:00:00. > :00:07.I'm Jenny, you're watching Newsround, live on CBBC, coming up
:00:08. > :00:13.this Friday: The world's coolest games are back as Sochi welcomes the
:00:14. > :00:16.Paralympians. And the German backpacker who had to eat flies to
:00:17. > :00:24.stay alive in the Australian outback - it could only be Newsround! First,
:00:25. > :00:29.wax up your skis and grab your curling stones because the coolest
:00:30. > :00:31.games in the world are back! In the past few minutes, the opening
:00:32. > :00:35.ceremony of the Winter Paralympics got under way. These are pictures of
:00:36. > :00:39.the spectacular start just moments ago. In the next hour or so,
:00:40. > :00:42.youngest ever winter Paralympian, 15-year-old Millie Knight, will be
:00:43. > :00:46.flying the flag for Great Britain as they parade into the huge stadium.
:00:47. > :00:53.Millie told the BBC how excited she is to be representing Team GB. It's
:00:54. > :00:57.incredible it's the best feeling in the world. It's been my dream since
:00:58. > :01:03.I was tiny and now I'm doing it, it's amazing! Millie's sport, which
:01:04. > :01:06.starts in a week's time, is downhill skiing, but she's partially-sighted,
:01:07. > :01:13.so how does she speed down the slopes? And what are her hopes for
:01:14. > :01:18.the competition? My guide will talk to me through their microphone and
:01:19. > :01:23.it will come to me through ear pieces here in the helmet. I'm top
:01:24. > :01:28.in the world, but the 12 people in front of me are incredible. When I
:01:29. > :01:33.go to Sochi it is purely for the experience. I'm aiming to come maybe
:01:34. > :01:41.higher than last! So if I come second last I will be really happy!
:01:42. > :01:43.Moving on to the man at the centre of the crisis in Ukraine: Russian
:01:44. > :01:47.President, Vladimir Putin. We've talked about him a lot on Newsround
:01:48. > :01:52.over the past few weeks, but who exactly is he? Here's Nel. Unlike
:01:53. > :01:57.many world leaders today, Putin isn't from a rich background. He
:01:58. > :02:06.grew up in what was then the Soviet Union in the 1950s. Many families,
:02:07. > :02:10.like Putin's, were very poor indeed. Growing up, the young Vladimir
:02:11. > :02:13.dreamed of becoming a spy. After university he joined the KGB, which
:02:14. > :02:16.spied on foreign governments and helped to keep strict control on
:02:17. > :02:20.people living in the Soviet Union. He moved into politics and quickly
:02:21. > :02:30.became a powerful figure behind the scenes. Putin has put a lot of
:02:31. > :02:34.effort into creating a character of a tough, all-action president. He
:02:35. > :02:38.likes to make sure that TV cameras are around to film him showing off
:02:39. > :02:41.his strength as a judo black belt, or out hunting and fishing. It's a
:02:42. > :02:49.plan that won over many ordinary Russians - voting him in as
:02:50. > :02:52.President back in the year 2000. There is no doubt, as Russia's
:02:53. > :02:59.president, Putin is a very powerful man. But many don't agree with how
:03:00. > :03:02.much power and control he has in Russia, particularly over what TV
:03:03. > :03:05.reports say. There were huge protests in Russian cities before
:03:06. > :03:08.Putin was re-elected in 2012. And now many world leaders are critical
:03:09. > :03:11.of his actions against Crimea, meaning President Putin remains a
:03:12. > :03:18.leader who splits opinion both at home and around the world. Back here
:03:19. > :03:21.in Britain, the National Trust says it's seen the biggest loss of trees
:03:22. > :03:24.in a generation in its parks and gardens across England, Wales and
:03:25. > :03:26.Northern Ireland. Experts say January's powerful winter storms
:03:27. > :03:29.blew down hundreds of trees, including ancient specimens like the
:03:30. > :03:37.rare black walnut, old oaks and chestnuts too. Next - malaria, the
:03:38. > :03:40.deadly blood disease spread by mosquitoes, affects over 200 million
:03:41. > :03:43.people around the world each year, mainly in poorer countries. It's an
:03:44. > :03:46.illness that's particularly dangerous for children. Now
:03:47. > :03:50.scientists say rising temperatures could mean even more people are at
:03:51. > :03:54.risk. Until recently, areas higher up in Africa and South America have
:03:55. > :03:57.been free from the disease, because it's too cold for the malaria
:03:58. > :04:02.parasite, and the mosquitoes that carry it, to survive. But new
:04:03. > :04:06.research suggests that with temperatures set to rise in future,
:04:07. > :04:10.more and more people might end up getting the disease, who would not
:04:11. > :04:13.normally have been affected. Next to an extraordinary tale of survival
:04:14. > :04:17.from the Australian state of Queensland. Police there say that a
:04:18. > :04:20.German backpacker is lucky to be alive after attempting to walk,
:04:21. > :04:26.alone, more than 50 miles across scorching desert. But he lost his
:04:27. > :04:29.way in the outback and was missing for more than two-and-a-half weeks -
:04:30. > :04:34.leading to an interesting choice of diet. Look it appears he has lived
:04:35. > :04:40.on some very small number of provisions. He had some baked beans
:04:41. > :04:45.and some cereal we're led to believe. But once that run out after
:04:46. > :04:48.the first few days, he says he's been living on flies! That's all
:04:49. > :04:52.from me this Friday. But get onto the Newsround website right now for
:04:53. > :04:58.a baby hippo to brighten up your day!