorities fear there are many

by Gabrielle Utton more trapped in villages cut off by ash and debris. The latest eruption came as a surprise and so many were killed as they slept. Scientists studying the volcano say they have never

seen it behave in this way and they don’t know what it will do next. The evacuation zone has been broadened to try to move more people out of danger. Many people live on the slopes of Mount Merapi because the volcanic soil is good for growing crops.

Robotic friends Tea time with Wallace and BY the time you’re an old person, there may be robots rather than humans to look after you and keep you company. Scientists at the University of elderly will be cared for in the of Bristol and the University of future. However, some people West of England are developing don’t think robotic carers are a robots who can act as carers good idea. They say robots can’t to elderly people. One robot is replace human conversation or called Mobiserv and can help an the warmth of holding another elderly person order shopping and person’s hand. remind them when to take their medication. The Mobiserv project is being worked on by seven different countries. It is hoped this work will help find solutions to how the growing number Could a robot really replace a human?

Gromit

THIS week saw the launch of Wallace and Gromit’s Great British Tea Party. This is no ordinary tea party as it runs from 1-21 December and aims to raise thousands of pounds for charity. The organisers want more than 100,000 people to host and join in tea parties across the country and make a donation to the Children’s Foundation. Money raised will go to helping 20 hospitals and hospices in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Nick Park, creator of Wallace and Gromit and trustee of the

The British Monarchy page shows photos, videos and news from a number of the royal family members including the Queen, Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry. The Queen’s press department say she is keen to keep up to date with new media including social networking sites.

Classical music cuts crime FEWER crimes are being committed in a New Zealand city since playing classical music in public areas.

The City Mall in Christchurch has been playing gentle classical music and noticed the number of anti-social incidents dropped from 86 a week in 2008 to only two a week in 2010. Central City Business Association manager Paul Lonsdale says:“It is much more pleasant now. People sit in that area now because they feel safer.”

Crash landing

Children’s Foundation, says: “A quintessentially British tea party is just my cup of tea and a really easy and fun way to raise money for sick children.” For more information go to www.wallaceandgromitteaparty. org.uk.

A SUPERJUMBO jet made an emergency landing after one of its engines exploded.

The engine blew up six minutes after take-off from Singapore. It was heading for Australia. The pilot circled for 90 minutes to empty the fuel tanks before landing with three engines. No-one was hurt.

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FIRST NEWS HEADLINES

Brits score living in UK 7/10 More trouble for Haiti IN a survey to find which country has the best quality of life, the UK has come 26th out of 169 countries. On average British people gave their happiness with living in the country a score of 7.4 out of ten. Norway came top of the United Nations Human Development Index. Norwegians can expect

How would you rate your life?

to live to the old age of 81 while Britons have a slightly shorter life expectancy of 79.8 years. Zimbabwe ranked last in the survey of 169 countries with people only expected to live to the age of 47. The only country in western Europe to be ranked lower than the UK is Portugal at number 40. Top 10 1 Norway 2 Australia 3 New Zealand 4 United States of America 5 Ireland 6 Liechtenstein 7 Netherlands 8 Canada 9 Sweden 10 Germany 26 UK

THE people of Haiti have had to deal with a hurricane as well as a rising disease problem this week.

Hurricane Tomas closed down the airport and killed six people. But those sheltering in the tented camps survived the strong winds and downpours of rain. However, people have had to leave villages and towns that were flooded by the water and so are adding to the numbers still living in makeshift tents since the earthquake in January.

The flooding has also made the cholera epidemic worse because of the lack of clean drinking water. Cholera is spread through contaminated water and food and causes diarrhoea and sickness. If a sick person becomes dehydrated they can die from the disease. Several hundreds of people have already been killed by cholera.

EDITOR’S COMMENT THE scale of bullying in the UK is frightening.

So many young people who just want to go to school to learn and to improve their chances in life are having a miserable time. Not because the lessons are too hard. Not because they get too much homework. But because they Editor Nicky Cox MBE get picked on and abused by cowardly bullies. This can even begin on the school bus or walking to school, way before the bell even rings for registration. Three out of ten young people say they have been bullied at school. It has to stop. That is why First News is happy to support The Big March (front page) and why we welcome the Government’s promise to tackle bullying. Everybody has the right to be happy going about their daily lives and nobody has the right to deny them that. I’ve already registered for The Big March. See if you can spot my little EditorNicky avatar holding a First News placard when you register yourself. As I’m writing this, I’m walking around in the virtual Big March park, waiting for the march to start. Register yourself at www.beatbullying.org/ bigmarch. Together we can beat bullying.

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY On 12 November 1984 English pound notes began to be replaced by pound coins.

BAD

WEEK FOR... Sir Chris Hoy

Miner runs marathon Man rescued from Chile mine completes New York marathon AFTER being trapped in a mine hundreds of metres underground for 69 days you would think running a marathon would be far from Edison Pena’s mind. But that is exactly what he has just done. Edison completed the 26.2 mile course in New York, USA, in under six hours. While Edison and his 32 co-workers were trapped in the mine he kept fit by jogging for miles each day through the tunnels underground.

Edison said: “It was worthwhile for me to come this far to run a marathon, because I want to motivate people. I want to convince them that they can do what they set out to do in life. “In this marathon I struggled. I struggled with myself, I struggled with my own pain,

but I made it to the finish line. I want to motivate other people to also find the courage and strength to transcend their own pain.” The remarkable runner had to have ice packs strapped to his knees because of his injury and walked across the finish line.

The Olympic champion cyclist slowed down as he thought he had won a round of the European Elite Track Championships but was then overtaken and beaten by a competitor.

GOOD

WEEK FOR... Rihanna

The pop star has scored her fourth number one in the UK with Only Girl (In the World).

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SPECIAL REPORT

For more information visit www.cybermentors.org.uk

Richard Piggin, deputy CEO of Beatbullying

AntiBullying Week

ASK any person – parent, teacher, friend, relative and even a celebrity – and they will tell you that they have experienced bullying at some point in their life.

They may have been bullied themselves, or they may have witnessed it happening at school, work, on the street or even on the internet. Beatbullying recently asked children how they felt about school and found that nearly three-quarters of children your age don’t feel safe at school because of bullying and half thought that if they reported bullying to a teacher, nothing would be done. Half admitted they have skipped school to avoid bullies. It can be diffi cultat school but here are some confidence tips to help you keep strong if you think you are being bullied:

1. Communicate. Find the time to sit down and talk. CyberMentors is an army of young people working to keep their peers and friends safe by giving advice and support online at www.cybermentors. org.uk. 2. Believe yourself confident. Stand tall and project self-confidence – nobody knows that you may be nervous on the inside. 3. Channel your experiences into

You are not alone if you feel you are being bullied. Talk to a good friend, an adult you trust, check out cybermentors.org.uk or call ChildLine on 0800 1111.

something positive. Turn your experience with bullies into something positive. You understand better than anyone what it feels like to be bullied, so use this knowledge to support younger peers who are going through the same thing.

4. Feel sympathy, not fear. Empathise with the bullies;

try to understand why they feel the need to behave in the way that they do. View this empathy as a stronger and more constructive alternative to feeling intimidated.

5. Anticipate and respond. Anticipate bullies’ behaviour and prepare a response. Use assertiveness, or even humour. 6. You are not alone. Remember that there will always be someone you can talk to. One million children are bullied every week inside and outside school and as many as 70% of young people have experienced some kind of bullying. 7. Walk the high ground. Know that you are better than anyone who uses intimidation as a form of communication. 8. Make a friend. Try to meet someone new and surround yourself with people who appreciate you. Pick something you are good at, or have always wanted to learn and find an after-school club that can bring people who like the same stuff as you together. 9. Don’t be a victim. You are in control of how you feel, so don’t let bullies make you feel like a victim. Concentrate

on the positive things in your life; your family, your friends and hobbies. This will help motivate you and mean the bullies can’t get the better of you.

10. Do something positive. Why not start a fundraiser in your school or community? How about be an activist or lobby the Government? You can help by being a cyber mentor at cybermentors.org.uk or joining The Big March. THE BIG MARCH From 8am to 7pm on 15 November, anyone who logs onto the websites taking part in the Big March, including our site www.firstnews.co.uk, will see the avatars of those who have signed up, marching across the bottom of their screen – all 400,000 plus of them! To join celebrities like Alesha Dixon, Pixie Lott and Aston from JLS just go to beatbullying.org/bigmarch and make your very own avatar to march to 10 Downing Street. The Big March is asking the Government to create a group of parents, kids, politicians and charity figures to get together and work out how to tackle bullying, harassment and violence against children and young people. It is also asking for a School Safety Bill which will make it against the law to hurt, harass or bully children in schools, and a Cyber Bullying Act to protect children online.

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THE NEWS IN PICTURES

4 NOVEMBER LONDON, ENGLAND: Olly Murs poses with Minnie and Mickey at the

Disney Store as they help launch Disney’s Magical Giving Tree appeal. Aimed at donating presents to more than 9,000 children throughout the UK in collaboration with a variety of local charities, the appeal will give 340 children from Great Ormond Street Hospital a Christmas present this year.

