Table of contents for 400 in The Week Junior

The former prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, was sentenced to three years in jail on 5 August. He has been found guilty of corruption (when someone uses their position of power for their own personal gain). He has also been banned from taking part in politics for five years. Who is Imran Khan? Before he entered politics, Imran Khan was a famous cricketer. He was Pakistan’s captain when they won the Cricket World Cup in 1992. In 1996, Khan founded a political party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which said its aim was to improve the lives of ordinary people in Pakistan. He became very popular with voters and with the country’s powerful military. He was elected as prime minister in 2018 but the army grew unhappy with the way…

AN INCREDIBLE FOSSIL DISCOVERY On a seaside fossil-hunting trip to Essex, England, a 13-year-old boy and his dad found a giant tooth from a megalodon (a type of giant prehistoric shark). Ben Evans wants to be a palaeontologist (someone who studies fossils) and his dad said, “Ben knew straight away that it was something.” ENDANGERED RED PANDAS Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire, England, has announced the birth of two endangered red pandas. Born on 25 June, the cubs are now seven weeks old. Zookeeper Grant Timberlake said he was thrilled when he found the pair keeping warm under their mum’s bushy red tail. The birth offers “double hope for the species” said the Zoological Society of London. THOR’S TOUR OF THE WORLD Torbjorn Pedersen, also known as Thor, has completed a…

A life-sized statue of a black anti-slavery activist has been unveiled in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Frederick Douglass, who lived in the 19th century, was born into slavery in Maryland, US, but escaped. He became a key figure in the movement to end slavery in the US. Douglass visited Belfast for the first time in 1845 after being invited by the Belfast Anti-Slavery Society, and gave a series of talks. The newly revealed bronze artwork is in Belfast’s city centre.…

The city of York, England, has its first rabbi in almost 800 years. Rabbis are teachers of Judaism, one of the world’s oldest religions, and spiritual leaders among Jewish people. Dr Elisheva Salamo will serve the York Liberal Jewish Community, a group that follows a modern form of Judaism. She was officially welcomed to the community when she led a service on 5 August. In the 2021 census (a Government survey taken every 10 years that asks people questions such as whether they follow a religion), the Jewish population of York was estimated to be around 200 people, many of whom belong to the liberal community. A small number of Jewish people have lived in York for hundreds of years. In the year 1190, around 150 people – the entire…

• Some schools in the UK have decided to lock their toilets during lessons. They say that children leaving class to use them can cause disruption to other pupils.• Royal Wootton Bassett Academy in Wiltshire, England, has done this. Some pupils can still use the toilets in lesson time, decided on a case-by-case basis.• ERIC, a children’s bowel and bladder charity, says locking toilets “shows a lack of understanding of pupils’ health needs” and can cause those with medical conditions to feel singled out.• Earlier this year, pupils in many different parts of the country protested over school toilet restrictions.…

In 1831, a 22-year-old English biologist called Charles Darwin boarded the HMS Beagle in Plymouth and set off on an incredible voyage. His aim was to observe the natural world in places that had not been studied in much detail. Almost 200 years later, another mission, the Darwin200, has enlisted a team of conservationists to retrace the Beagle’s journey. Darwin and the HMS Beagle HMS Beagle’s mission was to chart the harbours of South America. Darwin was invited along to survey the natural world. The ship sailed from Plymouth, England, to South America, then across the Pacific Ocean to Australia, before sailing back to England via the west coast of Africa. His time on the Galápagos Islands, around 560 miles off the coast of Ecuador, changed the way Darwin saw…

Arsenal Football Club Arsenal won the Community Shield at Wembley Stadium, London, by beating Premier League champions Manchester City in a penalty shootout. Céline Boutier The golfer from France won the Women’s Scottish Open, finishing two shots ahead of South Korea’s Kim Hyo-Joo. Alfie Hewett Hewett beat Joachim Gerard by two sets to zero to win the men’s British Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships in Nottingham, England. Simone Biles The four-time Olympic gold medal winner returned to competition after a two-year break, winning at the US Classic event.…

Where’s the most magical place you’ve ever been? I just got back from a holiday in Munich, Germany, where I swam in a beautiful lake for the first time and it was properly magical. What is your favourite mythical creature? That’s a tough one… but I would say probably witches because I think they’ve been very misunderstood throughout history and could use a friend. Do you prefer the sun or the snow? Bleurgh, neither! Can I have autumn leaves? They are my favourites? What would be your wish come true? For everyone to be kinder. Oh, and for all of my clothes to have pockets. When you were younger what did you want to be when you grew up? I really wanted to be a writer… maybe it’ll happen one…

