The Times – The Roman Catholic Church in Germany ordered two separate investigations yesterday into allegations of widespread sexual abuse in its institutions, specifically at the Bavarian boarding school where the Pope’s brother served as choirmaster.With nearly two thirds of dioceses caught up in the widening scandal, the German Bishops’ Conference said that it would examine all 170 allegations made so far. A spokesman said that the investigation would take a close look at the Regensburger Domspatzen boys’ choir, led by Georg Ratzinger for 30 years until 1994. Read Article
Yahoo – All-night gaming binges are harmless in moderation, but this week one married Korean couple discovered the awful consequences of letting virtual life overtake real responsibilities. Read Article
ScienceDaily — What began as research into how diabetics could possibly preserve their eyesight has led to findings that could prolong the vision of children afflicted with retinoblastoma. Dolores Takemoto, a Kansas State University professor of biochemistry who was researching protein kinase C gamma in the lens of the human eye, found her work taking a fascinating turn when she discovered a correlation between the protein Coonexin46 and hypoxia — a deficiency of oxygen which kills normal tissue cells. Read Article
BBC – Children with behavioural problems are twice as likely to suffer chronic pain as adults than others, say researchers. Scientists at Aberdeen University, who followed the lives of more than 19,000 children, think faulty hormone signals in the brain may play a key role. Read Article
Reuters – The Supreme Court said on Monday that it would decide whether a federal law protects vaccine manufacturers from lawsuits in state court seeking damages for alleged design defects. The high court agreed to hear a Pennsylvania case involving a lawsuit by the parents of a child who suffered seizures after her third dose of a diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) vaccine. They sued the vaccine manufacturer, Wyeth, which Pfizer Inc purchased last year. Read article
The Independent – Two IT workers at a suburban Philadelphia school district that secretly activated webcams on students’ school-issued laptops are on paid leave amid an FBI wiretap investigation. Lower Merion School District officials insist the move is not meant to suggest wrongdoing by the veteran employees. They have said the webcams were only activated to find missing laptops, and not for any rogue purpose. Read Article
CBS News – Doctors and parents in the Iraqi city of Fallujah are blaming a sharp increase in the number of birth defects on the highly sophisticated weapons U.S. troops have used in the city during the war. The BBC reported Thursday the staggering statistic from doctors in the city that the number of heart defects found in newborn babies is 13 times the number of similar birth defects in Europe. U.S. troops carried out a major offensive in the city in 2004. Military spokesman Michael Kilpatrick told the news organization it takes public health concerns “very seriously.” Read article
SOCIAL WORKERS have placed the five-year-old daughter of a professional couple on the child protection register for “emotional abuse” after the mother told the girl she was delivered by caesarean. Other allegations against the mother include cuddling her daughter for too long when dropping her off at nursery. The intervention by Birmingham social services prompted the mother, Shahnaz Malik, to go into hiding with her daughter, Amaani, for two months, fearing the girl would be taken away. Read Article
Ed. – Is this the sort of world we want for ourselves or our children? This is why it is important to stand up against this sort of ‘big brother’ attitude by various levels of Government. And Internet filters/secret blacklists (not on E-mail) – however well-intentioned.
msnbc – Too much boob tube also makes you weaker, research shows. You’ve accepted the idea that TV makes you dumber. You know there are lots of more edifying things you could be doing with your time than cheering on the contestants on “Survivor.” And unless you’re working out to an exercise video, you know those hours sprawled out in front of the screen are going to make you fatter — not to mention the impact of all that junk food you’ve been tempted to scarf down during the commercial breaks. But you’ll be surprised to learn the host of other bad things TV can do to you. Read Article
Sunday Mirror – Children in Afghanistan are more likely to die before the age of five than children anywhere else in the world, according to Save the Children. At the current appalling rate, one child dies every two minutes in the violence-wracked nation. The study shows that last year was also the deadliest for Afghan children since the fall of the Taliban. More than 1,050 were killed in suicide attacks, air strikes, explosions and crossfire, according to latest figures. Read article
BBC – At least 63 people have died in a stampede after the gate of a Hindu temple collapsed in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, police say. Dozens more were injured in the panic at the temple in Pratapgarh district, 650km (400 miles) south-east of Delhi. All of the dead identified so far are women and children, police say. The temple gate was still being built. Read Article
Daily Mail – Heads will be forced to list children as young as five on school ‘hate registers’ over everyday playground insults. Even minor incidents must be recorded as examples of serious bullying and details kept on a database until the pupil leaves secondary school. Read article
Fox News – A leading condom manufacturer in Switzerland has created extra-small condoms for boys as young as 12 years old, the U.K.’s Daily Telegraph reported. The condom, called the Hotshot, was produced after family planning groups and the Swiss AIDS Federation campaigned to have the condoms made following several studies that showed adolescent boys were not using proper protection when engaging in intercourse. Read Article
BBC – Doctors in the Iraqi city of Fallujah are reporting a high level of birth defects, with some blaming weapons used by the US after the Iraq invasion.The city witnessed fierce fighting in 2004 as US forces carried out a major offensive against insurgents. Now, the level of heart defects among newborn babies is said to be 13 times higher than in Europe. The US military says it is not aware of any official reports showing an increase in birth defects in the area. Read Article
Ed – To read more about the most commonly used weapon of mass detruction, depleted uranium, CLICK HERE
PhysOrg – In this week’s BMJ, senior eye doctors are warning people to keep liquid capsules for fabric detergents out of the reach of children after a wave of eye injuries in young children at their hospital. Read Article
Science Daily — Frequent exposure to environmental tobacco smoke among 13-year-olds is associated with an increased risk of future blood vessel hardening and greater risks of other heart disease factors, according to new research published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, a journal of the American Heart Association. Read Article
Daily Telegraph – Senior members of the Obama administration approved the illegal removal of 12 Haitian children from a Port-au-Prince orphanage to Pennsylvania last month even though the children were not up for adoption in the US and some were not orphans. Read Article
Daily Mail – Fruit juices drunk by millions of children each day could contain a harmful chemical linked to cancer, scientists have warned.
