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On 3 March, US vice president Kamala Harris called for a ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war. Gaza is a strip of land that borders Israel. What did Kamala Harris say? Harris called for an “immediate ceasefire for at least the next six weeks”. A ceasefire is when both sides agree to stop fighting. On 7 October 2023, a long-running conflict between Hamas and Israel became much worse when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking around 240 hostages (prisoners). Hamas is a political and military group that is classed as a terrorist organisation by several countries, including the UK and the US. Since 7 October, more than 30,000 people have died during Israel’s military operations in Gaza. The US government is usually supportive of Israel, so Harris’ statement is…

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 parks should be closed at night, or NO if you don’t. We’ll publish the results next week. The aim of the Big debate page is to present two sides of an issue fairly and objectively, in order to stimulate discussion and allow our readers to make up their minds. The views on the page do not reflect those of The Week Junior, and the page is not funded by third parties. The page is created in association with the English-Speaking Union, an educational charity helping young people discover their voice and realise their full potential. For more information, please see esu.org…

According to Garden BirdWatch, a scheme where people across the UK report bird sightings in their gardens, the wren is most commonly spotted bird in March. These plump little birds are one of the UK’s tiniest species but they make up for it with their loud, high-pitched and fast singing. Measuring from six to 10 centimetres long, they are round and brown in colour, with a paler chest and underside and slightly darker wings. They have a tail that points up and a thin, sharp beak. Wrens start breeding in early spring. The males establish a territory and, using moss and twigs, they build several domed nests in sheltered bushes or rocky gaps. Females then decide if any of the nests are good enough.…

To keep animals mentally and physically active, we observe them and collect data to create individual behaviour plans. We consider the environment they live in, their social life and how they get their food. We also give animals exercises to encourage them to use all their senses. This could be puzzle feeders for chimps and gorillas, so they have to find the right-size sticks in order to get nuts, or adding rainfall into a bird’s aviary for it to bathe under. 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…

Researchers have discovered that Neanderthals, who were humans’ closest known relatives, used to make a type of glue to help craft their tools. This suggests that Neanderthals were cleverer than scientists previously thought. Neanderthals first emerged more than 200,000 years ago, but they were replaced by modern humans (Homo sapiens) between 35,000 and 24,000 years ago. Experts aren’t completely sure why Neanderthals disappeared, but it’s thought they couldn’t compete with humans for food and other resources. Recently, a selection of forgotten ancient tools were rediscovered at the Museum of Prehistory and Early History in Berlin, Germany. These had originally been found around 1910 at a site in southern France, where scientists believed Neanderthals had lived thousands of years ago. After examining the tools, researchers found that they had a sticky…

Molly Caudery and Josh Kerr won gold medals for Great Britain at the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Glasgow, Scotland. The competition was the biggest international athletics event so far in 2024, with more than 650 athletes from all over the world taking part in events such as sprinting, hurdling, long jump and high jump. Caudery was crowned the women’s pole vault champion. In pole vault, athletes run with a long, bendy pole and use it to launch into the air and over a high bar. The 23-year-old cleared a height of 4.8 metres. It was Caudery’s best victory of her career and only the second time she had competed in a senior international event. Kerr won the men’s 3,000 metres race. The 26-year-old from Edinburgh, Scotland, was cheered by…

Bright Stars of Black British History by J.T. Williams. Illustrated by Angela Vives (Thames & Hudson) Discover 14 black Britons from history, such as Tudor musician John Blanke and Notting Hill Carnival founder Claudia Jones. Packed with beautiful illustrations, this new book tells the stories of fascinating people who made a mark on our history. Fantastically Great Women Artists by Kate Pankhurst (Bloomsbury Children’s) Anyone with a love of art will enjoy this book from the fun Fantastically Great Women series. Through comic strips, family trees, maps and more, you can explore the stories of some of history’s most talented female artists, including Frida Kahlo, Faith Ringgold and Laura Knight. It’s Her Story: Marie Curie by Kaara Kallen. Illustrated by Rosie Baker (Phoenix International) This series brings together the life…

Email your book review to hello@theweekjunior.co.uk. If it’s printed in the magazine you’ll receive a Roving Reporter badge. Describe the book in three words, what you liked about it and why you’d recommend it to others. Don’t forget to include your name and address.* *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 futureplc.com/privacy-policy…

