Zayn Malik's debut solo album tops UK chart

Zayn has topped the UK album chart with his first solo album, Mind of Mine.

The former 1D singer knocked Adele's 25 from the top spot, after selling over 4,000 more albums. It follows the success of Pillowtalk, the record's lead single, which went straight to number one in February.

On hearing the news Zayn said: "I want to thank all the fans and my team"

"It's mind-blowing"

Zayn said "I can't believe that I have managed to achieve this as a solo artist.

"I am very proud coming from Bradford achieving this in my home country."

He added: "It's mind-blowing to me. I don't take the support I have received for granted. My life at 23 could have been very different."

From CBBC Newsround

Barbie available in 'curvy, tall and petite' sizes

Barbie, the iconic plastic toy doll model, is getting three new body types this year.

The US company behind the famous toy, Mattel, is adding "tall, curvy and petite" body shapes to its line-up of the fashion dolls.

Several skin tones, eye colours and hair styles will also be added to the collection, the company said.

Barbie's figure has come under fire for years, with critics arguing it set an unrealistic body image for girls.

With the new body shapes, the toy makers say they are "offering girls choices that are more reflective of the world they see today".

Last year, the company introduced 23 new dolls to its so-called Fashionistas line with varied skin and hair colours, and a much touted flat foot - replacing Barbie's signature heels.

With this year's update, the Barbie Fashionistas line will feature:

• 33 new dolls
• 30 hair colours
• 24 hairstyles
• 22 eye colours
• 14 face shapes
• 7 skin tones
• 4 body shapes - original, plus tall, curvy and petite

"We are excited to literally be changing the face of the brand - these new dolls represent a line that is more reflective of the world girls see around them - the variety in body type, skin tones and style allows girls to find a doll that speaks to them," Mattel executive Evelyn Mazzocco said in a statement.

From BBC News

How to make a fortune teller

Cootie catchers have always been popular among youngesters.

 Watch the video and learn how to make one

Cootie catchers can provide lots of fun with your schoolmates and friends

They can be the reason to socialize or make some new friends. If you have difficulties in making friends at your new school or you are too shy to start a conversation, try the cootie catchers! 

They're easy to make  and can be very helpful

One Direction named Artist of the Year at American Music Awards

One Direction picked up the top award at the American Music Awards winning the Artist of the Year award for the second year in a row.

They also won best group even though they're due to take a break next year.

"Wow, this is incredible, to win two years in a row. It's a testament to how incredible our fans are so thank you, thank you, thank you," said Louis Tomlinson.

Liam Payne added: "We can't believe we get to win awards like this."

One Direction performing "Perfect"

From CBBC Newsround

Pugs dress-up in costume for Halloween

Check out this special Halloween costume parade with a difference, it's just for pug-dogs.

Cute aren't they?

The parade was held in Ukraine, where about a hundred pugs showed off their finest costumes.

The devilish-doggies dressed up as spiders, angels, dragons and Halloween themed film characters.

It's simply pug-tastic! (CBBC Newsround)

One Direction's Harry Styles corrects fan's grammar

There might be an easy way to get Harry Styles to spot you when you're at a One Direction gig...

Make a mistake on your homemade banner!

A 1D fan had made a sign saying: "Hi Harry, your so nice".

Harry noticed the grammar mistake and corrected it himself!

It happened at the band's gig in Philadelphia.

From CBBC Newsround

The poster with the words written in thick black pen, complete with Harry's autograph, is now hanging on the fan's bedroom wall. 

Minion mayhem: giant inflatable stops traffic in Dublin

A giant minion has been causing chaos in Dublin, Ireland.

The 12-metre inflatable stopped cars on a busy road after strong winds had ripped the yellow giant loose from a nearby fairground.

No one was injured with one local calling the incident "a bit of fun".

The police, with the help of passers-by, eventually managed to let the air out of the yellow inflatable and took it away in a wheelbarrow.

The minion was being used at a fairground

Nobody was hurt but the traffic was stopped for 15 minutes. Police came to help and passers-by helped the police to let the air out of the minion and it was taken away in a wheelbarrow. ( CBBC Newsround)

The robot footballers hoping for a cup win

Meet the UK's robo-footie team who've been training hard for this year's RoboCup World Championships.

The robots were built by a team at the University of Hertfordshire, and put in a cracking performance last year by grabbing second place in Brazil.

Each robot is programmed with around 50,000 different lines of code to help them to know what to do.

The RoboCup is an annual football competition, which first started in 1997.

Around 500 teams from more than 45 countries will take part in this year's contest, which kicks off in China on 19 July.

