Concern over Cairo’s 50,000 Post-protest Street Children

Save the Children this week voiced their concerns over the future of Cairo’s significant street child population, after a momentous month for Egypt.

SOS Earthquake Survivor Celebrates her Birthday

SOS child Marevie today celebrated her 2nd birthday at the SOS Children’s Village in Santo , a year since she was found suffering from severe malnutrition in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake. Marevie’s birthday is a reminder of the ongoing efforts of organizations such as SOS as displaced children in Haiti look to continue their rehabilitation from the effects of last year’s disaster.

Nepal: SOS Child Reflects on Upbringing

Laxmi Rajak of Sanothimi, Nepal is 18 years old. In a recent interview with SOS Children’s Villages she frankly discusses the hardship she experienced as a young child, and describes the sponsorship process that allowed her access to a full education through SOS: “The hardships…

Slum fire Devastates Manila

10,000 people have been left homeless by a fire that has devastated the Bahay Toro slum in Manila. Officials are unsure of the cause of the fire, which ripped through the slum causing the death of a five-year-old boy and numerous injuries.

Epic journey to mark SOS Africa’s birthday

As the 40th anniversary of SOS Children’s work in Africa nears, volunteers from Make a Difference (MAD) will travel from the UK to South Africa in three Morris Minor cars.

Boys of 13 involved in Chad conflict

Chad’s armed forces are continuing to recruit boys as young as 13 despite a government pledge to discontinue the practice, Amnesty International said on Thursday. The organisation claimed that Chadian and Sudanese rebel groups were also recruiting child soldiers.

Ecological warning over Mediterranean gas drilling

WWF has voiced concerns over anticipated gas drilling in the Mediterranean Sea. The organization says that the recent discovery of significant gas fields off the coasts of Israel and Egypt has triggered a ‘scramble to start drilling’, with scant regard given to the potential effect on the respective ecosystems and biodiversity.

British Retailers in Illegal Timber trade

A new WWF study has revealed that wood products derived from illegal logging in foreign countries are being sold in Britain. The report notes that the failure by UK companies to check source of imported wood is contributing to devastating global deforestation.

WWF and Corporations Promote Tiger-Safe Practice

WWF marked the end of the Year of the Tiger last week by calling on corporations around the world to “reduce their impact on tiger habitats through responsible procurement of wood, paper, palm oil, coffee, and other commodities.” The organization’s sentiments are already publically backed by over 285 leading companies worldwide.

New study suggests HIV/AIDS decline in Zimbabwe

A new study in the journal PLoS Medicine has shown a dramatic decrease in HIV/ AIDS rates in Zimbabwe. The study claimed the country’s HIV infection rate dropped by almost 50% between 1997 and 2007, and is being viewed as offering important lessons on how to fight the HIV / AIDS epidemic in the rest of Africa.

Sri Lankan Floods claim further lives

Floods in Sri Lanka’s Northern and Eastern provinces have displaced up to 1.2 million people, and caused widespread devastation. At least 57 people have been killed and over 230,000 displaced, in what is the highest ever recorded rainfall in the country.

Former SOS child is first Jolie Legal Fellow

On the one-year anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, Angelina Jolie this week announced that Nathalie Nozile from Santo, Haiti, has been selected as the first Jolie Legal Fellow, under a pilot program created to support the Government of Haiti’s efforts in maintaining and strengthening the post-earthquake Haitian judicial system.

Egypt’s Children caught up in Violence

A UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador has expressed concern for the welfare of Egypt’s most vulnerable children, as violent demonstrations in Cairo continue unabated. SOS Children’s Villages has also reported that two of their three Children’s Villages in the country have come under attack.

UN: Pakistan flood crisis as bad as African famines

Conditions in parts of Pakistan are being described as a “humanitarian crisis of epic proportions”, as malnutrition rates rival those of African countries affected by famine.

States pen Climate Change Agreement

The states of Washington and British Columbia have signed two papers on climate change, aimed at increasing public awareness of rising sea levels and limiting carbon emissions from government facilities.

WWF: World Energy can be 95% renewable by 2050

A new WWF report today outlined an achievable strategy for ensuring the world’s energy can be provided in a renewable and economic way by 2050.

21 South African Rhinos Killed in January

It was reported this week that South Africa has lost 21 rhinos in the month of January alone. The new data comes after 333 rhinos were killed in 2010, the highest number ever recorded and almost triple 2009’s losses.

Polar Bear Study Reveals Incredible Swim

A new study has produced astonishing evidence of a polar bear swimming continuously for over nine days, covering 687km (426 miles) in an effort to reach new pack ice. Scientists studying bears around the Beaufort Sea in north Alaska tracked the bear with a radio collar in the summer of 2008, and published their findings recently in the scientific journal Polar Biology.

Kenyan ‘elephant underpass’ opens

A newly opened ‘elephant underpass’ in Kenya aims to connect the Ngare Ndare Forest with the Mount Kenya Forest, in the hope of re-establishing the only remaining connection between Kenya’s second-largest elephant population of 7,500 animals in Samburu with the estimated 2,000 in Mount Kenya.

Old-growth forest key for panda survival

A recent study published in the journal Biology Letters has indicated that old-growth forests may be as important to pandas as the prevalence of bamboo when it comes to choosing a habitat. The paper is being seen as potentially groundbreaking in terms of the directives conservationists could take from it to help safeguard the future of the critically endangered animal.

Initiative to prevent transmission of HIV in Africa

Yesterday, the technology corporation HP introduced a new collaboration with South African based NGO mothers2mothers. The initiative, announced at the Digital Life Design conference in Munich, aims to harness the power of technology to help prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS from pregnant mothers in Africa to their children.

SOS Brazil launches emergency relief programme

Government authorities in Brazil have declared SOS Children the designated temporary caretakers of children without parental care, as weather forecasts predict more rain will continue to overwhelm the hillside areas of Rio de Janeiro over the coming days and weeks

Children in Gaza ‘at risk’ near border

The fallout from the Israeli invasion of the Gaza strip in 2009 continues to place children in the area at severe risk, a new Save the Children report has warned.

The organization cites a recent study by a UNICEF-led group on children caught up in conflict, which states that 26 children were shot by Israeli soldiers near the border in 2010. It is thought that children are being forced to scavenge dangerously near the border due to the ongoing effects of the most recent blockade imposed by the Israeli army on trade in and out of the strip.

THE WORLD’S FIRST FSC WOODWIND INSTRUMENT

Lynsey Marsh, Halle clarinettist to perform in Manchester

700% EXPANSION OF FSC CERTIFIED FORESTS IN TANZANIA

Two new Village Land Forest Reserves successfully FSC audited