Chinese officials push back against new formula safety concerns
Officials from China’s Ministry of Health denied that there was any connection between formula produced by the Chinese company Synutra International and infant girls whose parents claim they began exhibiting signs of puberty after using the formula.
Afghan rights advocates are worried by stoning
Afghan human-rights advocates worry an order by the Taliban to stone a couple in Kunduz province Sunday is just the latest sign of the Taliban’s growing confidence in their ability to impose their will on the Afghan population. Witnesses said hundreds of villagers — including family members — participated in carrying out the sentence, which was imposed after the young couple attempted to elope. In Badghis province last week, a Taliban commander ordered a lashing and execution of a woman who became pregnant out of wedlock.
UN’s Ban is stunned by Pakistan devastation
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed shock over the extent of devastation from monsoon floods during a weekend visit to Pakistan and urged donors to increase relief efforts immediately. Pakistani officials now say 20 million people have been directly affected by the flooding. UN officials have called for increased efforts to secure a clean water supply to help protect 3.5 million children and babies at risk for waterborne diseases.
Global Youth Unemployment Soars
The UN agency the International Labor Organization released a report that found 81 million out of the 620 million people aged 15 to 24 in the workforce were unemployed at the end of 2009. Unemployment as a consequence of the global economic crisis is striking disproportionately at younger workers, according to the ILO. The present situation has the potential to create a ” ‘lost generation’ comprised of young people who have dropped out of the labor market, having lost all hope of being able to work for a decent living.”
Zimbabwe’s children serve time with mothers
Mothers with children are not an uncommon sight inside Zimbabwe’s prisons where the country’s economic woes have taken a toll on available food and medical services. There are no educational facilities available for the children, and they are easy prey for medical conditions including tuberculosis, malnutrition and pellagra, health advocates say.
Uganda’s LRA is kidnapping new soldiers
Human Rights Watch says that the Lord’s Resistance Army has been engaged in a brutal membership campaign — forcibly conscription adults and children over the past 18 months. The human-rights organization says that the Ugandan rebel group has targeted residents of remote regions of the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Former child combatant faces military tribunal
Canadian citizen Omar Khadr, who was 15 when he was captured for allegedly throwing a grenade that killed a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan, will be the first Guantanamo Bay detainee to face a military tribunal. UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict Radhika Coomaraswamy has warned that the trial of Khadr, who is now 23, sets a dangerous precedent for the prosecution and treatment of children in conflict zones. Coomaraswamy says that no child has been prosecuted for a war crime since World War II.