3 NOVEMBER LONDON, ENGLAND: Models of the dome of

St Paul’s Cathedral, Blackpool Tower and Edinburgh Castle are unveiled. They are made from a total of 115,000 used train tickets, the number of cheap advance tickets sold on average each day in Britain.

5 NOVEMBER

BERCHER, SWITZERLAND: Swiss pilot Yves Rossy, the first man in the world to fly under a jet-fitted wing, speeds through the air to perform a loop near a hot air balloon.

4 NOVEMBER HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND: An animal rescue centre has become

overwhelmed by injured hedgehogs. Staff and volunteers at the Hampshire Animal Rescue Team are working all hours to care for the 33 injured hedgehogs recently brought into the centre.

1 NOVEMBER

SCHMALKALDEN, GERMANY: A giant crater opened up in the town of Schmalkalden in eastern Germany. No-one was hurt in the landslide which experts believe was due to natural causes. Around 25 residents were evacuated from their homes.

8 NOVEMBER ESSEN, GERMANY: British constructor Perry Watkins drives in the world’s smallest car during a press presentation at the Motorshow fair in Essen. His car is only 1m 4cm high and uses a motorbike engine.

5 NOVEMBER BEIJING, CHINA: Prime Minister David Cameron walks with China’s

Premier Wen Jiabao past the honour guard at a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People. Mr Cameron is hoping to strengthen the relationship between the UK and China.

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OUR STORIES THE WEEK’S WEATHER

with Jonathan Powell

From Friday 12 November 2010 to Thursday 18 November 2010 WEEK IN GENERAL Unsettled. Reasonably mild. FRIDAY 12 NOVEMBER Scotland/N Ireland –Scattered showers. Day 8c/46f Night 5c/41f. Brisk northwesterly. England/Wales – Showers, drier spells. Day 9c/48f Night 6c/43f. Brisk northwesterly. SATURDAY 13 NOVEMBER Scotland/N Ireland – Periods of rain. Day 11c/52f Night 7c/45f. Brisk westerly. England/Wales – Scattered showers. Day 12c/54f Night 8c/46f. Brisk westerly. SUNDAY 14 OCTOBER Scotland/N Ireland – Periods of rain. Day 12c/54f Night 7c/45f. Brisk southwesterly. England/Wales – Periods of rain. Day 13c/55f Night 8c/46f. Brisk southwesterly. REST OF THE WEEK Unsettled with further rain.

Home News N Ireland

Scotland

Wales

Whale mystery

First sawfly seen

Giant scarf

Scientists are investigating why 33 pilot whales ended up beached and dead on Rutland Island. Skin and tissue samples have been taken from the bodies to try and work out why the animals beached themselves. It is the biggest mass death of whales in Irish history.

A tiny species of insect has been seen in the UK for the first time. The species lives on Birch trees and are extremely rare in Europe. An entomologist has found one living in a woodland area close to Loch Ness.

A group of knitters in Wales are aiming to make a scarf more than 1,700m long. It is to wrap around a famous sea wall in Wales called The Cob. The knitters are aiming to knit a scarf between 1,700m and 2,500m long in time for the 200th anniversary of the wall next year.

Scotland Sea eagle success The number of white-tailed sea eagle chicks born in Scotland in 2001 is higher than in previous years. Numbers released by RSPB Scotland show that 46 young birds fledged this year, ten more than last year. The birds were first introduced to the area of Rum in 1975 but can now be found in Fife. They were once native to the area but were hunted to extinction in the 19th and 20th Century.

Essex Bronze-age weapons found A massive hoard of Bronze Age tools and objects have been found in a field in Essex. The 3,000-year-old objects include axe heads, spear tips and a complete pottery container. Archaeologist Laura McLean says: “To find a hoard still located in its Bronze Age context, below the level of ploughed soil, is very rare.” The site was found after a metal detector user reported it to Colchester and Ipswich Museums.

Oxshott

WEATHER FAST FACT

Wales

Lorry on the tracks

National Park help

November 2009 was the wettest British November on record, with an average of 21.8cm of rain across the UK.

Local businesses and people are being asked for their help to make decisions about the future of Brecon Beacons National Park. An eight week period has been launched where locals can have their say about the park and consider changes that offi cials are thinking of making.

THE WEEK IN NUMBERS 90 is the age of Rupert Bear. A charity auction is

572

16.7

150 metres is the new Guinness World Record for

being held to celebrate the anniversary this week.

people watched Trey-C get voted off The X Factor. This series is getting record viewing figures.

old-fashioned cars made before 1905 have taken part in the annual London to Brighton car run.

freediving, after Carlos Coste (pictured left) swam 150 metres through a cave using no apparatus.

Several people were injured this week when a lorry hit a bridge wall and went over it, onto a passing train in Oxshott. The 26-tonne concrete mixer hit the third carriage of the train that was heading to London Waterloo. Three people were seriously hurt, including the lorry driver.

new kids’ play areas will be built in Middlesborough and County Durham.

250,000 pounds is to be spent

revamping Scarborough’s West Pier.

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ANIMAL NEWS

Readers name red pandas Right-handed chimps ANOTHER similarity between humans and chimpanzees has been discovered by scientists.

A Spanish team studying chimps has found that they also tend to use their right hand more than their left, just like the majority of people. The findings, which are published in the American Journal of Primatology, were found after 114 chimpanzees were observed getting food that was hidden in tubes. The teams monitored the chimps to work out which hands they used to get the food. The majority of them found it easier to get the food with their right hands. The researchers also noted more female chimps were right-handed than male chimps, just like in humans.

FIRST News website users have named two rare red panda cubs born at Paignton Zoo in Devon. Firstnews.co.uk users chose the names by voting in an online poll. Our online users voted for the cubs to be called Macy and Raymundo. They were born in September and are

the first red pandas to be born at the zoo since 2004. Red pandas come from the mountains of Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmar and Nepal.

GREEN NEWS with Gabrielle Utton

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

What do you do to help fight climate change? How do you get your friends, family and school to do their bit too? Tell us and First News readers, write to newsdesk@firstnews.co.uk or the address on page 19.

Is the countryside scary? THE National Trust thinks the countryside is scary for some people and they’re launching a campaign to find out what can be done to make it less frightening. A recent report says that children spend 60% less time outdoors than their parents did at the same age. Playing games consoles and using computers, and worrying about safety, means young people spend far more time indoors than previous generations. Because many people who live in cities and urban areas may not get the chance to spend time in the countryside, the National Trust thinks that more people find unknown rural areas scary. Worrying about getting lost on a walk, fewer people being around, and the lack of buildings can put some off enjoying the hills and fields of the country. Dame Fiona Reynolds, To find out more go to director general of the outdoornation.org.uk National Trust, says: “A lot of people aren’t confident in setting off for a walk. They can’t follow a map, there might be a farmer who tells them off, they may get lost. People find it inhibiting.” Outdoor Nation is the National Trust’s new campaign to find out what people really think of the countryside, what might

YOU CAN SAVE THE PLANET BY JACQUIE WINES AND SARAH HORNE £7.99

THIS is a great book for all those who want to be that little bit more eco-friendly. reviewed by Lauren, 11

be putting them off visiting it and what would help them to spend more time in rural areas. Dame Fiona thinks that more kids should have the chance to camp outdoors overnight: “…in a safe environment but one that stretches them, makes them able to explore.” She also thinks that doctors should prescribe walks in the country to patients as research has found that spending time in nature has a calming and positive effect. What do you think? Do you live in a town or city and wish you spent more time in the country? Or do you find the idea scary? If you do, what do you find most scary about the countryside? Write to us at newsdesk@firstnews.co.uk with Countryside as the subject title, or vote in the poll at www.firstnews.co.uk/polls

It’s packed full with fun and easy ways and suggestions to help us do our bit to save the planet. There are more than 100 ideas on how we can contribute to making the planet a safer and healthier place for us and future generations. There are some really simple suggestions, like turning the tap off when you clean your teeth, wash your hands in a small basin of water and not under a running tap. And then there are those that will need a little help like ways to off-set your carbon footprint, buying energyeffi cienthousehold appliances and making recycled Christmas decorations. If everyone did just one of the suggestions in the book the world would be a healthier and happier place to live in. Just imagine how much we could change if we all really tried! I really enjoyed this book and will continue to keep my pledge to the planet.

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ISSUE 233 12 – 18 NOV 2010

GLOBAL STORIES

World News

SNIPPETS Eugenie Blanchard, who was thought to be the world’s oldest person, has died at the age of 114. The nun lived on the Caribbean island of St Barts.

USA Funny money

Netherlands

Russia

Rat rampage

Warm winter

Journalists attacked

Residents of Dorchester have been complaining about a sudden surge of rats into their village. When a local prison farm was closed down, five barns were demolished. Since then, the rats that lived on the farm and in the barns have had to move on in search of food.

Weather offi cials have said that the night of 4/5 November was the warmest since records began in 1901. Night temperatures in the Netherlands at this time of year are usually 10°C, but on this night it didn’t drop below 14.5°C. The previous record was 14.1°C in 1968.