Hello, my name’s Olaf Falafel. I’m a dad, a standup comedian and the author and illustrator of the Trixie Pickle Art Avenger books. Every month I show you how to create art based on the works of famous artists, plus I tell you a really bad joke, like this one: What’s orange and sounds like a parrot? A carrot! This week, I thought I’d tell you about one of my children’s book illustration heroes, Maurice Sendak. Sendak was an American illustrator who is best known for his book Where the Wild Things Are. The main character is a boy called Max who escapes to a land where monsters try, unsuccessfully, to scare him. Follow this step-by-step guide to draw your very own wild thing. Yours doesn’t have to look like…

Our cover star this week, Raye (page 5), is an inspiration. In 2020 she posted on social media, “Since I was 14 years old, I have dreamed of winning a Brit Award.” Raye has more than realised her dream by winning an incredible six Brit Awards. She’s also shown that courage, resilience and determination are just as important as talent. On Sport (page 18) you can read about athletes Josh Kerr and Molly Caudery winning gold medals. Caudery’s success in the pole vault is all the more amazing because this was only her second senior competition. Keep an eye out for both at this summer’s 2024 Paris Olympics. The Animals feature (page 10) is packed with fascinating creatures including cute sea toads that are actually fish, giant snakes and tiny…

Jamie Oliver has launched his Good School Food Awards for the second year, calling on people to nominate their school food heroes. The awards celebrate the amazing catering teams, educators and unsung heroes who go the extra mile to make sure Britain’s schoolchildren are well fed and nourished. A panel of 26 expert judges will shortlist the awards and a line-up of celebrity judges, including CBeebies’ George Webster, will decide the winners in eight award categories. You can nominate your school food hero before the 24 March deadline at jamieoliver.com/schoolfoodawards…

1 Where is the star sand dune of Lala Lallia located? □ a) Morocco □ b) Mongolia □ c) Mars 2 True or false? Abandoned and ownerless properties in Wales can now be owned by communities. □ True □ False 3 What type of pasties have been given protected status in Japan? ________________ 4 How many public parks and green spaces are there across the UK? □ a) 15,000 □ b) 20,000 □ c) 27,000 5 True or false? The UK’s largest port is in Leicestershire □ True □ False 6 In which country was the northern green anaconda recently discovered? ________________ 7 What is the name of the meal that Muslims eat after sunset during the holy month of Ramadan? □ a) Suhoor □ b) Iftar □ c) Eid…

SPOTTING STRIKING BIRDS The yellow-crested helmetshrike bird had not been spotted for nearly 20 years, but US researchers recently saw 18 of them in the Itombwe mountains, in Africa’s Democratic Republic of the Congo. Professor Michael Harvey said, “I was blown away”. A TALENTED MOTHER AND SON On 4 March, 12-year-old Alex Baddock and his mum Julie both won medals for slalom (a type of skiing race) in the World Transplant Winter Games in Italy. This is a sports event for people who’ve had organ or cell transplants, or people who’ve donated. Alex had faulty kidneys but his mum donated one of hers to help him. A LONG-LOST JUMPER The National Archives (a Government agency that stores important items) opened up some 200-year-old parcels and found a jumper. The package…

There are more than 27,000 public parks and green spaces across the UK. Parks are important to communities, especially in towns and cities where many residents don’t have a garden. People use them for exercise and sport, dog walking, enjoying nature and meeting up with friends – at all times. Many parks are open around the clock but there are increasing incidents of anti-social behaviour after dark, including people vandalising things like playgrounds or plants, and large groups causing littering and noise. As a result, some councils now lock their gated parks at dusk. Some say that parks should be open 24 hours a day, but others say that leaving them open at night attracts trouble. What do you think, should parks be closed at night? Yes – it keeps…

From a young age, David Wembridge from the People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) has liked studying nature. He tells The Week Junior, “I’ve always been curious about the natural world”. Wembridge trained as a biologist (an expert on how living things work) and researched human diseases. However, he soon realised that his true passion was working with nature. Now, Wembridge runs surveys for the PTES that encourage people across the UK to get outdoors and count the animals and birds they spot. You don’t have to go into the countryside, either. One survey studied mammals living in green spaces in towns and cities. Watching wildlife might even change your mind about some creatures. “People don’t tend to like mice and rats but if you spend time watching them you’ll…

