YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — Myanmar’s military has released 75 child soldiers, a UN agency said, its first discharge this year as part of a gradual process to end decades of forced recruitment of underage fighters. There are no concrete figures on how many children are still among the estimated 500,000 troops that serve in Myanmar’s military, or the ethnic rebel armies that it battles in the country’s border regions. The state’s army — also referred […]
Tag: Children
Sleep shown to be linked to externalizing behavioral difficulties in children: a study review
By David Oria There exist a large body of research in the area of childhood psychology that has examined the effects of sleep on behavioral issues in adolescents. In many of these studies, the behavioral problems explored were categorized into two: internalizing difficulties or externalizing difficulties. In the world of psychology, internalizing difficulties are behaviors that result from difficulty coping with negative emotions or stressful situations, so they directed inward (eg. withdrawal, loneliness, fearfulness, […]
Pressure mounts on Catholic Church’s Pope Francis for tougher action on abuse scandals
by Catherine Marciano Agence France Presse VATICAN CITY (AFP) — With the Catholic Church rocked by a devastating US report into child sex abuse, Catholic Church’s Pope Francis has this week sharpened his criticism on the explosive issue — but he remains under pressure to enact far-reaching changes. The US grand jury report accused more than 300 “predator” priests in the state of Pennsylvania of abusing more than 1,000 children over seven decades, sparking […]
US supplied bomb that killed Yemeni children: report
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The bomb that killed 40 children and 11 others in a Saudi-led coalition air strike on a bus in rebel-held northern Yemen was sold by the United States under a State Department deal with Riyadh, CNN has reported. The numbers on shrapnel, of which images were taken shortly after the attack this month, indicate that it was a laser-guided Mk 82 bomb manufactured by defense contractor Lockheed Martin, CNN […]
Pennsylvania report lists more than 300 ‘predator’ priests who abused more than 1,000 kids
by Jennie Matthew Agence France Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — More than 300 “predator” priests in Pennsylvania are accused of abusing over 1,000 children across seven decades, a grand jury said Tuesday in a devastating report that decried a systematic cover-up by the Catholic Church. It is thought to be the single most comprehensive report to date into abuse in the US church, since The Boston Globe first exposed pedophile priests in […]
Protests at funeral for Yemeni children killed in coalition strike
SAADA, Yemen (AFP) — Thousands of Yemenis vented anger against Riyadh and Washington on Monday as they took part in a mass funeral for children killed in an air strike by the Saudi-led coalition. At least 29 children were among those killed in the air raid Thursday on a bus in a crowded market in Dahyan, Saada province, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. The mass funeral was held in Saada […]
Protests at funeral for Yemeni children killed in coalition strike
SANAA, Yemen (AFP) — Thousands of Yemenis vented anger against Riyadh and Washington on Monday as they took part in a mass funeral for children killed in an air strike by the Saudi-led coalition. At least 29 children were among those killed in the air raid on Thursday on a bus in a crowded market in Dahyan, Saada province, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. The mass funeral was held in […]
UN calls for credible probe of Yemen bus strike which killed 29 children
United Nations, United States (AFP) — The UN Security Council called for a “credible” investigation Friday after at least 29 children were killed in an air strike by the Saudi-led coalition in northern Yemen. The appeal followed the coalition’s announcement that it had ordered a probe of Thursday’s raid in the northern rebel stronghold of Saada. Britain’s Ambassador Karen Pierce, whose country holds the rotating Security Council presidency, said after a closed-door meeting on […]
US camp raid suspect trained children for school shootings: prosecutors
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — A man arrested in a raid on a squalid compound in New Mexico was training children living there to carry out school shootings, prosecutors said Wednesday. Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, 40, was arrested along with four other people on Friday at the desert compound in Amalia, New Mexico, and has been charged with 11 counts of child abuse. Eleven children aged one to 15 were found living on the compound […]
700 separated children still in US custody after deadline
by Javier Tovar Agence France Presse LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — The US government said Thursday that hundreds of families it broke up at the border with Mexico have not been reunited as a court-ordered deadline to return all children to their parents elapsed. A federal judge in California had ordered that all eligible migrant families be brought back together by 6:00 pm (2200 GMT) and officials said in a court filing that 1,442 children […]
‘Race against water’ as rain threatens Thai boys in the cave
by Thanaporn Promyamyai Agence France Presse MAE SAI, Thailand (AFP) — Thai rescuers on Thursday said they may be prodded into a complex extraction of 12 boys and their football coach from a flooded cave if forecast rains hammer the mountainside and jeopardize the rescue mission. Thirteen sets of diving equipment have been prepared for the team, who have endured 12 nights underground in the Tham Luang cave complex in northern Thailand. Water is […]
‘Hang in there!’ Chilean miner tells trapped Thai boys
by Sofia Miselem Agence France-Presse MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — Mario Sepulveda, one of the Chilean miners who was trapped underground for 69 days in 2010, had a moving message of encouragement Wednesday for the boys’ football team trapped in a cave in Thailand: “Hang in there!” In a video message sent to AFP, Sepulveda — known as “Super Mario” for helping keep his comrades’ spirits up during their ordeal — said his thoughts were with […]