President Dmitry Medvedev is facing pressure to protect journalists, after two were attacked and badly beaten within days of each other. Many people think that the attacks were linked to investigations that the journalists have been involved in.

Chopstick surgery A man who swallowed a chopstick 28 years ago has finally had it removed by surgeons. The 50-year-old man didn’t have it removed originally because it hadn’t bothered him, but he recently started having stomach pains and passed out.

Getty

Offi cials say that laser printers have dramatically increased the amount of counterfeit money in the US. Last year, £113m of fake money was removed from circulation. In 2008, it was £49m.

Canada

China

South Korea Barmy bomb threat Getty

A man has been arrested after making a hoax bomb threat because he was running late for his flight. The man called from a pay phone and said that a bomb on his plane was due to explode. The flight was delayed for two hours while security forces checked it. The man made his flight, but was arrested when he returned to Seoul.

USA

A Florida man had to carry out emergency treatment on his dog, after it was attacked by an alligator. Tom Martino’s Jack Russell, Lizabeth, was grabbed by the gator and dragged under the water. Martino fired his gun into the water, which caused the alligator to release his pet. He then used mouth-to-mouth and chest compression techniques to revive Lizabeth. Vets said that the dog would have died without his help.

Chile

Space

Australia

Mine explosion

Vacuum voting

Freezing fisherman

Even though they were flying 350km above Earth, three US astronauts were still allowed to vote in the recent US elections. Offi cials in Texas first passed a law in 1997 that allowed astronauts to vote from the vacuum of space. The three men are currently staying on the International Space Station.

A man was forced to spend ten hours in the water, after a giant wave swamped his fishing boat. Andy Taylor hung onto his upturned boat, but he was dragged further out to sea. In the morning, he swam back to land, only to find that the key fob for his car wouldn’t work, so he had to catch the bus home instead!

After the recent rescue of 33 miners, Chile’s joy turned to tragedy this week. In a copper and gold mine not far from the San Jose mine, a dynamite explosion killed two miners and caused another to lose an eye. A mining expert said that old detonators were to blame.

Getty

Dog doctor

SNIPPETS At least four people died and 30 more were injured when a bus rolled over on a highway in Shanghai, China. Police are investigating the cause.

KIDS’ WORLD Name: Aftin Age: 12 Lives: El Wak, Kenya AFTIN lives in a small settlement with farmers who have lost their livestock and livelihoods. Northeast Kenya has been through droughts for the past several years that have caused a severe increase in malnutrition and chronic hunger among children and families in the region. Families like Aftin’s can no longer rely on livestock to provide them with milk and meat. Their diets tend to lack protein – so more and more children are becoming malnourished, because the prices of protein rich foods like milk,

meat, and beans in the local markets are simply too high. Aftin says: “I only eat one meal a day. In the morning I have one cup of black tea and then another in the middle of the day. In the evening I usually eat some boiled cornmeal. This isn’t enough food to keep me going through the day I go to primary school and at school. I feel tired most of the day and weak with hunger.

“Sometimes, when I’m sitting in class, I feel really dizzy and my vision gets blurry – it makes it hard to see the board. I have a hard time concentrating, so learning can be very diffi cult for me. But I like going to school because I think it is very important to have knowledge. If I can go to secondary school and then college, I will eventually be able to do something that could help my family in the future.”

Find out more about Save the Children at www.savethechildren.org.uk

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Christmas is coming...

Christmas is coming Have you made your Christmas list yet? Here are some of the top toys you may like to find under your tree this year!

ROCK STAR HAMSTERS WWW.CHARACTER-ONLINE.CO.UK £9.99

Mad about ZhuZhu Pets? Then the new Rock Star Hamsters, with their long hair and cheeky personalities will be right up your street this Christmas.

NATIVITY DVD WWW.AMAZON.CO.UK £10.99

Don’t miss Nativity!, the hilarious and heartwarming family film starring Martin Freeman, which comes to DVD & Blu-ray courtesy of Entertainment One on 22 November.

MOSHI MONSTERS TOP TRUMPS WWW.CULTANDCOOL.COM £3.99

Def Jam Rapstar is the first interactive Hip Hop music game where YOU are the star and part of the www.defjamrapstar. com community. It’s out on 26 November on all three formats.

SODASTREAM WWW.SODASTREAM.CO.UK FROM £49.99

LIV™ IT’S MY NATURE™ DOLL ASST AND NUTMEG HORSE™ ASDA FROM £19.99

CATS AND DOGS 1 AND 2 DVD WWW.AMAZON.CO.UK £10.99

They’re cunning. They’re stealthy. They’re waging a top-secret, ultra-high-tech struggle for global domination right under our noses. They’re Cats & Dogs!

DOODLE DUDES WWW.FLAIRPLC.CO.UK FROM £2.99

Doodle Dudes, fun collectable characters to create. Use pens, pencils and paint to design your own friend or “urban dude” to add to your collection.

Liv™ dolls and Nutmeg™ Horse are totally poseable, have realistic eyes, beautiful hair for styling and lots of accessories. Horse and doll sold separately.

Watch the vehicle chase the light beam on either the wall, on the ground or upside down! Requires six AA batteries (not included).

DEF JAM RAPSTAR HMV FROM £29.99

Enjoy the magical interactive world of Moshi Monsters with this new Top Trumps pack and learn more about all your favourite little Moshlings!

SodaStream comes in a range of stylish designs and colours. With a range of delicious flavours it’s the perfect way to add that extra sparkle to Christmas!

AIR HOGS® R/C LASER MICRO ZERO GRAVITY ARGOS £39.99

AIR HOGS® VECTRON WAVE THE ENTE ENTERTAINER NTER RTAINER R £24.00

Control altitude by simply placing your hand under the Vectron, no remote required. Requires six AA batteries (not included).Two styles/frequencies available.

11 Cute little bears with a change of fun themed costumes to wear! Clip them to your phone, bag, belt or pencil case and take them anywhere!

PARTY ANIMALS™ 4 PACK SAINSBURYS £5.99

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Christmas is coming...

by Andrew Mitchell, the Government’s Secretary of State for International Development children in poor countries, can be stopped by installing a water pump in a village. I visited Pakistan in August following the devastating floods where thousands of families lost everything (see photo on the right). The UK was one of the first countries to respond with shelter, food aid and medical assistance. And now we are helping families to help themselves by giving them seeds so

1. Haiti

3. South Africa

2. Democratic Republic of Congo

Poverty, crime, and lack of education mean that millions of children living 3 in the shanty towns of South Africa this Christmas don’t get the best start in life. Most deal with issues like abuse, drugs and discrimination from a young age. But, through a national youth club called Soul Buddyz, children like Nompumelelo Malebo are given life skills training and help to improve their lives. Nompumelelo, 11, said: “I want to be a lawyer, to continue to help my community. That is why I joined Soul Buddyz, to be able to help others. “As children, we can help our communities. We can report crime and abuse and we can help look after our families.”

Imagine not being able to get to school because the journey’s too dangerous. Last Christmas, children living in the mountainous village of Monaria in Africa’s Democratic Republic of Congo spent two hours struggling down a steep mountain path. They would hurt themselves and miss class, so fewer than 100 went to school. But, this year, a school was built in their village. Now more than 300 students, including 11-year-old Christian, attend. “Before, I didn’t go to school in the valley as my parents wouldn’t let me go down the hill. I was so tired at the end of the day. Now I go to school every day and it takes me ten minutes. I am top of my class and want to be a doctor.”

Russell Watkins/DfID

Susan Schulman/DfID

On 12 January a 1 devastating earthquake hit Port au Prince, the capital city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. We all saw dramatic scenes on the TV of people being pulled from collapsed buildings. The earthquake killed 230,000 people, 300,000 were seriously injured and 1.5 million lost their homes. Reynane, 8, was one of the lucky ones and, this Christmas, she will be running around on her new prosthetic limb thanks to the British Government and Handicap International. Reynane said: “I love my new leg and run around – my favourite game is football! I hope to go to school as I love history and would like to be a teacher when I grow up.”

they can grow their own vegetables. Through Christmas and beyond, I am proud to say that we will carry on working hard to make sure that British aid helps us to keep our promises to the world’s poor.

Dianne Tipping Woods/DfID

I HOPE you all are looking forward to Christmas as much as I am – spending time with your family, eating nice food and having fun! It’s also a chance to think back on the year. For me, a definite highlight was when I became the Secretary of State for International Development in May this year. Since then my department and I have been working hard to save the lives of tens of millions of children throughout the developing world from diseases that can kill if not treated. A simple bed net can protect a family in Africa from malaria. And diarrhoea, which can kill

Kate Joseph/DfID

Christmas around the world

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4. Western Eritrea

5. Pakistan

Palaten, 8, is a symbol of the new hope in 6 Afghanistan. Under the Taliban, almost no girls were in school. Now more than a third of the five million children in school are girls. Girls now dream of growing up to do jobs like becoming doctors, lawyers, and businesswomen. They also make choices about what they want to do with their lives. Over Christmas Palaten likes to play chess with her school friends, when she is not doing her homework or watching films. She said: “My favourite subject is English and, when I grow up, I want to become an English teacher. I want to help others learn.”

