Tag: Children

Instagram to require birth dates in move to block underage use

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Instagram said Wednesday it would require new users to verify they are at least 13 when they join the visually focused, Facebook-owned social network. The move aims to help Instagram comply with US law and its own policies that require any user to be at least 13. “Asking for this information will help prevent underage people from joining Instagram, help us keep young people safer and enable more age-appropriate […]

New York sues e-cigarette firm Juul for targeting youngsters

  NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — New York on Tuesday became the second state this week to sue Juul, the United States’ largest electronic cigarette manufacturer, for illegally targeting minors with its marketing campaigns. The lawsuits come as the vaping industry faces intense scrutiny over an epidemic of lung ailments linked to e-cigarette use that has killed more than 40 people and sickened more than 2,000 in recent months. The New York action, which […]

Climate change poses ‘lifelong’ child health risk

by Patrick GALEY PARIS, France (AFP) — Climate change will damage the health of an entire generation unless there are immediate cuts to fossil fuel emissions, from a rise in deadly infectious diseases to surging malnutrition, experts warned Thursday. Children across the world were already suffering the ill effects of air pollution and extreme weather events said The Lancet Countdown in its annual report on the impact of climate change on human health. And far […]

French bishops approve payouts for sex abuse victims by priests

  by Karine Perret Agence France Presse LOURDES, France (AFP) — French bishops on Saturday approved a program of payouts to victims of sex abuse by priests — but survivors have already objected that the Catholic Church has not gone far enough in admitting responsibility. Voting at the bi-annual Conference of French Bishops (CEF) in the southern city of Lourdes, a large majority of the 120 bishops approved the payments to those who had suffered […]

1-in-3 young children undernourished or overweight: UNICEF

by Marlowe HOOD PARIS, France (AFP) — A third of the world’s nearly 700 million children under five years old are undernourished or overweight and face lifelong health problems as a consequence, according to a grim UN assessment of childhood nutrition released Tuesday. “If children eat poorly, they live poorly,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore, unveiling the Fund’s first State of the World’s Children report since 1999. “We are losing ground in the fight […]

Lacson wants children who abandon their old, sick parents penalized under the law

(Eagle News)–Senator Panfilo Lacson wants children who abandon their old and sick parents penalized under a new law. Under Senate Bill No. 29, to be known as the “Parents Welfare Act of 2019,”   a parent who is in need of support may file a petition for support before the court and pray tor the issuance of a support order against those children who failed or refused to provide the necessary support. The bill said the […]

Millions protest in youth-led global climate strike

    by Peter Hutchison Agence France Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Masses of children skipped school Friday to join a global strike against climate change that teen activist Greta Thunberg said was “only the beginning” in the fight against environmental disaster. Some four million people filled city streets around the world, organizers said, in what was billed as the biggest ever protest against the threat posed to the planet by rising temperatures. […]

France’s Catholic child abuse probe flooded with messages

  PARIS, France (AFP) — A commission set up by the French Catholic Church to investigate allegations of child sex abuse by clerics received about 2,000 messages in its first three months, chairman Jean-Marc Sauve said Friday. The independent body, looking into abuse claims dating back to the 1950s, was set up last year in response to a number of scandals that shook the Church in France and worldwide. Composed of 22 legal professionals, doctors, […]

Mother or baby die in child birth every 11 seconds: UN

  by Nina LARSON Agence France Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Global child and maternal deaths have fallen sharply in recent decades, but new UN statistics released Thursday show unequal progress, with more than five childbirths a minute ending in tragedy. Two reports by several United Nations’ agencies showed clear global progress in reducing the number of pregnant women or new mothers and young children who die each year, pointing to improved access to affordable, […]

YouTube ‘creators’ fret over impact of new child protection rules

by Julie JAMMOT Agence France Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Samuel Rader quit his job three years ago to work full time on his YouTube channel, “Sam and Nia,” featuring videos of his family life. The channel created by the Texas-based couple — with videos of their Hawaii vacation, setting up their backyard pool and other content about “Christian family life” — has become one of the stars of the Google-owned video service […]

Thousands of children in northwest Syria to miss school: NGO

  BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — Thousands of children risk missing out on their education in northwestern Syria after a months-long regime assault on the jihadist-run bastion that has closed dozens of schools, a charity said. A fragile ceasefire has held in the Idlib region since Saturday, following four months of air strikes that have killed hundreds of civilians and caused mass displacement. “Thousands of children due to start the school year in northwest Syria may […]

Eight schoolchildren killed in China, suspect arrested: official

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Eight schoolchildren have died and two others were injured in a “school-related criminal case” in central China, with a 40-year-old suspect arrested, local authorities said Tuesday. The man was detained by police on the spot following Monday’s incident in Chaoyangpo Village in Hubei province, according to the government of Enshi city. © Agence France-Presse