From CBBC newsround

More on this subject

Meet the star of Oscar nominated animation Song of the Sea.

The movie, which comes out in the UK this week, is based on an Irish folk tale.

It follows the story of a boy called Ben and his little sister who meet selkies, giants and faeries on their adventure.

It was made using traditional drawing techniques, and was nominated for the biggest film awards in the world, the Oscars, earlier this year. (CBBC newsround)

Song of the Sea is a 2014 Irish animated fantasy film by Cartoon Saloon that is directed by Tomm Moore. The traditionally animated film, which began production soon after the release of The Secret of Kells (2009), premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival on 6 September in the TIFF Kids program The film was nominated for Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 87th Academy Awards (2015). (in Wikipedia)

Plot

In October of 1981, on an island off the coast of Ireland lives Conor, a lighthouse keeper, his son Ben, his wife Bronagh, who is expecting their second child, and their sheepdog Cú. Bronagh leaves unexpectedly late one night, leaving behind her newborn daughter Saoirse. Six years later, Conor is a depressed alcoholic, Saoirse has yet to utter a single word, and Ben has grown resentful of his sister, associating her with his mother’s disappearance. The family are then visited by Granny for Saoirse's birthday. That night, Ben scares Saorirse with a story of Mac Lir the giant and his mother Macha the Owl Witch, who turned him to stone and stole his feelings. Later that night, Saoirse plays a seashell horn given to Ben by their mother, and it leads her to a white sealskin coat hidden in Conor’s closet. She puts the coat on and is coaxed into the ocean by a group of seals. It is then revealed that she is a beautiful white Selkie. After swimming with the seals, she is found washed up onshore by Granny, who insists upon taking the children back home to the city for their own safety. Conor reluctantly agrees, and throws the chest containing Saoirse's coat and its key into the sea.

The following night on Halloween, Saoirse plays the shell, alerting a group of Faerie creatures to her presence. Ben and Saoirse begin attempting to travel home, but encounter the Faeries who hope that Saoirse will sing the Song of the Sea and allow them and all their brethren to travel home to Tír na nÓg. Unfortunately, they are attacked by Macha's owls, who turn the Faeries to stone. The siblings take a bus into the country, where they run into Cú, who had originally been following them to the city, and come across a sacred well. Unfortunately, without her coat, Saoirse is rapidly growing deathly ill, shown by her hair turning white. She falls into the well, while Ben tries to follow her and meets the Great Seanachai. The Faerie tells Ben his sister has been kidnapped by Macha's owls, and he gives the boy one of his hairs that will lead him to the witch’s house, and in the process sees that the night his mother left, she departed into the sea and left Saoirse with their father, and realizes how unfair he's been to Saoirse all these years. Ben then meets Macha, who is not the villain he imagined. She claims that when her son, Mac Lir, suffered from a broken heart, she took away his suffering, turning him into the small island near Ben's home. She is determined to do the same for everyone, even herself.

Ben manages to rescue Saoirse and the shell’s song releases Macha's feelings back into her, which helps her recognize the gravity of her actions. The witch helps Ben, Saoirse, Cú fly back home with the spirits of Mac Lir's dogs. The children arrive home during a storm, and Conor attempts to take them back to the mainland to get Saoirse to a hospital; at the same time, Granny is on her way to their island in search of her missing grandchildren. Ben dives into the sea in search of Saoirse's coat, which he recovers with help from the seals and his father. The group is then washed up on Mac Lir's island, where Saoirse, reunited with her coat, is restored to health and sings her song. Faerie creatures from across Ireland rise and travel to Mac Lir's island, and Mac Lir himself emerges with Macha and his dogs as they head to Tír na nÓg. Bronagh appears with the sad news that she and Saoirse must depart as well. However, since Saoirse is part human, Bronagh is able to take her coat and leave her behind to live as a human while she departs. After a tearful goodbye, the Faeries depart across the sea, and Ben and his family happily return home to their island, where Granny finally arrives, and decides the children can stay with their father. (in Wikipedia)

     