Cameron Millar/DfID

Derek Markwell/DfID

Save the Children

After finishing your Christmas meal, you wouldn’t think twice about turning on the tap for a glass of water. But spare a thought for the 340 million people across Africa without access to safe water. Many suffer from water-borne diseases that cause diarrhoea which can kill if not treated. Mohammed, 18, from Eritrea, used to walk for two hours to get water. But, thanks to the British Government and UNICEF, his village now has a hand water pump. Mohammed says: “I used to wake early each morning and fetch water before my lessons. Now I only have to walk ten minutes there and ten minutes back. I have no excuse for being late to class!”

6. Afghanistan

When major floods hit Pakistan on 28 July this 5 year, children and families lost everything including homes, books, clothes and toys. For Saqlain, 14, from the city of Bahrain this was really diffi cult as he and his family had nowhere to live, nothing to eat, and the family’s apple farm which supported them was destroyed. However, through shelter kits, funded by the UK Government and delivered by Save the Children, children like Saqlain now, at least, will have a temporary home on Christmas day. Saqlain says: “I know this will not replace my old house but at least it will be my family’s first step towards a new home.”

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Christmas is coming...

Advertisement feature

Puppies, penguins and Pictio WITH even more members of the Marvel Super Hero Squad to play as, The Infinity Gauntlet is a must for wannabe super heroes everywhere! Use your brains, brawn and bravery as you clash with a huge cast of evil villains, solve puzzles and generally make a humongous mess as you destroy anything that gets in your way! You can work your way through the story with a fellow super hero in co-op mode, or get three mates involved in the competitive challenge mode. Each character has their own unique superpowers, and the whole cast of the TV series lend their voices to your favourite characters. Out 19 November for Wii, DS, PS3 and Xbox 360.

IF anyone knows about looking good, it’s Barbie. Now you can let her be your mentor, as you try to glam up your pooch in time for the big dog show. Choosing from six cute breeds, Barbie Groom and Glam Pups allows you to groom your new pal, train it and dress it up. After bathing and brushing your furry friend, you can teach it to jump, spin or even give you a kiss. Then you need to take some time to choose the perfect collar and costume, before parading your pet down the runway and posing for a photoshoot! Out 19 November for Wii and DS.

PICTIONARY has always been the most fun that you could ever have with a pencil, but there’s a whole new way of playing now. Get your mates together and you can either compete in pass & play mode with your DS, or have up to four teams battling via WiFi. There are six new modes that add to the fun, meaning that you could end up having to just use set shapes to make your picture, or even draw with your other hand! Although there are over 3,000 clues in the game, you can make your own by taking pictures with the DSi camera, then tracing and colouring them. Out 19 November exclusively for DS.

ARE you totally truthful or a fantastic fibber? Now you can find out in Truth ruth or Lies, the ultimate party game! With more than 3,000 questions, the game’s amazing voice calibration software will sort out which of your friends and family are telling porkies. You don’t just have to rely on the game’s questions – with the ‘hot seat’ round, you can ask anything you want! With up to eight players joining in together, Truth or Lies will make any party go down a storm! Out 19 November for Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii.

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Marvel Super Hero Squad ™ & © 2010 Marvel Entertainment, LLC and its subsidiaries. All Rights Reserved. The Penguins of Madagascar © 2010 Viacom International, Inc. Madagascar ® DWA L.L.C. All Rights Reserved. Truth or Lies © 2010 Imagination International Corporation. Game and Software © 2010 THQ Inc. Truth or Lies and its related logos, characters, names and distinctive likenesses thereof, and specific question categories, and micro-tremor detection and pitch analysis technology are the exclusive property of Imagination International Corporation and used under exclusive license. All Rights Reserved. HOT WHEELS, BARBIE, PICTIONARY and associated trademarks and trade dress are owned by, and used under license from, Mattel, Inc. All © 2010 Mattel, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Exclusively published and distributed by THQ Inc. DreamWorks’ Megamind: Bad. Blue. Brilliant ™ & © 2010 DreamWorks Animation L.L.C. Game and Software © 2010 THQ Inc. All Rights Reserved.

onary make perfect presents! STARTING where the amazing film finishes, you have to help Megamind to face up to the Doom Syndicate and deal with a sudden crime wave. Fortunately, to help you cope with this crisis, Megamind has a cool arsenal of weapons to use. A trusty sidekick is always a big help, and Megamind has one of those too – the fuzzy strongman Minion is just one of the extra characters that you can choose from to make your ultimate Mega Team. Megamind: Mega Team Unite is available on 26 November for Wii, but you can try the other unique versions for a totally different game and experience. Megamind: Ultimate Showdown on Xbox 360 and PS3 and Megamind: The Blue Defender on DS and PSP are both out on 26 November too.

SKIPPER, Kowalski, Rico ico and P Private are back in their very own adventure, as The Penguins of Madagascar comes to DS. The wacky adventures of the TV show are in your hands now, as you use the penguins’ stealth and acrobatic skills to solve puzzles, avoid obstacles and even build your own outrageous contraptions! To really bring the game to life, the voices of the penguins are provided by the cast of the TV series. So don’t delay, p-p-p-pick up a copy today! Out 19 November exclusively for DS.

REV those engine and prepare to defy gravity, as you zoom around fantastic tracks that you build yourself! Hot Wheels Track Attack lets you construct your own outrageous loops and jumps out of Hot Wheels pieces, then lets you customise a huge variety of cars to whizz around in. Be careful with your new paint job, though – each of the different environments in the game has its own monstrous villain for you to watch out for… Out 26 November for Wii and DS.

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Christmas is coming...

WIN

NATIVITY DVDS!

SEND your finished puzzles to Puzzles 233, First News, Shand House, 14 - 20 Shand Street, London, SE1 2ES. The closing date for puzzle entries is Friday 19 November 2010.

CAN you spot the five changes to this picture from the film Nativity!? Send in your answers and three lucky winners could win a copy of Nativity! on DVD. This Christmas, primary school teacher Paul Maddens is being charged with the biggest challenge of his life – mounting the school’s musical version of the nativity. Competing against the posh local school for the honour of best reviewed show in town, the stakes are raised when Paul boasts that his ex-girlfriend, a Hollywood producer, is coming to see his show with a view to turning it into a film. The only trouble is – they haven’t spoken in years.

Nativity is our on DVD & Blu-ray courtesy of Entertainment One on 22 November.

E G N E L L A H C S W E N T S R I F Q1 How old is Rupert Bear?

How to Train Your Dragon?

Q2 What have First News readers named

Q6 Who won Best Male artist at the MTV Europe Music Awards?

the two red panda cubs from Paignton Zoo?

LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS: FIRST NEWS CHALLENGE 1)lungs 2) Australia 3) Italy 4) Shake It Up 5) 5,000 years old 6) Ice skating 7) Dan Freedman 8) Indonesia 9) The Members of Youth Parliament 10) Brazil SPOT THE DIFFERENCE Scarf is a different colour, hand is larger, post missing, tree is larger, man is bigger W A Y N E R O O N E Y I

Q7 When does the Wallace and Gromit

Great British Tea Party take place?

Q4 In which year did pound coins start to

Q8 How many LEGO bricks did it take to

replace pound notes?

complete the DK Star Wars LEGO mosaic?

that contain live crabs?

Q5 Which actor is the voice of Stoick in

Q9 Where will you find vending machines

Q10 What species of insect has been seen in the UK for the first time?

WIN

LEGO BRICKMASSTER STAR WAR BOOKS!

T R E A T

Q3 When does the Big March take place?

S L E E P M

U S E

T O P

C L O W N T

C A L

C E

D I

R A K E S E

M O N C O W E L L

9 7 5 2 3 6 1 8 4

8 6 4 1 7 5 3 2 9

2 1 3 8 9 4 5 6 7

5 9 7 3 6 2 8 4 1

3 8 1 9 4 7 6 5 2

6 4 2 5 8 1 9 7 3

1 2 6 4 5 3 7 9 8

4 5 8 7 1 9 2 3 6

All of these are associated with Christmas. Can you guess what they are? Send in your answers and you could win one of two LEGO Brickmaster Star Wars books. If you love LEGO bricks, then you’ll enjoy this book complete with 140 fantastic LEGO bricks and two mini-figures. Find out all about building with the LEGO bricks provided while you take on Darth Vader, in LEGO Brickmaster Star Wars. www.dorlingkindersley-uk.co.uk

7 3 9 6 2 8 4 1 5

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Christmas is coming... Advertisement feature

Record reading ?

Did you

know

The fastest time to build ten levels on a Jenga tower is 43.94 seconds by Mitchell Bettell (UK) at Butlins, Bognor Regis, UK, on 26 August 2009. The attempt was part of a Guinness World Records Live! event at Butlins, Bognor Regis, UK.