The final of football’s Women’s World Cup is on 20 August, and there is still time to play along with the tournament in some popular games. Toon Cup is one of them. It’s a free mobile game from TV channel Cartoon Network, and it first came out during the Men’s World Cup in 2018. The game involves picking a team from characters in Cartoon Network’s popular shows, including The Powerpuff Girls, The Amazing World of Gumball and Teen Titans Go! You then take them into action in a Toon Cup tournament, unlocking new characters, kits and stadiums as you go. What is new for gamers in 2023 is a “Girl Power Tournament”, in celebration of the real-life Women’s World Cup, where you get to choose which country you would like…

Haunted horse moves abroad The Haunted Museum in Las Vegas, US, has bought a ghostly rocking horse for £1,750. The horse was originally kept at the home of Dick Godden in Kent, England, where he and his wife often found that the wooden animal had moved to a different position in the room, although no one had been in there. Godden’s great-granddaughter, Kelly, remembers visiting her relatives and feeling “uneasy” in the room where the horse was kept. Dream job for fans of Uno game The toy company Mattel is looking for a chief Uno player to test out its new Uno Quatro family game. A job advert for the role was posted on Uno’s TikTok social media account, stating that the lucky candidate could earn more than £3,500 per…

The Week Junior Science+Nature’s annual Scavenger Hunt Photo Contest deadline is fast-approaching. You have until 28 August to track down 10 natural treasures or objects. So far there have been some excellent entries. To make getting involved easy, we’ve created this handy checklist to help you. Step 1 of the contest is to capture your nature finds on camera, step 2 is to enter into this year’s competition, and the result is the chance to win spectacular prizes, including cameras worth hundreds of pounds! Discover more at sciencenature.theweekjunior.co.uk/scavenger-hunt GET INVOLVED 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…

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 (see below). Last week we asked you whether swimming pools are better than the beach… “On the beach, you get unlimited water to swim in and make sand castles.” “Swimming pools are better because you don’t get sand in your eyes.” “Sea water is better for your skin than chlorine in a swimming pool.” Tell us what you think of this week’s issue and we’ll print some of the best comments here. THE WEEK Junior SHOW If you’ve enjoyed this issue, why not listen to our podcast, The Week Junior Show? Go to tinyurl.com/TWJ-show or scan the QR…

South Africa’s government has decided that sign language will now be recognised as one of the country’s 12 official languages. Sign language is a way for people who are deaf or hard of hearing to communicate using signs and gestures instead of spoken words. In South Africa, there are more than four million people who are deaf or hard of hearing. For nearly 30 years, activists have been campaigning for deaf people to be more included in South African society. There are only about 40 deaf schools across the country. Campaigners are hoping that the official recognition of South African Sign Language (SASL) will make it easier for deaf people to do well in school, go to university and apply for more jobs. Wilma Newhoudt-Druchen, the only deaf member of…

On 7 August, 15 asylum seekers were moved on board a barge called the Bibby Stockholm, where they will live. An asylum seeker is a person who has asked another country for protection after fleeing their own because of war or violence. What is the Bibby Stockholm? The barge is a large boat that is docked in Portland, Dorset, in southern England. Before that, it was used to house up to 222 oil and gas workers. Now, the Government is using it to house asylum seekers. Bedrooms on the barge have been fitted with bunk beds to make space for more people to sleep, and it can now house up to 500 people. Men between the ages of 18 and 65 who are seeking protection in the UK will live…

For the rest of the summer holidays, nine-year-old Harry Peksa will be saddled up on his bike. His mission is to cycle from John o’Groats in the north of Scotland to Land’s End, at the western tip of Cornwall, England. This is a famous cycle route that crosses the length of the UK and is a journey that Harry has undertaken before, only the other way round. Last year, Harry and his dad cycled 1,300 miles from Cornwall to Scotland, raising £15,000 for sick and injured animals, especially hedgehogs. This year, Harry hopes to raise £25,000 and spot some of the prickly creatures – and other wildlife – along the way. Harry loves cycling in Scotland for its beautiful landscapes and the smell of wet heather. There is one problem,…

Scientists realised in 2016 that tickling rats makes them laugh. However, laughter and play have now been linked to a certain part of rats’ brains. At Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany, scientists tried an experiment with caged rats. Once they’d made sure the rats were comfortable and settled into their environment, they tickled them on their tummies and backs and let the rats chase the scientists’ hands around the cage. Two rats were also seen chasing each other’s tails and playfighting. During the experiments, the rats’ “giggling” was recorded using special microphones. Humans can’t hear rat laughter because it squeaks at a very high pitch – too high for our ears to pick up. While monitoring the rat’s brain activity as they played, the scientists saw that there were strong…