Song of the Sea
Theatrical release poster Facts File
Directed by	Tomm Moore
Produced by	Paul Young Claus Toksvig Kjaer
Written by	Will Collins
Story by	Tomm Moore
Starring	David Rawle Brendan Gleeson Fionnula Flanagan Lisa Hannigan Lucy O'Connell Jon Kenny Pat Shortt Colm Ó Snodaigh Liam Hourican Kevin Swierszcz
Music by	Bruno Coulais Kíla
Edited by	Darragh Byrne
Production company	Cartoon Saloon Mélusine Productions Big Farm Super Productions Noerlum Studios Irish Film Board Film Fund Luxembourg Eurimages Fund of the Council of Europe Broadcasting Authority of Ireland Film and Audiovisual Centre of Wallonia Brussels Federation Inver Invest Versus Productions Magellan Films Tax Shelter Programme of the Federal Government of Belgium Belgacom Danish Film Institute West Danish Film Fund
Distributed by	StudioCanal (Ireland) O'Brother Distribution(Belgium) Haut et Court (France)
Release dates	6 September 2014 (TIFF) 10 December 2014(France/Belgium/Luxembourg) 19 February 2015 (Denmark) 10 July 2015 (Ireland)
Running time	93 minutes
Country	Ireland Belgium Denmark France Luxembourg
Language	English
Box office	$841,122 (US)

The Simpsons say divorce rumours are 'baseless'

They are one of TV's longest married couples, but of late there have been rumours that it's divorce-ville for Homer and Marge Simpson.

A scene from the new series of The Simpsons.

Not true, says the animated couple.

In a video posted online, called Together Forever, Marge says: "Homie and I are here to address baseless rumours that we are going to split up."

The rumour-mill kicked in after Al Jean, one of the original writers of the show, said that there could be a legal separation for the pair.

He made the comments in an interview with Variety magazine, which discussed various future storylines.

Marge and Homer have been married for 26 series of the cult TV show.

In the Youtube post, their first official statement on their marriage, Marge goes on to explain how the story was first reported before news spread around the world.

Homer then goes on to ask why "news media guys can't cover more important things".

"Now listen here, Marjorie and I are as solid as a rock," he adds.

From BBC News

The Battle of Waterloo recreated with Lego

One of the most famous battles in history has been recreated using Lego.

It's taken 20 people and more than a million bricks to construct.

It's all to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo - when the famous French general Napoleon took on an army led by England.

The bicentenary of the death of Napoleon is being celebrated in the Belgian town of Waterloo with an exhibition involving over a million bricks.

READ MORE

Fish and chips the play makes its stage debut

Britain's love of fish and chips is so great that a play has been written about it.

One of Each is a tale of storms at sea, saucy secrets and sibling rivalry centred around two fish and chip shops who are battling to win the coveted title of "Golden Fish Fork". (BBC News)

Fish and chips is a hot dish of English origin, consisting of battered fish, commonly Atlantic cod or haddock, and deep-fried chips. It is a common take-away food.

Fish and chips became a stock meal among the working classes in England as a consequence of the rapid development of trawl fishing in the North Sea, and the development of railways which connected the ports to major industrial cities during the second half of the 19th century, which meant that fresh fish could be rapidly transported to the heavily populated areas. Deep-fried fish was first introduced into Britain during the 16th century by Jewish refugees from Portugal and Spain, and is derived from pescado frito. In 1860, the first fish and chip shop was opened in London by Joseph Malin.

Deep-fried chips (slices or pieces of potato) as a dish may have first appeared in Britain in about the same period: the Oxford English Dictionary notes as its earliest usage of "chips" in this sense the mention in Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities(published in 1859): "Husky chips of potatoes, fried with some reluctant drops of oil".

A blue plaque marking the first chip shop in Britain, in Oldham

The modern fish-and-chip shop ("chippy" or "chipper" in modern British slang) originated in the United Kingdom, although outlets selling fried food occurred commonly throughout Europe. Early fish-and-chip shops had only very basic facilities. Usually these consisted principally of a large cauldron of cooking fat, heated by a coal fire. During World War II fish and chips remained one of the few foods in the United Kingdom not subject to rationing.

In the United Kingdom the Fish Labelling Regulations 2003 and in Ireland the European Communities (Labelling of Fishery and Aquaculture Products) Regulations 2003  respectively enact directive 2065/2001/EC, and generally mean that "fish" must be sold with the particular commercial name or species named; so "cod and chips" now appears on menus rather than the more vague "fish and chips". In the United Kingdom the Food Standards Agency guidance excludes caterers from this. but several local Trading Standards authorities and others do say it cannot be sold merely as "fish and chips". (in Wikipedia)

Doctor Who Lego plans announced

Lego have announced plans to make a special Doctor Who set after the idea was sent in to them by a fan.

The idea for this Doctor Who Lego set was sent in by a fan

The company have had huge success with other themed sets, such as Harry Potter and Star Wars, in recent years and asked people to suggest what they'd like to see next on their website.

A Doctor Who fanatic suggested figures and characters based on the famous time lord and the company will now start making them later this year.

Which Doctor?

The successful idea, which was sent to Lego's website, included plans for a Tardis and figures including current Doctor Peter Capaldi and the previous one David Tennant.