Did you

know

The longest model train is an HO (1:87.1) scale model train measuring 271.97m (892ft 3in) made up of 8 locomotives and 2,212 carriages. It was constructed by Miniature Wunderland GmbH in the HSV Nordbank Arena in Hamburg, Germany, on 25 July 2008. The railway track assembled in the stadium measured 360.48 metres (1,182ft 8in), the train covered a distance of 3,333m (1,0935ft) (9 rounds around the track). The locomotives alone made up 4.32 metres (14ft 2in) of the length of the train. The train weighed 112.25kg (247.47lb).

THE latest batch of Guinness World Records has hit the shelves, and this year’s edition is bursting with more spectacular, strange and supremely stupendous records than ever before. Christmas just isn’t the same without the latest batch of world-beating stats to wow the family with, and Guinness World Records 2011 is stuffed with more than 4,000 of them. Each of the inspiring and informative records is either new or updated and, every single stunning photograph in the

book, is brand new for this edition. All of your favourite categories are here again, such as sports, animals, engineering and the human body. Brand new categories for this year include revolutionary 3D cinema and a special feature on the out-of-this-world space shuttle.

So, whether you want to know where the longest ever lightning storm was or what the record journey travelled on a skateboard is, those records and tonnes more can all be found in Guinness World Records 2011. Grab a copy today and amaze your friends tomorrow!

For more info on the mind-boggling Guinness World Records 2011 and to see some unbelievable videos of record holders, head to www.guinnessworldrecords.com/2011 now!

Advertisement feature

ANIMATION WITH NEW ANIMATAZZ! IT’S movie time, with a fabulous NEW blockbuster – the totally unique Animatazz movie-making kit from Drumond Park (price £24.99, age eight to adult). The generous supply of multi-coloured modelling clay is used to give the poseable plastic ‘star’ figures any sort of personality you please, and there’s a ready-made backdrop ‘set’, an instruction CD, and loads of tips, tricks and ideas to get you started. THEY’RE COMING ALIVE! You make your own devil, evil witch, star footballer, dancing diva or Eskimo look the business by pressing small pinches of the modelling clay over the characters’ ‘skeletons’ until they are fully covered. Then you add the eyes, nose, ears and mouth, along with hands and feet. You’ll need to use your own digital camera (or borrow one!) to take the photos for each series of movements, which you then upload onto a PC or Mac and edit it with ‘Movie Maker’ or something similar – adding voices or sound effects if you wish… Then your masterpieces can be sent to friends and family by email, or loaded onto your iPod or mobile phone – or posted on YouTube. It’s fan-animatazz-tic! To find out more about Animatazz, or for stockists,

visit www.drumondpark.com

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Christmas is coming...

WIN WALLACE AND

GROMIT CHRISTMAS STAMPS! THEY are multi Academy Award winners and global screen stars, and now Wallace and Gromit will make a special appearance in millions of homes worldwide after signing-up to feature on Royal Mail’s Christmas stamps.

THE gazillion-selling Rubik’s Cube is celebrating its 30th Anniversary this year, and is as popular as ever – it’s back big-time!

Just as intriguing, compulsive or frustrating (depending on your point of view!). It’s now easier to ‘do the Cube’ – there’s a handy ‘How to’ guide in the box, and you’ll find endless sites providing hints, tips, and competitive opportunities. All designed to get you enthused and solving! Now Professor Rubik’s latest puzzle, the Rubik’s 360, takes the traditional concept into another dimension. As its name suggests, the Rubik’s 360 is spherical as opposed to cube-shaped. For this one, you need to work out how to get the coloured balls from the inside to the outside. After much twirling and whirling, flipping and tippings, suddenly you’ll get the knack! How clever is that? We have 30 Rubik’s 360 up for grabs.

Available now, the stamps feature the nation’s favourite animated characters going about their Christmas duties with the 1st Class stamp showing the two posting their Christmas cards. The stamp collection shows Wallace and Gromit going carol singing on the 2nd Class stamp and dressing the Christmas tree on the 60p stamp. As usual, Gromit is left to do the majority of the work, carrying the cards and hauling a large Christmas pudding around on the 97p stamp with his reward being a bone-themed jumper shown on the £1.46 stamp. We have 15 sets of the Wallace and Gromit stamp collection up for grabs. To be in with a chance of winning, just answer this question.

On which stamp would you find a bone-themed jumper? a) 97p b) £1.46 c) 60p

To be in with a chance of winning, just answer this question

Available from www.wallaceandgromitstamps.com

ENTER NOW!

WIN RUBIK’S 360!

MARK YOUR ENTRY STAMPS www.firstnews.co.uk/competitions or turn to page 19. The closing date is 25 November 2010.

ENTER NOW!

What shape is the Rubik’s 360? a) Sphere b) Square c) Triangle

MARK YOUR ENTRY RUBIK

www.firstnews.co.uk/competitions or turn to page 19. The closing date is 25 November 2010.

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CRAZY BUT TRUE

That’s crackers

Whale rider

A southern right whale

A TEENAGE boy in Australia is in trouble after he was seen “riding” a whale. A WOMAN from Suff olk has been told off by a supermarket worker for letting her six-year-old daughter help to buy Christmas crackers. The little girl, Tia-Rose, was not allowed to pass the checkout worker the box of crackers, even though her mother, Mrs Innes, was the one paying for them. Mrs Innes let Tia-Rose hold the crackers

by Serena Lacey while she did the rest of the shopping, but when she went to the checkout the assistant told her she was breaking the law.

Mrs Innes said: “The whole thing was just bizarre. It was just an example of the ridiculous nanny state we live in.” The shop assistant was following the store’s rules about selling dangerous items to children.

The 14-year-old was spotted climbing on the back of a southern right whale off Middleton Beach, Western Australia. He admitted to putting his arms against the whale and laying on it for about 30 seconds, before the whale went under the water. He said: “I didn’t even think I’d done anything wrong until I saw the news. If I had known it was illegal I wouldn’t have done it.” He has been given a warning by authorities in Australia as it is illegal to harass a protected species like the southern right whales.

SCHOOL NEWS

Winning school... School chickens OUR school won the first Teaching Awards’ Film My School competition. We won £5,000 of video equipment and an all-expenses-paid trip to the Teaching Awards ceremony in London. Sitting in the theatre, we’d never been so nervous in our lives. Anxious but excited, we desperately tried to remember our speech as it poured out of our brains at the speed of light. As every winner went up to the stage we got more and more nervous. We had convinced ourselves that we had not won, but we still felt a

Georgia Haskett, 10 and Ella Burgoyne, 11, Liphook CofE Junior School

shred of hope tingle through our veins. When our category finally came, the Film My School competition, Helen Skelton announced the winner…“LIPHOOK JUNIOR SCHOOL’’! We trembled with an explosion of excitement. It was easily the proudest moment of our lives. Making the film was such a rewarding experience, but we couldn’t have done it without Mr Castle, the old 5F class and our very special school. There isn’t anything else we could have wished for except for being part of this whole experience. Your school can enter the Film My School competition for 2011 by visiting www.teachingawards.com

PUPILS at Grey Court School are to appear on ITV London News in the finals of The People’s Millions competition on Tuesday 23 November. The school’s Grey Court Community Chickens will go head-to-head with another London-based project to win enough public votes and secure funding, and Grey Court students are hoping that local people will vote on the day to make their project a winner. Grey Court plans to keep free-range hens in secure enclosures on the school grounds with students setting up an egg selling enterprise. Nearby primary schools can have equipment to hatch, rear and keep their own chicks, giving them a wonderful opportunity to experience the whole animal life cycle. Primary school chickens will be able to stay at the Grey Court ‘hen hotel’ in the holidays, cared for by the part-time poultry keeper who

All the pupils, Grey Court School, Surrey

will also teach students and local people about all aspects of chicken-keeping. Local families can get involved with the opportunity to board some of these chickens in the holidays.

Your school in First News We want to hear what your school is up to ARE you doing something sponsored for charity? Starting your own school newspaper? Or putting on a show?

Send your report (including pictures) to the address on page 19 or email newsdesk@firstnews.co.uk. If we print your story we’ll send you a copy of the paper and an exclusive First News certificate to be presented to you in assembly! Don’t forget to include your name, age, and your school’s name and address. (Please note: by writing to First News you give consent to First News printing details and photographs of those involved in the report.)

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THE NEWS CREW

Repor

ter

Showing my spots for Pudsey ON Monday 25 October, I went to a restaurant in Windsor called Windsor Grill to see a famous chef called Antony Worrall Thompson. I was there so Antony could teach me and some other children how to make Pudsey’s Pud, a special muffin that Antony has created for BBC Children in Need 2010. The best bit about my visit to Windsor Grill was that we got to decorate our own Pudsey’s Puds by piping icing on them and adding lots of sweets to make them spotty. We did this because the theme for this year’s BBC

by Abigail Watson, 11 Children in Need is “Show your spots, let’s raise lots!” I asked Antony for his top Pudsey’s Pud tip. He said: “Don’t over-beat the mixture because it might go flat.” I’m looking forward to showing my friends at Godstone Village School, Surrey, the recipe for Pudsey’s Pud and to raising lots for BBC Children in Need 2010 by making

and selling the puds for this year’s campaign. Find the recipe for Pudsey’s Pud by logging onto www.AWTRestaurants.com and make your own to sell and raise money for Children In Need!

