Last week's news

Round Up Starting 4 October 2026: Here's What's Happening!

Farooq and Jouri from Mango News Kids

Welcome to this week's news, all summarised with amazing AI. This week, astronauts come home after 237 days in space, a robot hand learns to walk on its fingers, scientists find a golden coral and an ancient crocodile, 180,000 giant tortoises are counted on one island, and much more. Let's explore!

🌍 Global Politics

Taiwan cherishes peace but will not give up freedom, president saysReuters Β· 10.10.26Taiwan cherishes peace but will not give up freedom, president saysIn his National Day speech, President Lai Ching te said Taiwan wants peace and talks, but will keep strengthening its defences.
  • πŸ‡ΉπŸ‡Ό On 10 October, Taiwan celebrated its National Day with a big event in the capital, Taipei.
  • 🎀 President Lai Ching te said Taiwan cherishes peace but will not give up its freedom.
  • 🌏 China says Taiwan belongs to it, but Taiwan's own government strongly disagrees.
  • πŸ›‘οΈ Taiwan is spending more on defence, and the president said this is not meant to provoke anyone.
  • 🀝 He said Taiwan is open to talks, as long as both sides are treated with equal respect.

πŸ™οΈ Fun Fact!

Taipei 101, a skyscraper in Taiwan's capital, was the tallest building in the world from 2004 to 2010!

πŸ‡¬πŸ‡§ UK Politics

Labour sees off Green challenge to win Holborn by electionBBC Β· 09.10.26Labour sees off Green challenge to win Holborn by electionLabour held the north London seat of Holborn and St Pancras, but with a much smaller winning margin than before.
  • πŸ—³οΈ A by election is a vote held in one area when its Member of Parliament leaves between general elections.
  • πŸ›οΈ This seat used to belong to former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who stood down as an MP.
  • πŸŽ‰ Sagal Abdi Wali, the leader of Camden council, won the seat for Labour.
  • 🌍 She first came to the UK as a child refugee from Somalia in the 1990s.
  • 🌱 Green Party leader Zack Polanski came second, showing his party has grown much stronger.

πŸͺ‘ Fun Fact!

The UK House of Commons has 650 Members of Parliament, but there are only about 427 seats on its green benches!

πŸ€– Technology

This disembodied hand is all the robot you needIEEE Β· 08.10.26This disembodied hand is all the robot you needResearchers at ETH Zurich turned a robot hand into a robot of its own that walks on its fingertips and grabs things with the same fingers.
  • πŸ–οΈ Scientists in Switzerland made a robot hand that can walk around all by itself.
  • 🚢 It walks on its fingertips, then uses those same fingers to press buttons and pick things up.
  • πŸŽ’ A tiny 80 gram backpack holds its battery, a balance sensor and a small computer.
  • πŸŽƒ It looks a lot like Thing, the walking hand from the Addams Family films!
  • πŸš‘ One day, hands like this could squeeze into tight spaces for repairs or rescue missions.

🦴 Fun Fact!

Each human hand has 27 bones, and both hands together hold about a quarter of all the bones in your body!

🧬 Science

This golden tree coral was too strange for any known familyScienceDaily Β· 08.10.26This golden tree coral was too strange for any known familyA bright yellow coral found deep off Costa Rica was so unusual that scientists created a brand new family to classify it.
  • 🌊 The coral lives between 360 and 529 metres below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, near Costa Rica.
  • 🌳 Its bright yellow branches look like little trees, and some grow taller than one metre.
  • ⭐ It grows among thousands of brittle stars, which inspired its name, golden tree of the stars.
  • πŸ“š Its scientific name, Laurinque elenya, comes from words invented by the author J.R.R. Tolkien.
  • πŸ€– A robot submarine called SuBastian helped scientists collect samples from the deep sea.

🐠 Fun Fact!

Coral reefs cover less than 1 percent of the ocean floor, yet about a quarter of all sea creatures depend on them!

πŸ‘— Fashion

Chanel is all about joy as Blazy celebrates a year at the helmThe Guardian Β· 06.10.26Chanel is all about joy as Blazy celebrates a year at the helmAt Paris Fashion Week, designer Matthieu Blazy swapped quiet styles for bold colours and patterns to mark one year at Chanel.
  • 🎨 Chanel's new collection was full of bright, cheerful colours and bold patterns.
  • πŸŽ‚ The show celebrated one year since Matthieu Blazy became Chanel's artistic director.
  • πŸ•ŠοΈ The runway in Paris's Grand Palais was decorated with a whole flock of birds.
  • πŸ”₯ Chanel is now ranked the hottest fashion brand in the world on a popular list called the Lyst index.
  • 😊 After the show, Blazy smiled and said, "It's a good start."

πŸ–€ Fun Fact!

Coco Chanel made the little black dress famous back in 1926, and it is still a classic today!

πŸ›οΈ History & Culture

An ancient crocodile skull from the rocks that built the Sphinx belongs to a new speciesSmithsonian Β· 09.10.26An ancient crocodile skull from the rocks that built the Sphinx belongs to a new speciesA skull found a century ago in the limestone used for the Great Sphinx turns out to belong to a crocodile no one knew about.
  • πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡¬ About 45 million years ago, a shallow sea covered part of what is now Egypt.
  • 🐊 A long snouted crocodile called a gavial swam there and caught fish.
  • πŸͺ¨ Its fossils were found in the same rock that ancient Egyptians used to carve the Great Sphinx.
  • πŸ‘ƒ Just like the Sphinx is missing its nose, the skull is missing the tip of its snout!
  • πŸ¦… Scientists named it Herugavialis, after Heru, the ancient Egyptian god also called Horus.

