UNICEF

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Putin: Ban on US Adoptions to Become Law

Opponents say law only a response to human rights criticisms

(Newser) - Vladimir Putin says he will sign a controversial bill banning Americans from adopting Russian children. Putin said in a televised meeting today that he "doesn't see any reasons" to object to the bill and "intends to sign it" into law. The president said US authorities deny access...

5K Die in August, Syria's Deadliest Month Yet

Gov't use of air power greatly stepped up violence, say rebels

(Newser) - With the Syrian government now using air power against rebels, the civil war keeps getting bloodier: Anti-regime activists say about 5,000 people were killed in August alone, reports the AP . Another report by UNICEF put the death toll at 1,600 just for last week, the worst single week...

UN Aid Flows at Last to Parched Somalia

Al-Shabab militants allow aid groups in for first time in 2 years

(Newser) - UN aid groups have finally begun delivering supplies to areas controlled by islamist militants in Somalia, as the Horn of Africa faces its worst drought in 60 years, reports the BBC . Al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda-linked militant group, banned international aid groups two years ago, but tens of thousands of refugees streaming...

Snipers Targeting Kids in Misrata: UNICEF

Civilians being killed in besieged Libyan city

(Newser) - Snipers are gunning down children and other civilians in the Libyan city of Misrata, which is held by rebels but under siege from Moammar Gadhafi’s forces, UNICEF said today. “What we have are reliable and consistent reports of children being among the people targeted,” a spokesman for...

Cambodians Raped, Killed at UN-Backed Camp

So-called 'social affairs center' really internment facility: human rights groups

(Newser) - Cambodians being held at a UN-funded internment camp are frequently beaten and raped, treatment that has resulted in at least three deaths. Guards at the “social affairs center” say its residents are free to leave when they choose—but human rights watchdogs and ex-inmates say Prey Speu is an...

Call to Halt Haiti Adoptions on Trafficking Fears

At least 15 children said to have disappeared from hospitals

(Newser) - The disappearance of 15 children from Haitian hospitals has prompted aid agencies to call for a halt on adoptions of Haitian orphans, warning that child traffickers flourish in such chaotic situations. Despite an outpouring of offers from would-be parents, and the tens of thousands of children in need—40,000...

How You Can Help Haiti Quake Victims

Red Cross, UNICEF, Save the Children all accepting donations

(Newser) - Disaster relief agencies are streaming into Haiti, trying to provide safe water, medical supplies, and temporary shelter for victims of the devastating earthquake there. Here are some ways you can donate to the cause, from the Daily News :
  • Text “Yele” to 501501 to donate $5 to Wyclef Jean’s
...

'Vaccination Diplomacy': Taliban Helps UN, Karzai

In 'pact with the devil,' group helps get polio vaccine to far-flung regions

(Newser) - The Taliban may be pariahs to much of the world, but the group's indisputable hold on vast swaths of Afghanistan has produced an unusual arrangement: It's working with UN health officials and the Afghan government to wipe out polio. Volunteers travel to normally dangerous regions to vaccinate children, armed with...

UN Fights to Release Child Soldiers in Chad

Boys as young as 13 held captive by African nation's army

(Newser) - The UN has obtained access to 80 child soldiers, some as young as 13, who have been taken prisoner in Chad near the Sudanese region of Darfur. UNICEF says that the children were captured and paraded before television cameras after a battle in early May between the Chadian army and...

Mugabe Acknowledges Cholera Epidemic

(Newser) - Robert Mugabe has backtracked on his denial of the Zimbabwean cholera crisis, AFP reports. “He is acknowledging there is a problem,” said a UNICEF official who met with him today. “He recognizes there is a problem with the water and the sewer systems.” The admission comes...

Ethical Gifts Ease Western Guilt, Not Third World Poverty

Condescending gifts will not eradicate poverty

(Newser) - The trend of giving ethical holiday gifts couldn't be more pompous, writes Nathalie Rothschild for Spiked. "Rather than lifting people out of poverty, Oxfam and the rest are helping to sustain underdevelopment," she argues. And occupying a higher level of condescension is the organization Animal Aid, which opposes...

Princes Go Off-Road For Charity

1,000 mile South African trek will raise money for children's charities

(Newser) - Dapper duo Prince Harry and Prince William are setting off on a South African off-road motorbike ride to benefit charity, the BBC reports. The 1,000-mile trek is expected to raise about $450,000 for three charities, including Harry’s Sentebale, which focuses on children with AIDS in Lesotho. The...

Disease, Hunger Now Threaten Cyclone Survivors

Tainted water, corpses pose grave danger

(Newser) - The Burmese lucky enough to survive a catastrophic cyclone now face the threat of death by disease and hunger. Dirty water and rotting corpses pose a grave danger of cholera and diarrhea, and the devastated infrastructure is making it nearly impossible to deliver food to people who were hungry even...

Humanitarian Relief is a Text Message Away

Social sites like Twitter, Facebook part of Google's new venture

(Newser) - A Google-funded website that uses technology to spread the word about emergencies launches today, CNET reports. The company's charitable arm has put $5 million into InSTEDD, which will use social software like Twitter and Facebook to alert humanitarian groups to crises and organize rescue operations. “Social networking in the...

Better 1st Kid: Chelsea or Jenna?
Better 1st Kid: Chelsea or Jenna?

Better 1st Kid: Chelsea or Jenna?

Ms. Clinton’s stock drops even as Ms. Bush’s rises

(Newser) - Conventional wisdom that puts Chelsea Clinton at the front of the class and Jenna Bush at the back is undergoing a makeover, as the current first daughter charms in public life while her predecessor hits the upper-crust party scene. The “closer I look, the more I like Jenna,”...

Stressed Out at 7 Years Old
Stressed Out at 7 Years Old

Stressed Out at 7 Years Old

Kids fret about global warming, terrorism and friendships

(Newser) - Children as young as 7 years old are stressed out about issues such as global warming, violent crime and international terrorism, as well as personal problems, according to a new study in Britain. The research, based on 700 in-depth interviews with children aged 7 to 11, found that kids live...

Global Infant Mortality Rate Lowest in Years

Public-health campaigns trigger major advances

(Newser) - Infant mortality rates have dropped to new lows worldwide, according to UNICEF. Vaccination drives, education supporting breastfeeding, and anti-malarial measures helped drive last year's death rate of children under 5 down to 72 per 1,000. It stood at 93 per 1,000 in 1993. "It could be  that...

Kelley: Bush Offspring Should Be Serving in Iraq

(Newser) - While the president has been busy assuring Americans that Iraq is a "noble" war, among those who haven't been listening are his wife, his children and his nieces and nephews, observes Kitty Kelley, who chronicled the Bush clan in 2004. The first family is AWOL on the war effort,...

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