Giant Lego picture! I INTERVIEWED Duncan Titmarsh from the Brickish Association. It was the DK Star Wars Lego mosaic record attempt at Shoreditch town hall on Sunday 24 October. There was going to be 1,500 tiles and 384,000 bricks used when the mosaic was finished and the mosaic would take about 18 hours to make. And when finished it was aimed that it would be about 15m by 6.7m. Duncan Titmarsh from the Brickish Association also makes sculpture and once made a life-sized toothbrush and also made a life-sized vacuum cleaner. Before I interviewed Duncan I made a few tiles. I think

ASK ESTHER

With thanks to

I’M Esther Rantzen, President of ChildLine, which helps 2,500 children every week. If there’s something worrying you, please write to me at the address below.

New baby MY mum is having a baby soon and I am going to have to share my bedroom with the baby. I really, really don’t want to. We do have a spare room that’s used as an offi ce.How can I ask my parents to change the offi ce into a nursery? Jonathan, 10 Having a new baby will bring lots of changes. It sounds as though you are used to having your own space and I can see why you don’t want to share this with a baby. I wonder if your parents have thought about how this will affect you? Babies often wake up during the night, meaning that you may not get as much sleep as usual. How would you feel about telling your parents that you are worried? For more advice you can call ChildLine on 08001111 or chat to us at www.childline.org.uk.

Homework hell...

I CAN’T seem to keep up with the homework at school. I try and attend homework club twice a week yet I still fall behind. Please help. Charlotte, 14

It sounds like you are feeling concerned about falling behind with your homework at school. Yet, it seems that you are already making an effort to try and improve this by going to homework club, so well done! Have you thought about speaking to someone that you trust at the homework club, or a teacher at school about this? They might be able to give you some extra support and provide you with some solutions. Homework is important. However, you don’t want this to become a problem and begin to impact on the other things in your life. If you would like to talk about this further and explore more options available to you, please call us free on 0800 1111.

by Phoebe Ireland one of the tiles went into a part of Jabba the Hut in the giant Star Wars mosaic. I had to copy the pattern on the piece of paper using lego bricks. Lots of people were having fun at the event. I definitely did. Before we all went home we went up onto the balcony to look at the mosaic from above. The mosaic looked wonderful and even though it wasn’t finished I could tell it was going to be huge. I had a great day!

Boy issues... I REALLY fancy a boy in my youth club. I think he likes me, but how can I be sure? Lucy, 12

It can sometimes be diffi cultto know if someone likes you or not so it is easy to become confused. I am wondering how you would feel if this boy knew that you liked him? This may be the only way you can find out if he likes you. Have you thought about asking him to go out and do something with you, or with a group of friends, which may be less scary! This may be a good chance to talk to him or see how he acts around you.

SAFE SURFING THE internet is a place where you can learn more about the world, play games and make new friends. But it’s important to remember how to keep yourself safe when you’re online. Just like the real world, most people you meet will be okay. But you can never be sure that people are telling the truth about who they are, how old they are and why they want to know you. Don’t give out your home or email address, your phone number or where you go to school. And never give your password to anyone – even your best friend. If you do want to meet up with your online friend, make sure you take a trusted adult you already know and meet in a public place, like a local café or your after-school club. In the real world you wouldn’t

accept things from strangers and it’s the same for the online world. This includes emails, attachments, links or website addresses. Always tell an adult, like a parent or teacher, if somebody says something that makes you feel uncomfortable or unsafe. And if you are being bullied and receiving nasty or threatening language on your mobile tell an adult, such as a parent, carer or teacher, who can help you put a stop to this. Remember you can always call ChildLine about anything for free on 0800 1111 and find advice on how to stay safe online at www.childline.org.uk

WRITE TO ME: Ask Esther, 4th Floor, Shand House, 14- 20 Shand Street, London, SE1 2ES. EMAIL ME: newsdesk@firstnews.co.uk and put ‘Ask Esther’ in the subject box. I’m sorry I can’t reply to every letter. If you have a problem you want to talk about please call ChildLine on 0800 1111. If you are worried by anything you read in First News, please visit www.childline.org.uk/Helpandadvice.asp

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THE BIG INTERVIEW

The Piers Morgan interview…

I’m scared I’ll get zapped by aliens SCOTTISH actor Gerard Butler usually stars in romantic comedies and action movies, but has made his animation debut in How To Train Your Dragon in 3D. Gerard tells us all about playing a cartoon viking, and why he thinks aliens are going to get him… Animation isn’t the kind of movie you make. What made you want to do How to Train Your Dragon? I normally make movies that are very violent or 18-rated. I have four nieces and I’m always like ‘I did this movie but you can’t see it.’ So it’s nice to say to them ‘Hey, I’m in How to Train Your Dragon’ – here’s the DVD. Let’s watch it.

You play Stoick and he has a Scottish accent, but it’s slightly diff erent to your natural Scottish accent? It was very different. It’s funny you say that about the accent because I was a huge pain in the butt for the directors.

CHECK OUT www.FirstNews.co.uk

I wanted to change my accent in the movie. Just the heaviness of the voice. I went in and redid the voice because I felt like the voice in that body was very important in how it sounded and how he related to his son and the rest of the villagers. I didn’t like my first try at it, but now I’m totally chuffed with it. Tell us a bit about Stoick. He is Hiccup’s father. He’s also the Viking tribe’s chieftain. He’s a tough guy and not sensitive or very bright. So we see how he deals with his

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How to Train Your Dragon deals with

the trailer for How to Train Your Dragon

Do you like animated films? Oh yes. I love animated movies. I’ve always thought ‘I wished I could be in an animated movie. It would be fun to do the voice for that character’. It was great to jump into the world of fantasy and know I’m part of that world.

Mr/ Mrs/ Ms/ Miss:

intelligent, clever son and being the chief of the tribe. He is a guy who is walking the line between serving his village, but also being a father.

overcoming your fears. What was your biggest childhood fear? This sounds a little strange but, when I was a kid, there was a TV commercial that came on that was for drunk driving or driving without a seatbelt, but I didn’t know what it meant. I just saw people driving and an alien in a spacesuit appear and zap the car. The car would disappear. It terrified me. I was so scared to get in a car. I thought there was every possibility that an alien would appear and zap me and we would never be found again. Still today, that’s my biggest fear. I’m scared I’ll get zapped by aliens while I’m driving!

GERARD R

BUTLE

How diffi cult is it to act in an animated film? It was actually quite diffi cultfor me. I felt like I had to turn up and read the lines that were in front of me. Sometimes that’s hard. There was a lot of preparation in reading the lines in front of me. But, I think I pulled it off! No, listen. I would love to sit here and say: “Oh my goodness, the work we went through to prepare for this to get to the soul of the character was huge.” No, it wasn’t so hugely complicated. I had some great conversations with the directors. I remember at the beginning we had a wonderful conversation about my character and where it could go. You prepare for it, but it’s a strange process. What would you say are your most Viking-like qualities? Probably stubbornness. It was funny. I remember when I was saying my lines the directors would be happy with what I did and then want to move on to the next line. But, I wasn’t. I’d be trying to perfect the last line. That’s a Viking-like quality.

THE FIRST NEWS TEAM Editor Nicky Cox Deputy Editor Gabrielle Utton Entertainment Editor Serena Lacey Writer Ian Eddy Editorial Assistant Kirsty Macdonald Intern Ben Pulsford Design Manager Richard Robson Website Editor Nicola Williams Accounts Assistant Kelane Henderson Advertising Nina Chaudhry, Anisha Unzia, Leanne Walker Subscriptions Manager Rachel Henderson Direct Marketing Manager Emma Robson Partnership Marketing Director Lindsaye Fox Publisher, First News Explorer Susan Downey Publisher Kelly Austin Founders Piers Morgan, Nicky Cox, Sarah and SteveThomson Email: firstname.surname@firstnews.co.uk Tel. 020 3195 2000 www.firstnews.co.uk

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12 – 18 NOV 2010

ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

with Serena Lacey

TV, Film, Music and Theatre!

