01/12/2011 Newsround

Hello. You're watching Newsround with Hayley and Ore.

Finally, it's 1st December. Christmas is on its way, but it'll

feel like Santa's come early, because we've got a programme full

of newsy pressies for you tonight. Coming up: Why toads might be able

to predict earthquakes. And, the story of the spaceship

that nearly never made it home. But first Afghanistan. Improving

women's rights there was a key target of British and American

troops after they brought down the Taliban ten years ago. The Taliban

had been ruling the country and under their strict regime women

weren't allowed to do basic things like go to school. But

international troops are now getting ready to leave Afghanistan

and women there are really worried that things will go back to how

they used to be. Here's Nell with more. This is Shahazad. She wanted

to be an aerospace engineer. Ten years ago a dream like hers would

never have become a reality. Under the rule of the Taliban, women in

Afghanistan were denied their basic rights. Girls like Shahazad were

forbidden from going to school and women weren't allowed to have jobs.

Now campaigners say that the terrible conditions they faced will

return if the Taliban are back. In 2001 American and British troops

invaded Afghanistan and the Taliban were overthrown. Over the last ten

years, women's lives have slowly improved. But coalition forces are

now preparing to leave the country and negotiations are under way

about who will run the country. There are areas still under Taliban

control which are known for their terrible treatment of women. Like

like Fawzia are very worried. They've been speaking out about the

way the Taliban treat women and are scared they could become real

targets if the Taliban regain any power. This factory is owned by

Hassina, a woman, something which would be impossible under the

Taliban. She's worried that girls who have been going school and

women who've been working there will be punished by the Taliban,

because she says they haven't changed. We are fooling ourselves

if we believe that the Taliban has changed their mandate, their view

has changed and their philosophy has changed, because they haven't

claimed that they have changed and that they are going to be different.

World leaders have meeting this month to discuss Afghanistan's

future, but women here believe their needs will once again be

ignored. Nell has come to speak to us now.

Hi, is it right thaw used to live in Afghanistan? Yes. And you have

recently been there to make a documentary about what it is like?

Yes. How is the life of girls and women there? Under the Taliban it

is really strict and women suffered immensely. My aunty was a teacher

and under the Taliban she was forced to do it secretly. My uncle

went to a secret school just to learn to read. So when the troops

were there did it change people's live? Yes, people were able to play,

to go to school or get a job. The worry now is that did they won't be

able to do it once the troops leave. What's the biggest risk they've

got? It is that they could be punished for doing the very things

that they enjoy doing. Otherwise they will be forced to stay at home

and be completely ignored. Thank you for that.

Moving on. A notebook has been sold at auction today for �250,000. But

this ain't no ordinary notebook, oh no. This one made history when it

went into space and very nearly stayed there. Intrigued? Watch this.

We have commitment and we have lift-off at 2.13... 41 years ago

Apollo 13 set off on a mission to the Moon, but two days later an

oxygen tank exploded creating a very dangerous situation. It left

the astronauts desperately short of water, oxygen and power. They were

trapped in space. Houston we have a problem here... The Moon landing

was aborted and the race was on to get them back. The crew of three

was manned by commander Jim Lovell. With the help of his detailed

calculations they head Ford Earth. Four days after takeoff they landed

in the sea and were rescued. They were treat like heroes. The

notebook had played a vital part in getting the astronauts safely home.

That is what you call an historic notebook!

Next, another big win for Wayne Rooney, but this one is off the

pitch The England man has won the latest round of a multi-million

pound legal fight with a company that used to look after him.

Proactive wanted �4.3 million from the Manchester United striker,

saying he owed it to them. This was the word from Wayne. He said he

"never wanted to go to court in the first place. But you just have to

fight for what's right in life. That's what I've always done." Very

moral there, Wayne. So, there's only another 24 days

until lots of you will be getting stuck into your Christmas dinner

with all the trimmings. But what's on the menu for our animal friends?

We sent Leah to Chester Zoo to find out. Crisp vegetables, juicy fruit,

freshly-boiled eggs and... Meal worms? This is not just food. This

is zoo food. It is meal time here at Chester zoo. I've got my recipe

book and it's time to find out what's on the menu. We are just

about to feed some red pandas. We had some delicious rather

scrumptious panda cakes. To keep it really superhealthy we have some

These guys get four meal as day, each expertly prepared by the cooks.

But some recipes in the book don't take much preparation at all. In

the wild, giraffes eat for about 12 hours a day, so I think right now

it's time for them to have something to eat. Today's choice is

twigs and some branches. The zoo makes sure they get lots of green

leaves, even in the winter, to keep them healthy. What proof do you

have that it is actually benefiting the animals? The animals themselves

tell us that, so if we have got healthy animals, if they are

behaving normally, if they are healthy and if they are having

babies and reproducing, that's the sign of a good diet. There are

7,000 recipes in the book and each animal has its own profile. So if

they leave this zoo their new keepers will know exactly what to

feed them. Scientists say they may have

discovered how toads could predict an earthquake. In 2009, toads

disappeared from a pond in L'Aquila, in Italy, just days before a