THE COMEDY PET PHOTO AWARDS FINALISTS 2023…

Books let you explore new worlds, travel to unexpected places and meet weird and wonderful characters. This summer, why not try buddying up with a friend and sharing your reading adventures together? How is buddy reading good for you? Getting lost in a good book is a great way to relax because you live in someone else’s world for a while. Reading alongside others, known as buddy reading, means you explore these new worlds together. It also helps you learn new words and ideas and gives you the confidence to explain your own feelings more easily. Author Tom Percival explains, “Reading a book offers you escape and freedom, and the chance to break away from your situation, even if it’s just in your mind.” Sharing ideas Just like going to…

Cally & Jimmy: Twins In Trouble by Zoe Antoniades. Illustrated by Katie Kear (Andersen Press) Meet Cally and Jimmy: 10-year-old twins who couldn’t be more different from each other. Cally is hard-working and organised; Jimmy’s ADHD makes it hard for him to focus. This first book in a series contains four stories and all sorts of funny adventures – such as accidentally ruining a school assembly. Antigone Kingsley: About Last Summer by Marina Magdalena (SPCK Publishing) Tig, aged 13, has a talent for pranks. She plans to use her skills to save her family’s struggling theatre, but then her cousin Amelie arrives from Paris and ruins her schemes. A story of family and friendship, this will appeal to readers of Jacqueline Wilson and Cathy Cassidy. Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key…

Name: Annalisa The Mysterious Benedict Society By Trenton Lee Stewart “Exciting, mysterious, adventurous. Everyone has a different strength to help society defeat the enemy.” YOUR TURN 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…

These wind spinners are beautiful moving shapes that will twirl around in the breeze. All you need to do is cut out a series of simple card strips and string them together, creating a curve or spiral. Wind spinners make pretty and mesmerising decorations for the garden – they can even help scare the birds off a vegetable patch. You can hang one indoors, too; just put it near a window so it can turn in the breeze. What you need • Corrugated card from a box• A ruler• A pencil• Scissors• Paints• A thick needle• String or wool• Glue TOP TIPS Thread beads at the top or bottom as an extra decoration. It’s easier to twist and stick the strips into a curved shape with the wind spinner hanging…

Have you noticed that the words in the top right-hand corner of the cover change every week? This week I really wanted to put “giggly rats” but we already had that story in the box underneath. Bah! Luckily, we had the beautiful bagels crafted from felt (page 27). To return to our chuckly foxes and tickled rats for a moment (page 10), I love that we humans are not the only animal that laughs. Laughter is great for boosting mood and bringing groups together. Something else that humans share (which I must say surprised me) is that we seem to be attracted to the same sort of art, whatever our age (page 14). Another powerful bringer-together of people is, of course, story-telling. On page 19 we see how reading together…

“I recently did the Morph trail in London and of course took my The Week Junior with me too.”Ella “I love sports, including soccer, swimming, tennis and GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association). When I need a rest, I always relax with my latest copy of The Week Junior.”Seanan “Here are my vegetables that have just fruited! There’s radishes and a carrot.”Yusra…

1 How many official languages does South Africa have? □ a) 10 □ b) 11 □ c) 12 2 True or false? Dr Elisheva Salamo has become York’s first rabbi in more than 800 years. □ True □ False 3 What is the name of the supermarket chain that has raised the prices of some of its products in its shops in Germany? 4 Which type of pet recently took part in a race in Venezuela to raise money for animal shelters? □ a) Cats □ b) Dogs □ c) Hamsters 5 How many mountains did Kristin Harila climb during her world-record attempt? 6 True or false? It’s not possible to tickle yourself. □ True □ False 7 Which ship did Charles Darwin sail on board in 1831? □ a)…

16 August 1934 Writer Diana Wynne Jones is born In the 1950s, London-born Diana Wynne Jones went to Oxford University, where she was taught by authors J.R.R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings) and C.S. Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia). Jones wrote more than 40 children’s fantasy books. She is praised for her inventiveness and how she wrote about families. Her book Howl’s Moving Castle was made into a popular animated film in 2004. She died in 2011, aged 76.…

Some schools in the UK have decided to lock their toilets or restrict access to them while pupils are in class. They say that children who leave to go to the toilet during lessons can affect the learning of other pupils. Anita Ellis, the headteacher at Royal Wootton Bassett Academy in Wiltshire, England, recently had to defend her school’s policy. She told the BBC that if a student asks to go to the toilet every few minutes, it is “massively disruptive”. However, limiting access to school toilets is a matter of disagreement. Some people say it is unfair and could harm pupils’ health. ERIC, a children’s bowel and bladder charity, points out that “holding it in” can lead to problems such as bladder infections. What do you think – should…

A Norwegian woman has climbed the world’s 14 highest mountains in a world-record time. Kristin Harila took three months and one day to complete the challenge. The previous record was six months and six days, which was set by the Nepal-born British climber Nirmal Purja in 2019. The 14 mountains are the world’s only peaks above 8,000 metres. Harila’s final climb was K2 in Pakistan. K2 stands at 8,611 metres and is the world’s second-highest mountain. In a social media post, Harila, who used to be a professional skier, said, “Thank you everyone for all of your support and always cheering me on.”…