First News goes to

Hogwarts WE visit the set of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

EVERY year for the last nine years, we’ve waited with excitement for our yearly dose of magic and wizardry in the form of Harry Potter. Next week, the sixth and penultimate Harry Potter film hits the cinemas as the series flies towards its dramatic finale. On a cold day in February we were invited to Leavesden Studios to meet the creators of the magic and watch parts of the final films being shot. Here’s what happened… We can barely contain our excitement as we arrive on the cold and snowy set in Hertfordshire. The blanket of white surrounding the studios just adds to the magic as we’re ushered into the huge sound stages which are home to Hogwarts. A “reception room” for visitors had been set up inside the studios, where props, costumes and early artwork drafts are displayed for Harry Potter super-fans like us to drool over. It is in this room we get to chat to some of the key cast members as they take a break from filming. Emma Watson is the first to stop by, her face grubby and covered in soot, her “Hermione” hair all dishevelled having come straight from the set where one of the big battle scenes is being filmed: “Honestly, it’s amazing I’m alive!” she jokes as she points to her battle-scarred clothes. “But it’s good fun! It’s a real adventure.” The final two films are the most dramatic and actionpacked to date, something David Yates, director of the the cast are really excited film, discusses the scene about. “I think the whole with Daniel film is going to create a completely different experience for the audience,” Emma explains. “And I’m genuinely really excited.” So are we. Emma is called back to set and the man everyone wants to meet, Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe joins us. Despite making Harry Potter films for most of his life, Daniel is still bursting with enthusiasm about the role and it’s clear to see he really does love his job: “The thing is, I really do have as

Rupert and Daniel talk to David Yates, director of the film. This scene is from the part of the story where Harry, Ron and Hermione are hiding out in a tent.

much fun making these films as people do watching them,” he laughs. “In fact I probably have a lot more fun! I love my job and I’m very lucky to have it. I love being on set and being able to work with the people I’m working with.” One of the people Daniel has spent the Harry Potter years working with is Rupert Grint, who plays his best friend, Ron. Rupert joins us as Daniel heads back onto set. Rupert, too, is covered in soot and fake bruises, and is red-eyed from crying during an emotional scene he has just finished filming. It’s obvious from talking to the cast that everyone is so excited by the final two films. “I think everyone wanted the last one to be the best one ever really,” admits Rupert. “So I guess there is that added bit of pressure.” The final book is being made into two films, and production is the longest ever on a Potter film because both are being shot at once. With the cast called back to the set, it’s time for us to watch some filming. Being a HUGE Harry Potter fan, visiting the set is like Malfoy Mansion is one of the sets we visited being on hallowed ground. Everywhere you turn there are people in costume. We queue up for lunch next to the Weasley twins and we can’t help but feel a bit scared when Professor Severus Snape swoops past us all in black, even though he smiles at us and says hello. We walk through familiar sets like the Gryffi ndor common room and Dumbledore’s offi ce, giving us a sense of deja vu, like we’ve been here before. There are tonnes of new sets to explore too, like Malfoy Mansion with its huge, roaring fireplace, the incredible outside of Gringotts Wizarding Bank and the wedding marquee, where the wedding of Fleur Delacour and Bill Harry in a scene set in the wedding marquee for Fleur and Bill’s wedding Weasley is the scene

Daniel, Rupert and Emma get ready for filming

of one of the early action scenes. What’s most impressive about the set is the size. Everything is huge. The table in Malfoy Mansion is slightly sinister and could easily seat a gang of blood-thirsty Death Eaters. The front of Gringotts Bank is bigger and shinier than any bank we’ve ever seen, and we can’t wait to see the parts of the movie shot here. When it’s time to watch filming we sit quietly behind the production team as Emma, Daniel and Rupert turn into Hermione, Harry and Ron. We’re given big headsets so we can hear the dialogue that is being filmed. We can even see the camera monitor, which is zoomed in on the characters, turning a chilly studio set into magical Hogwarts. Sitting and watching filming we’re torn between watching movie magic happen and hiding our eyes because we don’t want to know what happens next. The new film has more action and more drama than ever before and, after spending a day on set, we’ll be first in the queue to see it when it is released.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is in cinemas from 19 November. Check out next week’s paper for an interview with Daniel Radcliffe.

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GAME ZONE

Bieber wins JUSTIN Bieber picked up the award for Best Male artist at the MTV Europe Music Awards, beating his mentor, Usher!

The teen sensation also picked up the award for Best Push Artist at the ceremony in Madrid. Lady Gaga was the other big winner of the evening picking up five awards including Best Song for

Bad Romance. Rihanna joined rockers Bon Jovi onstage to perform on the show, which was hosted by actress Eva Longoria who changed costumes 13 times during the show.

This week...

SHHH!

Joe McElder ry

The X Factor winner has recorded the theme tune to the new Chronicles of Narnia movie, The Voyage of the Dawntreader. Joe performed the song, There’s a Place For Us, in London this week when he switched on the world-famous Regent Street Christmas lights. The film hits cinemas on 9 December.

Demi Lovato The singer and actress has pulled out of the remainder of a world tour with the Jonas Bros and checked into rehab. A spokesperson for the singer says she is dealing with emotional and physical issues. We hope she feels better soon!

The Saturdays

TREYC became the latest act voted off X Factor after losing out to Katie Waissel in the sing-off.

! Y L L E T TOP THE JUNGLE BITES BACK It’s back! A new batch of famous(ish) folk will enter the jungle in Australia where they’ll have to eat bugs and win stars for their dinner. Amazing! I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, ITV1, Sunday 14 November @ 9:00pm LIVE MUSIC Brand new show filmed at cool music venue Koko in London. Koko Pop, Channel 4, Saturday 13 November @ 10:40am.

Is this the

future? Kinect (XBOX 360)

WE got our very own Kinect last week. So, after seven days with Microsoft’s new hands-free system, is it worth shelling out for? The first thing to say about Kinect is that it is very, very cool, even before you’ve played a game. It looks pretty sleek, and navigating menus using hand gestures or your voice makes you feel like you’re in a sci-fi film. The game that comes bundled with the system, Kinect Adventures, is a collection of mini-games that helps you

The Saturdays will be performing a special concert to raise money for breast cancer next month. There are only 200 tickets available for the show which you can win on special bars of KIT KAT® Senses Caramel Cream Bars.

Treyc was sent home after Louis and Simon decided to save Katie. Dannii opted to send Katie home but when Cheryl refused to vote a majority rule was decided. Lots of fans are upset that the show didn’t take the vote to Deadlock, which would have meant the person with the least public votes would have been sent home!

POP LEGENDS Take That recently sold more than a million concert tickets in less than a day. This film takes a look at the history of the biggest boyband in the world! Take That: Look Back, Don’t Stare, BBC1, Saturday 13 November @ 9:30pm.

We put our Xbox controllers down this week, to test the Kinect

get used to Kinect. It’s a good way for the family to get involved, although it’s unlikely that it’ll keep you interested for too long, as it’s pretty basic. 6/10. Kinect Sports (bottom) is much better, with games like football, volleyball, track and field, table tennis. They’re all great fun, although it’s obvious that table tennis is less sensitive to your movements than with the PS Move. 9/10. Kinectimals (left) will appeal to anyone who’s ever played a pet game before. After you’ve chosen your favourite lion, tiger, leopard or cheetah cub, you get to start teaching it tricks. By using gestures or voice commands, you can get your cub to roll over, play dead and so on. You can even use your hands to stroke it and scratch it behind the ears, stepping to the side to move around and stroke different parts of your new friend. The interactivity means it beats any other pet game easily, even

EyePet. 9/10. Dance Central (below) and Dance Paradise are just two of the dancing games available for Kinect. If you’ve

played Just Dance or other games you’ll know what to expect, but playing without a controller in your hand feels much more natural. Because Kinect tracks your whole body, it also means that you can’t just get away with waving a controller around like with a lot of Wii games, and you need to move your arms and legs. Dance Paradise is aimed more at families, although it throws some pretty tough moves at you straight away, without any chance to learn them. 7/10. Dance Central looks more grown-up, but also has a ‘break it down’ tuition section for each song, where you can learn the moves in normal time or in a slowed-down mode. If you’ve played any dance games before, this is better than all of them. Brilliant. 10/10.

Your Shape: Fitness Evolved is fantastic, too. See our website for a review

So, is Kinect perfect? No, far from it. Some games are better than others, but there is a tiny time delay between your movement and what’s on screen, and it can be frustrating when it doesn’t copy your move properly. Hard-core gamers might be a bit disappointed, but for a fun, futuristic experience that doesn’t need a controller, it’s awesome. 9/10. The main drawbacks are the price (£130) and the 2.5m of space you need between your TV and you. Unless you have a big house, you’ll need to move furniture whenever you play.

See www.FirstNews.co.uk/bored for more detailed reviews and trailers

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12 – 18 NOV 2010

SOME OF F O S E M A N E H T LL A D CAN YOU FIN .UK MEMBERS? O C S. W E N ST IR F P O T R U OUR O

THE BOOK CORNER

BOOK REVIEWS

www.redhouse.co.uk

DO IGLOOS HAVE LOOS? MITCHELL SYMONS reviewed by Aysha Leach, 8

I THOUGHT this book was great and full of fascinating facts. I learned lots of new things from reading it – some of it was really funny, other parts were really interesting and some were quite disgusting! Read this book to find out the answers to lots of different questions like: “How do they get the letters into sticks of seaside rock?”, “Why are slugs so slimy?” and “What can you do in just two minutes?”The book is written in an amusing way and has lots of funny pictures too. I really liked it.

