The final batch of the nearly 3,000 child soldiers who served in the Maoist army during Nepal’s decade-long civil war have been discharged and re-entered civilian life today, in a move hailed by United Nations officials as a milestone in the country’s peace process.
The 268 individuals released today during a ceremony in Rolpa included those who had joined the Maoist army as minors, and as late recruits, and had remained in temporary camps for three years after the signing of the peace deal that ended the conflict.
“The release of these young people today is not only symbolic for the country but a milestone for these young men and women who spent their formative years inside a military structure losing out on critical skills vital for adulthood,” said Gillian Mellsop, Country Representative for the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
un.org
A heroic military dog is to be honoured with the animal version of the Victoria Cross.
Treo, an eight-year-old black Labrador, saved countless lives in Afghanistan last year by locating hidden roadside bombs.
The search dog twice saved soldiers and civilians from catastrophe while out on patrol in Helmand province by sniffing out explosives which had been wired together in a daisy chain and hidden in the path.
Princess Alexandra will award the dog with the Dickin Medal at a ceremony at the Imperial War Museum on February 24.
The medal was created by leading veterinary charity the PDSA and is recognised as the highest award an animal can receive for conspicuous gallantry or devotion to duty while serving in military conflict.
Treo will be accompanied at the ceremony by his handler, Sergeant Dave Heyhoe. The team have worked together for five years.
telegraph.co.uk
By Melissa Kossler Dutton, The Associated Press
When Maj. Randall Baucom received word that the Army was sending him to Iraq in 2006, he immediately began to worry about what he would do with his two mixed-breed dogs.
Buster and Little Girl, a 70-pound male and a 40-pound female, were about a year old and a bit rambunctious, said Baucom, who was stationed at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas.
“I didn’t want to put them in a kennel for 15 months,” he said. “I don’t know what kind of dogs I would have gotten back if they would have been in a kennel for 15 months.”
He was relieved when he found Guardian Angels for Soldiers’ Pet, a volunteer organization that helps men and women in any branch of the armed forces find temporary homes for pets. It is one of several pet foster programs that offer such free help to military personnel.
stripes.com
Federal Study Shows Drastic Drop in Abuse Since Early 90’s But Child Advocates Caution Tough Economy Could Derail Progress
(CBS) Once a week, every week, 19-year-old single parent Antoinette Franklin gets counseling to help her learn to be a better mom to 3-month-old Amia.
“You know it helps you so that you won’t get frustrated and want to, you know, lead to the abuse as far as mentally, physically ot anything,” Antoinette told CBS News correspondent Cynthia Bowers.
Programs such as one at Chicago’s Near North Health Service may play a role in dramatically reducing child abuse from 1993 to 2005.
A federal study found a 38 percent decline in child sex abuse, a 27 percent decrease in emotional abuse, and a 15 percent drop in physical abuse.
Child advocate David Finkelhor credits what he calls a “troop surge” in the war on child abuse in the 90s.
cbsnews.com
Families can earn £900 a year by installing solar panels on their roofs as part of a new Government scheme to pay people to generate their own electricity.
By Louise Gray
Under the deal, which will start from April this year, households will be paid for electricity fed into the grid from renewable technologies such as solar, wind or energy from waste.
The most attractive rate of return will be on solar panels, which for an average sized three bedroom home could earn households £25,000 over 25 years.
Ed Miliband, the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, said he expected that one in 10 homes will have installed renewable power on their homes in the next decade. He pointed out that the payments would be tax-free and a return of up to 9 per cent annually was better than any bank could provide.
telegraph.co.uk
You would imagine that a desert country like Saudi Arabia would have to rely a lot on desalination for a good part of the fresh water it uses. For example, a previous Green Prophet article told about the Kingdom building what they say is the world’s largest desalination plant in the Al Jubail Industrial Zone on the shores of the Persian Gulf.
Up to now, the more than 28 desalination plants scattered around the Kingdom have had to rely of fossil fuel, most notably fuel oil, to provide to power to run the equipment used to extract salt and other minerals from sea water.
Much of this may be changing, however, as Saudi Arabia is now interested in using solar energy to provide the power needed, instead of oil. According to an article on the UAE Top News media site, the Kingdom is now planning to build solar energy based desalination plants in order to save on energy costs, as well as be in tune with new environmental polices. This might be to secure membership in the International Renewable Energy Agency, otherwise known as IRENA.
greenprophet.com
ANN SANNER
WASHINGTON (AP) – A million and a half more Americans volunteered to help with such activities as raising money, collecting food and tutoring children during the span of a year ending in September 2009, a period marked by job losses and a lousy economy.
About 63.4 million people ages 16 and older volunteered at least once between September 2008 and September 2009, according to a report released Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
That’s about a 1.6 million increase compared with the 61.8 million people who helped their communities in 2008, but not as many as the 65.4 million who lent a hand in 2005.
A little more than one in four Americans volunteer, the report showed.
dailymail.com
DAVOS, Switzerland — The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will donate $10 billion over the next decade to research new vaccines and bring them to the world’s poorest countries, the Microsoft co-founder and his wife said Friday.
Calling upon governments and business to also contribute, they said the money will produce higher immunization rates and aims to make sure that 90 percent of children are immunized against dangerous diseases such as diarrhea and pneumonia in poorer nations.
“We must make this the decade of vaccines,” Bill Gates said in a statement. “Vaccines already save and improve millions of lives in developing countries. Innovation will make it possible to save more children than ever before.”
Gates said the commitment more than doubles the $4.5 billion the foundation has given to vaccine research over the years.
huffingtonpost.com