🦁 Fun Fact!

The Great Sphinx is about 73 metres long and 20 metres high, and it was carved from a single huge piece of rock!

πŸš€ Space

NASA's SpaceX Crew 12 splashes down after 237 days in spaceNASA Β· 08.10.26NASA's SpaceX Crew 12 splashes down after 237 days in spaceFour astronauts safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean after more than seven months aboard the International Space Station.
  • 🌊 The Crew Dragon spacecraft, named Freedom, landed in the ocean near Los Angeles on 8 October.
  • πŸ‘©β€πŸš€ The crew was Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Sophie Adenot from France and Andrey Fedyaev from Russia.
  • πŸ“… They spent 237 days living and working on the International Space Station.
  • πŸ›°οΈ During their mission they travelled more than 100 million miles around Earth.
  • πŸͺ‚ Big parachutes slowed the capsule down before it splashed gently into the sea.

πŸŒ… Fun Fact!

Astronauts on the space station see about 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets every single day!

🌳 Environmental

World must change the way it produces food to protect nature, says WWFThe Guardian Β· 08.10.26World must change the way it produces food to protect nature, says WWFA major WWF report found that monitored wildlife populations have fallen by 73 percent on average since 1970, but some species are recovering.
  • πŸ“‰ The Living Planet Report says the wildlife groups scientists watch have shrunk by 73 percent on average since 1970.
  • 🏞️ Animals living in rivers and lakes had the biggest drop, at 85 percent.
  • 🐯 There is good news too: tigers, turtles, tuna and elephants are making a comeback.
  • 🌾 WWF says the way we grow food is one of the biggest things we need to change.
  • πŸ’š Experts say nature can still recover when people take action to protect it.

πŸ… Fun Fact!

Wild tiger numbers grew from about 3,200 in 2010 to around 5,700 in 2025, thanks to strong protection!

🐒 Animals

Researchers find 180,000 giant tortoises living on an island in SeychellesThe Guardian Β· 08.10.26Researchers find 180,000 giant tortoises living on an island in SeychellesA big survey on Aldabra Atoll found the highest number of giant tortoises ever recorded there, a huge conservation success.
  • 🏝️ Aldabra Atoll is a group of islands in Seychelles, in the Indian Ocean.
  • 🐒 Scientists counted about 180,000 Aldabra giant tortoises living there.
  • πŸ“ˆ That is the highest number ever recorded for this species.
  • ⚠️ Not long ago, these tortoises were endangered, but now they are thriving.
  • πŸ”¬ The survey was led by the Seychelles Islands Foundation and the University of Exeter.

πŸŽ‚ Fun Fact!

Aldabra giant tortoises can live for more than 100 years and weigh as much as 250 kilograms!

⚽ Sports

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta signs a new deal with the Premier League championsSky Sports Β· 07.10.26Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta signs a new deal with the Premier League championsMikel Arteta has agreed to stay at Arsenal until June 2030 after leading the club to its first league title in 22 years.
  • ✍️ Mikel Arteta signed a new contract to keep coaching Arsenal until June 2030.
  • πŸ† Last season he led Arsenal to their first Premier League title in 22 years.
  • πŸ“… He became Arsenal's coach in 2019, when the team was 10th in the league.
  • ⏳ He is now the longest serving manager in England's top four football leagues.
  • ❀️ Arteta said it is a privilege to keep working with the club and its people.

πŸ›‘οΈ Fun Fact!

In the 2003 to 2004 season, Arsenal played all 38 league games without losing once, earning the nickname The Invincibles!

πŸ“‹ This Week's News in a Nutshell

Amazing Fun Facts You Won't Believe!

Here are some incredible facts about the topics we covered that will blow your mind!

🐒 Slow and Steady

Giant tortoises walk at about 0.3 kilometres per hour, even slower than a crawling baby!

πŸš€ Taller in Space

Astronauts can grow up to 5 centimetres taller in space because their spines stretch out.

πŸͺΈ Living Reefs

Corals are animals, not plants, even though many of them look like colourful trees or flowers.

🐊 Ancient Survivors

Crocodiles and their relatives have been around for over 200 million years, since the dinosaurs.

πŸ–οΈ Unique Prints

No two people on Earth have the same fingerprints, not even twins who look exactly alike!

🦁 Sphinx Secrets

The Great Sphinx of Giza is over 4,500 years old, with a lion's body and a person's head.

πŸ… Striped Skin

A tiger's skin is striped too, not just its fur, and no two tigers share the same stripes.

⚽ Football Marathon

A top footballer can run more than 10 kilometres in one match, about 25 laps of a track!

πŸ“ Quiz Time! Test Your Knowledge

Let's see how much you remember from this week's news! Pick the correct answer for each question.

Question 1 / 10

πŸ‡ΉπŸ‡Ό What did Taiwan's president say Taiwan will not give up?

All Quizzes

Thank You for Reading! Stay Curious!

πŸ€” Ask Questions!

Wondering about something you read? Ask a grown-up to help you find more information!

πŸ“š Share Knowledge!

Tell your friends and family about the cool facts you learned today!

Check back next week for more exciting news stories from around the world!

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