Circumcision For 200 Uganda’s Girls

Elders in Bukwo and Kapchorwa districts are preparing to circumcise over 200 girls next month despite a new law banning the practice.

Iranians Discover Blindness Gene

For the first time in the world, Iranian scientists have succeeded in discovering the gene responsible for a common type of blindness, prevalent in North Eastern parts of the country.

‘Lost generation’ Feared As Global Jobless Youth Hit Record

Youth unemployment hit a record 81 million youngsters worldwide last year with the economic crisis, potentially breeding a “lost generation,” the International Labor Organization (ILO) said yesterday.

Internet Addicts Prone To Depression

Teenagers who spend excessive amounts of time surfing the Internet are more vulnerable to developing depression, a new study finds.

Mandelas Finalise Funeral Plans For Zenani

The car in which Nelson Mandela’s great-granddaughter Zenani died last week was driven by the son of the boyfriend of one of the former president’s daughters, the family revealed on Sunday.

Indonesia’s Smoking Toddler Cuts Back To 15-a-day

A chain-smoking Indonesian toddler has cut back to 15 cigarettes a day thanks to “therapy focused on playing”, a child welfare official said Tuesday.

Low Levels Of Vitamin D Make Asthma Worse

Asthmatics with low levels of vitamin D may suffer more severely from the disease than patients with sufficient levels of the vitamin.

New Vaccine To Treat Breast Cancer

A revolutionary jab that could both prevent and treat breast cancer has been developed.

‘Naked Body Scanners Could Increase Cancer Risk

US scientists are warning that radiation from controversial full-body airport scanners has been dangerously underestimated and could lead to an increased risk of skin cancer – particularly in children.

US Congress Probing J&J Children’s Tylenol Recall

The House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform opened the investigation after J&J took 40 widely-used children’s pain and allergy medications off the market, saying some may have a higher concentration of their active ingredients while others may be contaminated.

Gender-Bender Chemicals Are Turning Boys Into Girls

The government of Denmark has released a 326-page report affirming that endocrine disrupting chemicals are probably continuing to the birth of fewer males and the “feminization” of existing ones.

“Healthy, Happy and Hot” – Planned Parenthood’s Brochure To Girls Scouts

Warning contains graphic content

The Girl Scouts celebrate their 98th anniversary today (March 12), having been founded by Juliette Low, the former fiancee of Sir Robert Baden Powell, the founder of the Boy Scouts in 1912.

School Spied On Students’ Homes Through Webcams

The Lower Merion School District, which administers a Philadelphia suburb that is one of the wealthiest parts of Pennsylvania, issued all 1,800 students at its two high schools with laptops so they could access school materials at home.

US Citizen Charged With Abusing 18 Haitian Boys

February 2nd 2009

Additional charges have been leveled against an American national once indicted for abusing Haitian boys he was supposed to be helping.

Haiti Detains Americans Taking Kids Across Border

Ten US Baptists were being held in the Haitian capital yesterday after trying to take 33 children out of Haiti at a time of growing fears over possible child trafficking.

British Public Workers Furious Over Vaccine Scandal Side Effects

Hundreds of public sector workers who claim their lives have been wrecked by vaccines say the Government has abandoned them.

Brazil ‘black magic’ Needle Abuse

 

Fifty needles ... this TV grab shows an X-ray and a picture of the stomach of the first boy. Photo: AFP

A new case of a boy stuck with several sewing needles as part of a black magic rite has surfaced in Brazil where another boy nearly lost his life to such a practice.The two-year-old boy in the northern state of Maranhao was apparently perforated with the slivers by his father, police told AFP on Wednesday.

“Everything indicates the father participated in black magic rituals. He has been put in preventive custody for five days, and that could be extended for another five days,” said the investigating officer, police chief Armando Pacheco.

Home Owner Jailed, Burglar Goes Free

A businessman who fought off knife-wielding thugs after his family was threatened has been jailed for 30 months.

The case prompted renewed debate over the level of force that home owners can use against raiders.

Munir Hussain, chairman of the Asian Business Council, was praised by a judge for his “courage” in defending his wife and three children from an attack but then jailed for the violence of his response. One of his attackers was spared a jail sentence.

UNICEF Study – Rising Child Sexual Abuse In Eastern Caribbean

A landmark study on child sexual abuse in the Eastern Caribbean has discovered that the problem is escalating in the sub-region and identified emerging forms of abuse, including the use of boys in an organised network to service cruise ship passengers.

The first of its kind study in the region, commissioned by UNICEF and carried out across the Eastern Caribbean during the period October 2008 to June 2009, explored the situation in Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat and St Kitts and Nevis, considered representative of the region.

The 303-page report, “Perceptions of, Attitudes to and Opinions on Child Sexual Abuse in the Eastern Caribbean”, documented that the more than 1400 respondents presented “an alarming picture of a social problem that is escalating, has increasingly severe consequences for Caribbean societies, has multiple layers and is perpetuated not only by adults who carry out harmful sexual practices with children but also by non-abusing adults through complicity, silence, denial and failure to take appropriate action”.

Sex Education For British 5 Year Olds

Pupils in England will be given classes in sex and relationships from the age of five under Government plans to cut teenage pregnancies.

Children will learn about parts of the body, the facts of life and puberty in primary school. At secondary school, they will be taught about pregnancy, contraception, HIV and homosexual relationships, it was disclosed.

All mothers and fathers will be able to keep children out on moral and religious grounds but will lose the right of withdraw when they turn 15. The ruling will affect 600,000 pupils a year.