Researchers have found high levels of antimony – which can be lethal in large doses – in many popular brands.
Scientists from the University of Copenhagen found that bottles of fruit juice and squash contained up to 2.5 times more of the substance as is deemed ’safe’ in tap water, under EU guidelines. Read article
Ed. – “Antimony Facts: Antimony itself and many of its compounds are highly toxic. Although not as prevalent, antimony poisoning causes similar effects (to) arsenic poisoning. It can cause headache, body pain and dizziness, and if its concentration rises, poisoning could result in violent and frequent vomiting, and may even lead to death.” Source Site The link on this site (Source Site) to antimony poisoning provides more details.
BBC – United Nations aid agencies are warning of a sharp increase in unaccompanied Afghan children applying for asylum across Europe. The latest figures from the UN refugee agency show an increase of 60% last year, with more than 6,000 under-18s seeking asylum. Unicef says there is an urgent need to protect children migrating alone. Read article
BBC – Obese children as young as three years old show signs of future heart disease, say US researchers. A study of 16,000 children and teenagers showed the most obese had signs of an inflammatory marker which can predict future heart disease. Read aticle
Sydney Morning Herald – Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said he would consider introducing an internet ombudsman after Facebook tributes to two dead children were defaced with pornography. Rudd said he would look into an idea put forward by Independent Senator Nick Xenophon to appoint an official who would be responsible for taking complaints and action against such material. “We actually need to do everything we can to combat cyber crime,” Rudd said. Rudd also defended the government’s proposed internet filter, which is designed to block child pornography, terrorist material and other extreme and offensive information, saying it was in line with how movies and videos were censored. The move has proved controversial among internet user groups as well as web giants Google and Yahoo!, and prompted activists to launch an attack shutting down government sites earlier this month. Read Article
ScienceDaily — A mother’s nurture may provide powerful protection against risks her baby faces in the womb, according to a new article published online February 25 in the journal Biological Psychiatry. The research shows that fetuses exposed to high levels of stress hormone — shown to be a harbinger for babies’ poor cognitive development — can escape this fate if their mothers provide them sensitive care during infancy and toddler-hood. Read Article
VOANews – Child poverty in Japan is increasing at a surprising rate. That is the assessment from a senior government researcher studying the country’s economic decline. Aya Abe says 15 percent of Japanese children live in poverty and the government is not doing enough to help them. Read article
The Times – A pregnant British woman has fled to Spain with her parents to prevent her unborn baby being taken into care by social services, despite an offer by the child’s grandparents to foster her. Megan Coote, 21, is one of two British women who have escaped to Spain after threats by Suffolk social services to remove their babies. The infants were born last week two days apart and are now neighbours. Read Article
Ed. – “Other countries are much less interventionist and our system is generally much better,” The point is being missed in a rather large way here: Intervention can become intrusiveness when people set themselves up to judge others. Surely better to work WITH the parents, providing ongoing education and support i.e. frequent visits. These lasting measures are monetarily expensive? – yes, but in terms of society, belonging and love being engendered instead of the fear that they are currently experiencing, the choice is simple.
The Palestine Telegraph – There has to be a point in our lives when we turn our backs on normal news and bring out the truth behind a gut wrenching story that nobody wants to talk about or who may not be permitted to talk about. We at the Palestine Telegraph always want to bring out topics that no one else is prepared to print. The case of Hollie Greig is one such story that will make you feel terribly sick inside whilst at the same time wanting to bring those responsible to justice. I did a radio show the other day and someone specifically asked me to investigate this sad story probably knowing that I would do an article on it. One must feel the intense pain of Hollie’s mum and the ongoing nightmare’s that must haunt Hollie, the innocent victim of a pedophile father and his ring of evil friends. Read Article
