Attacks on children in war zones almost triple since 2010
Some 45 violations – including killings, maiming and sexual violence – carried out against youngsters every single day over last 10 yearsColin Drury
Attacks on children forced to live in conflict zones have almost tripled over the last decade, the United Nations has said.
Some 170,000 violations against youngsters – including killing, maiming, sexual violence and child recruitment – have been verified since 2010, UNICEF reports.
The figure amounts to the equivalent of 45 abuses every single day for 10 years.
Australia fires: one firefighter killed as bushfires rip through four states
There are fears that many houses may have been lost on a horrific day in Victoria and Tasmania, with more extreme weather forecast for New Year’s Eve
One firefighter has died and multiple properties are feared lost after terrifying bushfires driven by extreme weather conditions swept across four Australian states on Monday.
The volunteer firefighter from the New South Wales Rural Fire Service died when a truck rolled near Jingellic, about 70km east of Albury, on the border with Victoria. The RFS said two trucks, including the one in which the firefighter died, had been overturned by high winds. Two others suffered burns in the crash.
Ten people have now died during one of the worst bushfire seasons in the nation’s history, which have burned through more than 4.6m hectares.China jails scientists for CRISPR gene-edited babies
A court has found Chinese scientist He Jiankui guilty of illegal medical practice. He had claimed credit for genetically engineering twins resistant to HIV in a controversial procedure.
A Chinese court on Monday sentenced biophysics researcher He Jiankui to three years in prison for creating the world's first "gene-edited" babies.
Two other scientists who assisted He were also handed lesser sentences.
"The three accused did not have the proper certification to practice medicine, and in seeking fame and wealth, deliberately violated national regulations in scientific research and medical treatment," said the court, according to China's Xinhua news agency.
Crowdfunding and solidarity: How French rail workers sustain a record-long strike
Now in their 25th day, France’s nationwide strikes against the government’s pension reform plans are the longest in more than 30 years. But how are strikers coping after nearly four weeks without pay?
On the eve of the New Year, the strikes led by French rail and transport workers are poised to become the longest of their kind in the country’s history. The last time workers at the national rail company SNCF went on strike for this long was in December 1986. That walkout, too, spanned the winter holidays: Employees returned to work only on January 15, 1987, after a full 28 days off the job.
With no retreat in sight from either the government or the unions, today’s strikes could soon beat that record, forcing strikers to find creative ways to cope.
A decade of protests has reshaped the Arab world -- and more change is on the way
Updated 1211 GMT (2011 HKT) December 30, 2019
When protesters flooded the streets of Tunisia and Egypt almost a decade ago, millions across the region were glued to their television screens. A barrier of fear had been broken, and the Arab world would never again be the same.
Since then, the region has endured a painful period of transition, polarization and introspection. The protests breathed new life into civil societies, even as increasingly repressive states pushed activists to work under a cloak of secrecy, and the unrest stoked pre-existing sectarian tensions.
Pulled in multiple directions, the Arab world has been mired in various existential crises, stuck somewhere between progress and the status quo. But a shift is underway, and there is now a new power player on the scene: the people.
Greta Thunberg's father: 'She is happy, but I worry'
Greta Thunberg's father has said he thought it was "a bad idea" for his daughter to take to the "front line" of the battle against climate change.
Millions of people have been inspired to join the 16-year-old in raising awareness of environmental issues.
But Svante Thunberg told the BBC he was "not supportive" of his daughter skipping school for the climate strike.
Mr Thunberg said Greta was much happier since becoming an activist - but that he worries about the "hate" she faces.
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