The animal kingdom is full of surprises, including some creatures stranger than anything you could dream up. Recently, a team of researchers exploring seamounts (underwater mountains) off the coast of Chile discovered more than 100 new species, and many of them were weird and wonderful. The team set off on a research ship earlier this year with the intention of exploring the south-eastern parts of the Pacific Ocean. From the ship, they sent a robotic underwater vehicle with lights and cameras more than 1,500 metres down into the murky depths. One of the most fascinating species they found was a type of sea toad. Sea toads are actually types of fish, and the one the team found is likely to be a new species. It had textured skin that made…

This March, Muslim people all over the world will be observing Ramadan. Ramadan is a sacred time of year for Muslims (followers of the faith of Islam) and it’s a tradition that began in the seventh century. What is Ramadan? Ramadan is a holy month when many Muslims don’t eat or drink during the hours of daylight. This is known as fasting. Ramadan is also a month for spending time with family, spiritual reflection, doing good deeds and prayer. It marks the month when the holy book followed by Muslims, called the Qur’an, was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam. Fasting is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. These are five duties that Muslims should try to follow in their lives. The other duties are…

Gloucester-Hartpury Women In Premiership Women’s Rugby, Gloucester-Hartpury beat Exeter Chiefs 31-24. The team has won all 12 matches in the competition this season. Phil Foden Foden scored two goals to help Manchester City defeat local rivals Manchester United 3-1 in the Premier League. Katie Boulter The British tennis player beat Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in three sets to win the San Diego Open, in the US. It was the biggest victory of Boulter’s career. London Lions The London Lions, based in Stratford, east London, won the British Basketball League (BBL) Championship title for the second year in a row.…

The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) has been taking care of the nation for 76 years. It’s the UK’s largest employer, with a workforce of 1.6 million people. A new exhibition at the Migration Museum, in Lewisham, London, called Heart of the Nation, tells the stories of the workers that make up the NHS. It shines a light on people who left their homes in other countries to come to the UK and work for the service. Heart of the Nation is an in-person event at the Migration Museum and also a digital exhibition that is viewable online. The digital version uses photos, passports, film, audio and animations (including one narrated by author Michael Rosen). The idea is to share the experiences of NHS workers from countries including Ghana, Guyana,…

Kate Saunders was a novelist whose books include Five Children on the Western Front and The Land of Neverendings. Sadly she died in April last year, a few days after she finished the final edits of her last book, A Drop of Golden Sun. Alice Swan worked with Saunders as her editor for 16 years. “Kate made me cry with laughter,” Swan told The Week Junior. “Sometimes her jokes would be so naughty I had to edit them out.” Swan also said Saunders was “brilliantly silly”. This final novel, which is set in 1973, is about an ordinary girl called Jenny who is cast in a major musical film. It follows Jenny and her co-stars as they go to France for filming, and spend a few months in a glamorous…

Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home is a 140-year-old charity. Its mission is to find loving homes for pets in East and Central Scotland. The charity also helps to keep pets in the loving homes where they belong by providing support through pet food banks. When a pet arrives at Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home, it is given the best level of care possible, from food and veterinary checks to toys and training – all to get them ready for their future family. Learn more at edch.org.uk…

Email your news, views and pictures to hello@theweekjunior.co.uk Please include your full name and address so that we can send you a Roving Reporter badge 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 magazine and digital editions, and mention on our podcast. We reserve the right to edit contributions for length, accuracy and suitability. Ensure you have your parent/guardian’s permission before sending anything to us.…

Teacher’s name: Mrs Wright School: Challock Primary School, Ashford, Kent “Mrs Wright is kind and helpful. If you needed to work out 108 divided by 7, she would go through it with you step-by-step. When I was in hospital for two weeks in December, she made my Christmas decoration, which I really wanted to do, for me. She also helped to organise a ‘get well’ card for me from the class.” Ollie 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…

