Harry Potter chair sold at auction in the US

The chair that Harry Potter author JK Rowling sat on while writing the first two books has sold in the US for around £280,000.

JK Rowling wrote the first two Harry Potter books in this chair.

She had picked up the chair for free in Edinburgh before the books were published, and then had hand-painted them.

The chair has messages written from JK Rowling, including: "O, you may not find me pretty but don't judge on what you see" and "I wrote Harry Potter while sitting on this chair".

The chair also comes with a letter written by the author, saying that the chair hurt her back.

It reads: "I was given four mismatched dining room chairs in 1995 and this was the comfiest one, which is why it ended up stationed permanently in front of my typewriter, supporting me while I typed out Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. My nostalgic side is quite sad to see it go, but my back isn't."

From CBBC Newsround/ Entertainment

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

Jet plane turned into classroom

Pupils at a school in Essex in England will soon be having lessons in a disused jet plane.

Milton Hall Primary School bought the jet earlier this month.

The aeroplane was bought by Milton Hall School in Westcliff-on-Sea in Essex, earlier this month.

The school bought the plane because they didn't have a lot of space to build new classrooms.

It had to be carried by large crane on to the playing field, where it was gutted.

It still needs a lot of work before it can be used as a classroom, but the school hopes it will be ready by June.

From CBBC Newsround

Man base jumps off The Shard with parachute

A man jumped off The Shard, the tallest building in London, with a parachute on Saturday morning and landed safely on a street below.

The Shard in London is one of the tallest buildings in Europe

Witness Justin Knock captured images of the base jump and said the "dangerous" move was "skilfully" done with the jumper landing on his feet.

The base jumper landed at about 10.18am, police said, adding that no-one has been arrested.

The Shard stands at 310 metres and is one of the tallest buildings in Europe.

A spokesperson for The Shard said: "We are investigating an incident involving a member of the public this morning."

Eyewitness Mr Knock, said: "I was buying some cheese from the store opposite St Thomas's Street and looked up and this guy was coming down with his parachute.

"It was obviously a dangerous thing to do but he pulled it off skilfully."

He and another man bundled up the parachute within seconds of landing and left the scene. Police and staff from the building arrived at the scene soon after, Mr Knock said.

New app helps reveal amount of sugar in food and drink

A new mobile phone app has been launched to try help people understand how much sugar is in their food and drink.

The app scans barcodes of thousands of food and drink products to reveal total sugar content

The app, from a government group called Public Health England, works by scanning barcodes to reveal the total sugar content, in cubes or grams, of more than 75,000 products.

The group hope it will help combat tooth decay and obesity by encouraging families to choose healthier options, by showing just how much sugar is in everyday food and drink.

It's thought young children are eating three times more sugar than the recommended limit at the moment.

A small carton of juice can contain more than five cubes of sugar

How much sugar?

• a can of cola - nine cubes of sugar
• a chocolate bar - six cubes of sugar
• a small carton of juice - more than five cubes of sugar

Daily recommended sugar limits

• Four to six year olds - five sugar cubes or 19g
• Seven to ten year olds - six sugar cubes or 24g
• 11 year olds and above - seven sugar cubes or 30g

Source: Public Health England

From CBBC Newsround

Adele's 25 makes UK chart history with 800,000 album sales

Adele's new album 25 has sold more than 800,000 copies in its first week of release - the highest ever figure for a single UK chart week.

Adele's first-week sales were more than eight times those for any other album this year

The album shifted more copies than the next 86 albums in the chart combined, and has become the first album to sell more than 100,000 downloads in a week.

In fact, 252,423 of the album's 800,307 sales were digital with the rest on CD.

Official Charts Company chief executive Martin Talbot said: "The statistics surrounding the album are staggering."

He added: "No album has ever sold 800,000 copies to reach number one in the history of British music."

The previous record was held by Oasis's Be Here Now, which reached number one with sales of 696,000 in 1997. However that album only went on sale three days before the end of the chart week.

Adele's record-breaking sales

• Before this, no album had sold 100,000 copies in a single week this year. Adele's 25 has sold 800,307.
• That is more than the combined sales of the last 19 number one albums in the weeks they topped the chart.
• More than 300,000 people bought 25 on its first day of release.
• Ed Sheeran held the previous record for weekly digital album sales, with 95,709. Adele's 25 has eclipsed that with 252,423 downloads.
• 25 has reached double platinum status already.
• It still has some way to go to match the sales of Adele's last album 21, which is owned by 4.8 million people in the UK.

READ MORE

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

What is Bonfire Night? The history of November 5

Why do they have Bonfire Night and fireworks displays every November 5 in the UK? 

What is Bonfire Night?

On November 5 people across the UK celebrate Bonfire Night.

