Moroccan girl, wed to rapist, kills herself
A Moroccan law that allowed a rapist to avoid punishment by marrying the 16-year-old girl he raped is being decried the world over after the girl, Amina Filali, reportedly took her own life last weekend by swallowing rat poison. Filali was not old enough to legally marry.
Historic verdict condemns warlord, but Hague court limited
Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga this morning was convicted in the International Criminal Court — the court’s first verdict since its inception a decade ago — of recruiting and deploying child soldiers under the age of 15 during five years of fighting that ended in 2003, resulting in more than 60,000 deaths. Lubanga could face life imprisonment.
5 anti-poverty programs that work
Five women are profiled for their innovative efforts throughout the world to lift others out of poverty. Among the programs they have devised are a social enterprise that turns computer-based tasks at companies into jobs for people in developing countries, and a mobile money platform that empowers women and boosts financial transparency.
Suspected polio case threatens India’s clean sheet
The recent case of a girl admitted to a hospital in West Bengal with polio-like symptoms sparked worries that India’s battle against polio may not be over yet. But experts say there is no reason to believe it is indeed a case of polio, at least not yet. “Every potential case of polio can be worrying, of course. However, at this point in time we have no information that confirms it is a polio case,” says Nata Menabde, who is currently overseeing the National Polio Surveillance Project, a joint initiative of the Indian government and the World Health Organization.
Clinton: Extremists want to control women’s lives
In a speech at the Women in the World Summit, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton explained how protecting the rights of women and girls around the world was a “strategic imperative.” Extremists around the world “are always focusing on women — the reason is a mystery to me,” she said, adding, “It’s hard to believe even here at home we have to stand up for women’s rights and reject efforts to marginalize any one of us.”Watch a video of Clinton’s speech.
South Africa faces education crisis
In South Africa, some 5,000 children, primarily from black families with modest incomes, are leaving state primary schools each year for private, low-cost, independent schools. The government admits that eight out of 10 state schools — some 1,700 of which are without water, and 15,000 of which are without libraries — are failing.
Polio vaccinations resume in Pakistan after salary protests
The second anti-polio drive this year in Pakistan is finally under way after the government, under pressure by World Health Organization and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, agreed to pay vaccinators, who hadn’t received salaries for nine months. Photos from the country’s vaccine campaign can be seen here.
New guidelines could help working children
A new initiative, Children’s Rights and Business Principles, could help the more than 1 million children estimated to be working artisanal gold mines throughout the world, such as those at one such mine in Mali, where boys and girls suffer from mercury poisoning and other physical maladies. It is unclear, however, whether businesses will comply with the principles, which are slated to be launched in London today by UNICEF, Save the Children and the UN Global Compact.
A Look at the Future of Health Care and Funding in Africa
Richard Feachem, founding executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, said that the money brought in by the fund and other sources has contributed to the remarkable progress being made worldwide against the trio of diseases. A drop-off in funding as a result of the global financial crisis, though, coupled with cuts to health care budgets by African governments, are threatening gains. Feachem said that by 2016 there would be an effective vaccine to protect against malaria.