• There has been a reported increase in anti-social (noisy and messy) behaviour and vandalism (deliberate damage) in public parks at night across the UK.• Some gated parks get locked from dusk until dawn to stop people entering and causing damage.• It can cost a council £15,000 a year to pay for someone to lock and unlock their parks every day.• In a 2023 survey about London’s Primrose Hill park, half of respondents wanted the space locked at night, at least over the weekend, while a quarter said it should be accessible at all times.…

It all started when Mia Allen’s dad said to her, “Just sign up, see how you get on”. Now, the 20-year-old is working at the UK’s largest port, Immingham Dock in Lincolnshire, England, and is their first female crane driver. Allen’s dad, who has worked at the port for 20 years, used to say it was his dream to train his daughter and work with her. Allen has now passed her exams and is working 34 metres up in a giant crane, lifting cargo from ships onto the shore. Luckily, she says, “I’m fine with heights, it doesn’t bother me”. Allen hopes her new job will inspire other women not to be afraid to try for whatever job they want.…

INTERNATIONAL GARDEN PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR…

Everyone makes mistakes but if someone has hurt you it can be hard to forgive them and move on. Letting go of bad feelings helps you focus on your own happiness instead. What is forgiveness? Forgiveness means choosing to let go of anger towards a person or group of people who have hurt you. Say someone has behaved badly towards you, for example, by being mean or breaking your favourite game, forgiving them means deciding to let go of angry thoughts and move on. Author and forgiveness expert Fred Luskin says that forgiving someone doesn’t mean forgetting or making excuses for what they’ve done. You don’t need an apology to forgive and you don’t have to make up with them. It involves finding the strength and courage to leave bad…

Reading or watching a film? Why pick? Choose both! Describe this book in three words. Mind-blowing, cinematic, adventure. Would you ever turn your books into films? I would love to see Black Hole Cinema Club and my other books, such as Escape Room, on the big screen. So come on, Hollywood, just give me a call! Do you believe in aliens? I’ve believed in aliens from the moment I watched E.T. at the cinema, but I’m still waiting for my own close encounter. What’s your go-to cinema snack and why? Salted-caramel popcorn. In the immortal words of Homer Simpson, “Mmmm”. Is Black Hole Cinema Club inspired by a real place? Black Hole Cinema Club is inspired by every cinema I’ve ever visited, but it’s also let me build the cinema…

Would you like to help create a new video game one day? Whether it is small independent (or “indie”) games or the biggest blockbuster hits, making games is all about teams of people with a range of skills. Marie-Claire Isaaman, the head of the Women in Games organisation, says, “The games industry and its creators is changing. Until fairly recently, most people thought that gaming was for boys,” she says. “But girls and women have always played games, and now 50% of all gamers are women or girls.” More women are contributing ideas, working in development studios and becoming bosses. This is all helping to shape the future of the industry, says Isaaman. Some of the role models in the UK include Ann Hurley, the boss of Team17 (behind games…

Locals in Stretford, England, have been left confused after a council decided to set up sun loungers next to a busy road. The chairs, which are the kind you’d find on beaches or around swimming pools on holiday, allow people to put their feet up and take in the view of passing traffic. People have pointed out that bad weather will mean they can’t be used a lot of the time, and accused the council of wasting money. Others jokingly named the site “Stretford Beach”.…

Later this year, people across the US will be voting to decide who they want to be the next US president. One candidate who will be competing in the election is Timothy, a hippo from San Antonio Zoo in Texas. In his campaign, Timothy has promised that every US citizen would be able to have at least one nap per day. He also wants all schools and offices to have a compulsory snack time to make people happier and more productive. Is this real, or a hippo-sized lie?* *Real! The zoo has launched T-shirts to promote Timothy’s campaign. They will use the money raised to help protect wildlife.…

We love hearing from you! It’s easy – just write a comment when you vote in our online Big Debate poll, or even record a voice note for The Week Junior Show. Last week we asked our readers whether leather is out of date… “Non-leather materials such as plastic are harmful to the environment. It is more natural to use animal skins.” “Yes, we used to need leather but now that we have alternatives it’s just not good.” “No. As long as we are eating meat, we shouldn’t waste the rest of the animal.” “Leather leads to farming animals, which is bad for the environment.” Tell us what you think of this week’s issue and we’ll print some of the best comments here.…