There are small fireworks parties in back gardens along with big organised displays in public parks.

The reason they do it is because it's the anniversary of an attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament led by a man called Guy Fawkes.

It's called the Gunpowder Plot, and bonfires are lit to burn the "Guy" - a kind of dummy that represents Fawkes.

Image captionGuy Fawkes (second from right) and the conspirators of the Gunpowder Plot

What was the Gunpowder Plot?

Guy (Guido) Fawkes led the Gunpowder plot in 1605. It was a plan to blow up King James I and his government. 

Fawkes and his group put 36 barrels of gunpowder in cellars under the Houses of Parliament in London, ready to set off a massive explosion.

One member of the group sent a letter to his friend who worked in Parliament, warning him to stay away on November 5.

Image captionThe plot was to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London

The King's supporters got hold of the letter and the plot was rumbled!

Guards broke into the cellars where the gunpowder plotters were waiting. They were arrested, tortured and executed.

The Gunpowder Plot was about religion. England was a Protestant country, and the plotters were Catholic.

The group wanted to return England to the Catholic faith. They thought they could do this by killing King James I and his ministers.

  Bonfires are lit all over the UK every November 5

From CBBC Newsround

'Biggest' Stonehenge site discovered

Archaeologists have found around 100 huge standing stones buried near Stonehenge.

Experts think the discovery could be the 'biggest' prehistoric monument ever built in Britain.

The stones were uncovered using special equipment that scans below the Earth's surface.

Researchers said finding the stones was "fantastically lucky".

Special radars were used to find the large stones at Durrington Walls

What is Stonehenge?

• It's a circle of massive stones, on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, in the south west of England.

• No-one knows exactly why it was built but there is a link to the sun's movements during the year and there are burial sites nearby.

• It's thought to have been built in prehistoric times, with the stones being put up about 2,500 BC.
• People go to the site at certain times of year, during the summer and winter solstices, when the sun lines up with gaps in the stones.

The stones could have measured up to 4.5m in height

The latest discovery was made about 1.8 miles (3km) from Stonehenge, on the edge of the Durrington Walls "henge", or bank.

It's an area which had not yet been studied by researchers and it's thought the stones may have originally measured up to 4.5m (14ft) in height.

Lead researcher, Vince Gaffney said the stones were "lost to archaeology" but found thanks to modern technology.

The row of stones were standing over the edge of the bank of the henge

The findings are being announced later on the first day of the British Science Festival being held at the University of Bradford.

From CBBC Newsround

Rare baby giraffe takes first steps

A rare breed of baby giraffe has taken its first steps into the outside world. Rotschild giraffes are really rare and must be preserved at any cost!

 

Kidepo was born at Chester Zoo and strode into the sunshine with mum Orla and dad Meru.

He's the most recent addition of rare Rothschilds' giraffes at the zoo, following on from the births of Zahra in December 2014 and Sanyu in June.

Their arrivals have given an important boost to the special breeding programme for the species, which is classed as endangered.

Sarah Roffe, team manager of the giraffes, said: "It'll take Kidepo a little bit of time to get used to his long legs but he already seems confident and full of personality and he's doing very well so far. We're really pleased with how he has taken to the rest of the herd and with how the herd has quickly taken to having him around." (CBBC newsround)

Princess Charlotte: Norfolk church creates knitted christening

Knitters have recreated Princess Charlotte's christening in wool as part of a church fundraising festival.

The replica royal event is at St Peter and St Paul's church in Norfolk - one of six churches taking part in a Blossom and Yarn Festival.

Over 11,000 squares were used to create themed scenes for the six churches.

The christening scene has been recreated in wool at the church in Griston

Woolen Prince George even has a knitted teddy bear.

The Bishop of Norwich said he was full of admiration because he "couldn't knit a bishop".

Prince Harry - who was unable to attend the event at Church of St Mary Magdalene at the Queen's Sandringham estate last Sunday - is in attendance at the knitted version.

Most of the figures and many other items, including roses, small animals and cakes, were made from 10cm knitted squares.

More than 31 human figures were created by more than 100 knitters.

From CBNBC Newsround

Could Microdave be the UK's smallest horse?

Measuring in around 45cm tall, Microdave is the newest contender for the title of Britain's smallest horse.

So cuuute!

Born in Kent, in the south-east of England, the American miniature stallion is half the size of a regular foal of the same breed.

Microdave got his unusual name from his dad, who is called Littledave.

His owner Jen Baldwin-Murphy, says that Microdave is very cheeky, and has become really popular with visitors.

From CBBC Newsround

Minecraft global gathering comes to London

Heaven was a place on earth for the biggest fans of Minecraft this weekend as Minecon - the global gathering for players of the hugely popular game - came to London.