Lego have yet to reveal exactly what will feature within the set.

Wall-E too

Along with the Doctor Who set, Lego also announced plans for a new design based on Pixar animation Wall-E.

Emma Owen, from Lego, said: "We're extremely excited to announce that a Doctor Who and a Wall-E set will be released as our next Lego Ideas fan based sets, congratulations to the designers Andrew Clark and Angus MacLane!

"After receiving over 10,000 votes from the online community and having gone through rigorous toy testing from our expert panel, these awesome sets are on track to be on shelves later this year."

From CBBC newsround

Jockeys of future in the Shetland Pony Grand National?

The London International Horse Show brings together some of the finest jockeys and horses in the world.

But for kids wanting to be a superstar jockey of the future, and take part in a race as big as the Grand National - where do they learn the skills needed?

Simple - The Shetland Pony Grand National.

Racing on small ponies called Shetlands, competitors aged between 9-14 speed around the arena on a miniature course with jumps like those seen at an Aintree Grand National.

From CBBC newsround

A hologram of Father Christmas is entertaining crowds outside a house in Derby.

He can be seen moving around, looking out of the window and waving as he prepares for his busiest time of the year.

A jolly Mrs Claus can be seen waving from an upstairs window.

The holographic video footage was set up by the person who lives at the house, electrician Carl Holdsworth.

From CBBC newsround

Giant Christmas tree lights up Dortmund in Germany

Check out this enormous Christmas tree in the city of Dortmund, Germany.

The giant tree is 100 metres tall and is actually made of 1,700 smaller trees put together.

The branches are decorated by 48,000 lights!

The organisers of Dortmund's Christmas market say the tree is the largest "real" Christmas tree in the world.

From CBBC Newsround

One Direction sing about letter U on Sesame Street

The members of One Direction have made an appearance on the children's TV show Sesame Street singing a special song all about the letter U.

Together with a muppet version of the letter, Niall, Zayn, Liam, Harry, and Louis performed a revised version of their hit, What Makes You Beautiful.Their song for the show was called What Makes U So Useful.The group have been busy promoting their latest album, Four, which was released in the United States on Monday.

From CBBC newsround

Toy Story 4 to be made

A fourth Toy Story film will be made, it has been revealed by Disney Pixar.

Woody, Buzz and the other toys will return in Toy Story 4 due to hit cinema screens in June 2017.

The film will be directed by the person behind the first two Toy Story movies, John Lasseter.

Details about the new story are under wraps

Details of the storyline have not been revealed but the director has reportedly told The LA Times that Toy Story 4 will be a love story and will pick up where the last film finished.

Rashida Jones and Will McCormack will join the writing team

Toy Story 3 became the highest grossing animated-film of all time after its release in 2010. It was only beaten earlier this year by Disney's Frozen.

From CBBC newsround

Bob the Builder gets a makeover

Bob the Builder has been given a computer-generated makeover by TV bosses.

The original episodes of Bob the Builder were created with models, like Shaun the Sheep.

But the new episodes will be computer-generated and Bob himself looks a little different.

The new Bob is taller and has a completely new face. He'll also have a new voice when the show returns in 2015.

Old Bob was a big hit - and even topped the music chart

HIT Entertainment that makes the show said although Bob looks different he will have the same "emotional warmth" as old Bob.

The series used to be shown on CBeebies but the new episodes will be shown on Channel 5.

From CBBC newsround

Here's the theme song 

Student creates virtual world in Minecraft

A student from America has created a virtual world in the video game Minecraft.

Duncan Parcells, who's 19-years-old, spent five hours every week building it and has named it Titan City.

It's constructed out of 4.5 million Minecraft building blocks and contains 96 buildings.

Altogether, it took him two years to complete and he says New York was his inspiration for the city. (CBBC newsround)
He used 4,5 billion blocks!

Parcells, who goes by the moniker ColonialPuppet on Xbox Live, said he built the creation on the console simply because at the time all he had was the Xbox 360 version of the game. He’s planning to move it to the PC soon however and expand his creation.
Answering questions about Titan City on a thread on Reddit, Parcells said that the buildings all “have at least some floors” but that most are without soft furnishings. “Interior work will begin once the Xbox map is filled,” he added.

One comment said what at least some of us were thinking: “Wow this is simultaneously the most impressive gaming feat I have ever seen as well as the most depressing,” but Parnells was keen to reassure his audience: “Hey man don't worry I have a life other than this […] I have a lot of friends and I go outside regularly."

(From http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/titan-city-a-handbuilt-minecraft-metropolis-that-took-two-years-and-45-billion-blocks-9801648.html