DOCTOR WHO – THE SECRETS OF THE TARDIS reviewed by Sebastian Westwood, 9

THIS book is surely the ultimate Christmas present for all Doctor Who fans. Not only does the book contain 70 fact files, from the 11th Doctor to K-9, with all the information a true fan might want to absorb, but the book also comes with a special sonic screwdriver. If you shine this screwdriver carefully over selected pages, further secret messages and special facts are revealed. This book keeps Doctor Who fans, both old and new, busy for hours and should feature highly on many Christmas wish lists!

READING CHAMPIONS EVERYONE knows a Reading Champion – they’re people who inspire others to get reading. Each week one of our champions tells you a bit about their favourite reads and what they think makes reading so appealing. Name: Jeremy Strong Jeremy is a children’s author. He lives in a small town near Bath and writes his stories in a studio down the bottom of his garden with his cat Jeeves for company! Favourite reads: “When I was in Y3 and Y4 at my primary school I had a wonderful teacher. Her name was Miss Cox. She made me feel that writing stories was special and also that sometimes I was quite good at it. I have always loved using my imagination. Writing is a very powerful thing. “I think I am very lucky in my job because I wanted to write stories ever since I was about nine. I think it is magical! You can make anything you like happen when you start writing a story. I like writing funny stories. I did try to write a really serious story once but it made me miserable and I started putting in jokes to cheer myself up. Of course in the end it turned into another funny story. I guess I see the funny side of most things. It’s just the way I am. “As well as writing, I also love reading – I think the two go hand in hand. When I was younger, I loved reading The Beano, especially Dennis the Menace. My favourite book was Just so Stories by Rudyard Kipling. It was my parents who really inspired me to read. Their house was full of books and that was inspiring. I love getting ‘taken over’ by a book so much that you can’t put it down. “I believe books feed our minds and souls. They help to make us civilised human beings. If someone didn’t like reading I’d tell them they are missing out on so much!” Do you think you would make a good Reading Champion? Ask your school to sign up today. www.readingchampions.org.uk

JOIN www.firstnews.co.uk for FREE and you can write your own articles, vote on polls, fill out fun surveys, and share your opinion by leaving comments on articles. Hidden in the wordsearch below are the names of some of our top members. Can you find them all? Uniquegirl, Chocdragon, Hunnibunni, Supersuze, Superspy, Laurcool, Stupefy, Tigress, Amy Lou, HenryE, Berkan, AnnaK, Caty, Edd.

Names

s l

d r

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for? What are you waiting .uk today Go to www.fi rstnews.co

WIN an iPad Can you create the winning T-shirt design? Caritaz has teamed up with the Terrence Higgins Trust to launch a fantastic opportunity for young designers of the future to create an exclusive T-shirt to raise awareness of HIV in teens. Taking influence from on-trend brands including Superdry, Abercrombie & Fitch, G Star Raw and Hollister, we’re urging teenagers to turn a funky design into a life-saving call to action by combining fashion and compassion – spreading the word of the risks young people are leaving themselves open to. The winner will be announced at 8am on 1 December 2010 and will be rewarded with a brand new Apple iPad. Entries must be received by Monday 22 November 2010

To enter, simply go to: www.caritaz.com/competition For more information on HIV/AIDS visit the Terrence Higgins Trust website: www.tht.org.uk

12 – 18 NOV 2010

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SCIENCE

The 21st century Noah’s ark

To keep the tissue samples and DNA fresh for years to come, they will be stored in liquid nitrogen at a temperature of -196°C. The frozen cells will remain usable for at least 100 years, and the DNA should survive for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.

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ISSUE 233

Why is this so crucial now? I think an important point to stress is that we are collecting samples now for the future. The idea behind the project is that if you don’t collect now, then it will be too late. So if in 30, 40, 50 years’ time cloning has become a routine procedure and accepted by the people, we will have the material. But if we haven’t collected it, then the material will be lost forever.

IF you saw our front page story last issue, you’ll have read about the very interesting Frozen Ark project. samples can be taken from almost any part of the body, even feathers or hair. Each individual of a species can have huge differences in their DNA, and this is why, for instance, that some people are very tall or have blue eyes rather than green. Variety in DNA is necessary for a population to develop resistance to diseases or overcome other changes in their environment. One of the dangers facing pandas is that the small number of individuals means that the ‘pool’ of DNA available is dangerously low. Experts from The Frozen Ark hope that in years to come, technology will allow us to save endangered or extinct creatures by using their collected samples. This should allow us

Eggcelent engineers! TWO students have been named as the Young Scientists of the Year, after building their own ‘eggsporters’. Thea Hesketh, 10, and Harvey Rising, 14, had to design, build and test their own vehicle that could carry an egg at high speed into a wall, without breaking the egg. The finals of the competition were held at the L’Oréal Young Scientist Centre at the Royal Institution of Great Britain. One of the judges was Dr Mark Miodownik, who will be giving some of the Royal Institution’s famous Christmas Lectures this year. “Having tested out my own inventions as a kid, there’s nothing better than seeing for yourself the knocks and bumps that reveal the invisible forces that are around us,” he said. “I can’t think of a better

place than The Royal Institution to celebrate those who have the engineering and scientific talent to experiment, calculate, innovate, and generally be a bit less stupid than me.”

to increase the range of DNA available and protect the diversity of the species. If a species becomes extinct, it may be possible to bring it back to life by using the stored male and female cells. These would be combined and grown inside a related species to produce what’s called a clone. So, if tigers became extinct, it may be possible to use a female lion to give birth to cloned tiger cubs.

One of the finalists prepares to bash their contraption into a wall. Below left: Thea and Harvey accept their awards.

Getty

by Ian Eddy

question it?” WE spoke to Olivier Hanotte, the director of The Frozen Ark, to find out more.

The Siberian tiger population fell to a low of just 20-30 animals in the 1930s. It has since recovered, but is still listed as endangered and its population is going down again. The Saker falcon (below left) and red panda (below) are both listed as vulnerable.

This charity aims to collect and store samples from at least 10,000 endangered species of mammals, birds, fish and insects by the year 2015. As well as collecting the male and female cells that make babies, the scientists also want to take DNA from several animals. This is stored in all cells, and acts like a blueprint that guides the way the body grows. DNA

“Why should we

Are you certain that future technology will advance enough for all this to be possible? Yes, I’m confident. The reason why I’m confident is because we know first of all that cloning can work. But I think, the way we are moving, it will definitely be possible. Since there are so many tigers in zoos around the world, is it an easy animal to get samples from and save? Animals that have been in the zoo for a very long time are probably not so very well adapted to the natural environment. The habitat of the tiger is still there, so it will be extremely important to be able to save samples from tigers that are adapted to their natural environment. What do you say to critics who tell you that it’s wrong to meddle with nature in this way? My response to critics is very simple. For people who have leukaemia, bone marrow transplants are something that no-one will challenge. But what you are doing here is basically cloning: you are taking the bone marrow of a donor and multiplying it for the benefit of someone who is sick. So why should we question it when we do it for other species?

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SPORT with Ian Eddy 23

CRAZY BUT TRUE

GREEN

That’s crackers

Is the countryside scary?

Getty

Rowers race to top of table

BRITAIN’S rowers were phenomenal at the World Rowing Championships this week, putting in their best ever performance at the tournament. CHECK OUT

www.FirstNews.co.uk to see Anna Watkins talking about her gold medal win

Anna Watkins (left) and Katherine Grainger celebrate their crucial gold medal on the final day of the championships

PICTURE OF THE WEEK

The GB team ended the week with five gold medals, five silvers and one bronze, to finish first in the medal table. Germany matched Britain for gold medals, but only had one silver, so they had to settle for second place. The hosts, New Zealand, came in third. The final gold medal that put Britain at the top of the table was won by Anna Watkins and Katherine Grainger in the double scull. “I haven’t heard the national anthem for me since the world under-23s. It feels great!” said 27-

by Ian Eddy year-old Watkins. The men’s eight won silver in their event, which was an extraordinary return for Greg Searle. He retired from rowing in 2001, but returned to the sport last year. “We raced really well”, said Searle. “I’m proud of what we have done, all 11 of us: the nine guys in the boat and the two coaches. It’s not gold, but step by step we are moving up.”

SPORT NEWS IN NUMBERS is the number of gold medals that British cyclists won at the European Elite Track Championships in Poland (right). They finished first in the medal table, with seven in total.

is the number of times in a row that the All Blacks have beaten England in rugby union. Their latest Test ended 26-16 to New Zealand.

CHECK OUT

www.FirstNews.co.uk

for a gallery of the week’s best sport pictures

Getty

Sri Lanka’s Nuwan Kulasekara jumps for joy after taking the wicket of Australia’s Brad Haddin

goals were let in by Aberdeen as they were hammered 9-0 by Celtic. The defeat was Aberdeen’s worst ever. Their previous worst defeat was an 8-0 thrashing in January 1965, which also came against Celtic.

is the number of ATP Tour doubles titles that Andy and Jamie Murray have won together. Their first title win came this week at the Valencia Open, as they beat Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi in the final.

is the number of cars that Jenson Button’s driver bashed as he sped away from several armed attackers in Brazil. Button was in a bulletproof car and also had a police driver trained in avoidance techniques.

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