It was the first Minecon held for 18 months during which time the 70 millionth copy of the game was sold and Mojang itself was sold to Microsoft for $2.5bn (£1.6bn).

In total, 10,000 fans visited the Excel convention centre in London's Docklands for Minecon and, in doing so, set a Guinness world record for an event dedicated to one video game.

The convention drew attendees from more than 73 countries, with some coming from as far away as New Zealand just to join in.

Minecon filled every hall at the sprawling Excel exhibition centre. The main presentation stage hosted the opening ceremony, a Minecraft game show, costume competition and a dance show celebrating the game. Another hall was given over to an expo involving a tournament area, Minecraft-themed funfair booths, statues of blocky Minecraft animals and merchandise stalls.

The show floor featured statues of many familiar Minecraft creatures such as this creeper

As well as being a hit with many individual players, the game's success has made stars of many people who make Minecraft-themed videos - day in, day out. This year Minecraft became the most watched game of all time on video-sharing site YouTube.

Any vlogger or YouTuber recognised as they walked around the show was mobbed by fans who waylaid them to get an autograph or take a selfie with their idols.

One of the most popular sessions at the show was with a Q&A on Saturday on the show floor with a group of of popular vloggers and YouTubers known as The Pack. Between them the members of The Pack - Mr Woofless, PrestonPlayz, JeromeASF, BajanCanadian, Vikstarr123HD and Lachlan - have an average age of 20, and more than 15 million subscribers.

Future features

At the convention, Mojang also talked about features in forthcoming versions of the game which will include letting characters carry and use objects in both hands. In addition, some elements of the game, an area known as The End and its final boss - the Ender dragon - are also getting updates.

An exhibition of Minecraft-themed art was on show at Minecon

The first trailer for Minecraft: Story Mode - which turns the game into an episodic adventure - was aired at the show and gave people a glimpse of the story that will be played out in that.

Mojang owner Microsoft also took the opportunity to give attendees a glimpse of the version of Minecraft it is preparing for the Hololens augmented reality system. Microsoft staged a competition to pick 50 convention goers who were able to don the helmet and get a look at the invention.

But despite the enthusiasm and creativity on show, not everyone who attended was sold on Minecraft's appeal.

adapted and abridged fro BBC news/Technology

Theropod-the first meat-eating dinosaur goes on show in Wales

This is an artist's impression of a meat-eating Jurassic dinosaur that was found on a south Wales beach in 2014.

The fossilised skeleton is only now being revealed to the public for the first time.It's a small theropod dinosaur.That's a distant cousin of the giant Tyrannosaurus Rex.It would have stood at about 50 cm high and about 2 metres long.

Nick and Rob Hanigan uncover the fossilised remains inch by inch

Fossil-hunting brothers Nick and Rob Hanigan found it at Lavernock, Vale of Glamorgan. There had been a cliff rock fall.

They have now donated it to the National Museum Wales.

Experts there believe the fossilised remains date back more than 200 million years to the very earliest part of the Jurassic Period.

The theropod is the first meat-eating dinosaur fossil to be found in Wales.

It's also one of the oldest finds from the Jurassic Period in the world.

The fossils show it had lots of small blade-like teeth. That suggests it lived on insects, small mammals and other reptiles.

One of the Dinosaur's fossilised claws

The brothers spent last year carefully preparing five stone blocks to uncover the full fossil, before getting in touch with museum experts.

Meat eating dinosaur on show

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime find," said Nick Hanigan. "Preparing the skull to seeing the teeth of a theropod for the first time in 200 million years was fantastic - you just can't beat that sort of thing."

'Hand' and claw bones

is brother Rob said, "It has always been our intention to donate our dinosaur to the museum for the public and scientists to see and research."

The hip and vertebrae of the Welsh dinosaur called a ''theropod''

-Theropod dinosaur Fact file-

• Location: Fossilised skeleton found on a beach near Penarth in the Vale of Glamorgan
• Family: Distant cousin of Tyranossaurus rex
• Era: earliest part of the Jurassic Period 201 million years ago, possibly making it the oldest dinosaur in the world
• Diet: First ever meat eating dinosaur 

From CBBC News

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)

Election 2015: Fox makes a bid for Downing Street

The general election campaign is under way, after Parliament was officially dissolved. Journalists waiting outside 10 Downing Street on Monday morning spotted a fox, apparently chasing a duck.( From BBC News)

We already know how smart and sly foxes are, but this one is much more than that. She revealds really  bold . Maybe this wasn't her first raid on the area and for some reason she didn't feel any kind of threat, so she wasn't afraid of being chased and there she was, right in front of the Prime Minister's official residence, chasin a duck, a delicacy for her sharp teeth enough to fill her belly for the day.

Spot on this video!