August is a great time to see green woodpeckers. Parents hunt with their fledglings (young that have just learned to fly). The largest of the UK’s woodpecker species is found in most of England and Wales and some parts of Scotland. Their call sounds like high-pitched laughter. Green woodpeckers have dark green wings, a pale green breast, black markings around their eyes and a bright red cap – males also have red under their eye. Young birds look similar to the adults but speckly. As well as using their beaks to drill nest holes in trees, they use them to dig and find ants. The birds suck up the insects with their long, sticky tongues – woodpeckers’ tongues are so long, they need to be coiled inside the back of…

A new study has found that babies seem to like the same things as adults do when it comes to art. This suggests that appreciating paintings is natural, rather than something humans learn over time. Scientists from the University of Sussex, in England, carried out a study using pictures by Vincent van Gogh. The Dutch painter lived in the 19th century and is famous for using bright colours, thick paint and bold brush strokes. Pairs of his landscape paintings were shown to 25 babies aged between four and eight months, as well as 25 adults. The infants were sitting on a parent’s lap and were shown the paintings for five seconds at a time. The researchers decided which paintings the babies “preferred” by noting which ones they looked at for…

On 6 August, Australia beat England to win the Netball World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa. The score in the final was 13-13 after the first quarter but by the end of the fourth quarter, Australia had dominated to win by 61 points to 45. It was England’s first appearance in the final but Australia have now won the competition 12 times, which is more than any other nation. The Netball World Cup is played every four years. This year, 16 countries – including Wales and Scotland – took part. They were placed in four groups of four, with each country playing all the other teams in their group. The top three in each group were then placed in two groups of six, where they all played each other.…

Around AD100, a Roman artist carved a sculpture from marble rock of two greyhounds playing together. The sculpture shows how humans have loved dogs for a long time, turning them into art that can be admired 2,000 years later. It is one of 50 pieces in a new exhibition called Portraits of Dogs, which is now on display at the Wallace Collection in London. Although the timeline of the exhibition stretches from ancient Rome right up to the present day, there are no humans in any of the artworks. They all show dogs, who were loved very much by their owners, on their own. The 19th century artist Rosa Bonheur painted her dog Brizo, a French otterhound, looking thoughtful and scruffy. Ah Cum is the name of a stuffed Pekingese…

by Maz Evans. Illustrated by Robert Ingpen (Welbeck Kids) Delve deep into the secret world of magical creatures in this beautifully illustrated book. As you turn the pages, you will find out about an amazing array of imaginary beasts, monsters and spirits from fairy tale, myth and legend. The book tells the stories of creatures that are rumoured to dwell in deep caves, in forests, on the tallest mountain peaks and under the sea. It reveals how in stories you could track these mysterious creatures down – as well as giving instructions on how you could keep yourself safe from the more dangerous among them. With lots of enchanting, richly colourful artwork from award-winning illustrator Robert Ingpen, this is a book that will set your imagination soaring. It’s a wonderful…

Number fit All of these numbers fit in the grid. Can you work out where they go? We’ve placed one to start you off. 3 numbers 254 316 322 380 620 4 numbers 1776 2328 7621 9580 5 numbers 25056 40710 72788 87882 95248 6 numbers 181748 313022 626707 849861 7 numbers 1456063 7825210 8383865 9402766 8 numbers 15232218 60851760 9 numbers 156773116 856243101 874384508 Wordsearch Can you find all of the words listed here? They are hidden horizontally, vertically or diagonally and may read forwards or backwards. BALL BASKET BOWL CANINE COAT COLLAR COMMAND FETCH FRIENDLY HEEL LEAD LITTER LIVELY MICROCHIP PANT SIT SNIFF TREAT WALK WOOF Puzzles page and quiz answers 1 c) 12 2 True 3 Penny 4 b) Dogs 5 14 6 True 7 b) HMS…

Names: Nicholas and Sophie “We were runners-up in a competition called the ‘Heywood Prize’. For this competition, you had to come up with an idea that the Government could do to make life better for people in the UK. We came up with the idea for a National Green Day with a day a year dedicated to thinking about the environment. It could be similar to World Book Day but, instead of getting a £1 Book Token to spend on a book, children would receive a £1 Green Token to spend on environmentally friendly products. Watch our video explainer at tinyurl.com/TWJ-NationalGreenDayvideo We were invited to the award ceremony, and received a cash prize – some of which we have donated to our local wildlife charity. Now, we’re asking the Government…

Teacher’s name: Miss Harman School: Christ Church Primary School, London “Miss Harman is the best teacher because whenever she is tired she never gives up. When I am having trouble she helps me keep going. She’s really good at maths.”Asti 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…