TULSA CHILD KILLING: Killer mother was ‘trying to save’ her children from abusive father

Tulsa – VIJAY SHAH via STEPHEN SORACE, Associated Press and Fox News

An American woman who shot dead her own son and tried to kill her two daughters claimed that she did it to free them from their abusive father, according to a report published in Fox News today.

Amy Leann Hall, from Tulsa, the capital of Oklahoma state, gunned down her son Kayson Toliver, aged 18. He was hit with a bullet to the head while he was sleeping at his mother’s home early on the morning of Thursday, 1st November, according to police statements. Hall also shot at her daughters in the same fashion, but they survived their injuries, with one managing to escape. Police came to the property thirty-five miles outside Tulsa, and found Toliver deceased. The mother was arrested, and claimed she carried out the shootings to protect her children from their violent father, according to an affidavit issued by the Okmulgee County Sheriff’s Office.

 

One of the two daughters, aged 16, is still in hospital in a critical condition, Fox News stated. The other daughter, aged 14, managed to escape her mother and hid crying in a bathroom, she later told her mother she was ‘okay’ before somehow managing to get the murder weapon, a pistol, from Hall, the article stated. Hall fled the scene and sped down local roads at 100 mph before police pulled her over, according to FOX 23 Tulsa, a local media outlet. She was arrested on the scene, and police are currently piecing together a motive for the killings.

Police stated that they had received callouts in the past to the family home over ‘domestic incidents’. Hall and the children’s father had separated two years ago and were engaged in a fierce custody battle over the children. She had applied to obtain sole custody of her family, but the father had attempted to overturn that application, stating that Hall was ‘mentally unstable’ and was ‘psychologically abusive’ to her offspring.

The deceased son was remembered as an excellent student and top level American football player for his school team at Beggs High School in Tulsa. “He was a very likeable young man,” head football coach David Tenison told the World. “He had a good heart, good spirit. His smile was infectious. It just infected everyone around him. He made you want to smile.”

Hall is now charged with a single count of first-degree murder, and two counts of shooting with an intention to kill and is currently on bail. She told police that after killing her children, she had intended to take her own life. The case continues.

SOURCES:

Vijay Shah { विजय }, Twitter, Twitter Inc. https://twitter.com/VShah1984

Chris 🇺🇸, Twitter, Twitter Inc. https://twitter.com/Chris_1791

Fox News, Twitter, Twitter Inc. https://twitter.com/FoxNews

“Mom claims she fatally shot son, injured 2 daughters to ‘save’ them from abusive dad, authorities say” – Stephen Sorace & Associated Press, Fox News/FOX News Network, LLC. (3 November 2018) https://www.foxnews.com/us/mom-claims-she-fatally-shot-son-injured-2-daughters-to-save-them-from-abusive-dad-authorities-say?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

IMAGE CREDIT:

“File:Demo arrest, handcuffed.jpg” – Smallman12q and Oregon Department of Transportation, Wikimedia Commons (18 August 2009) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Demo_arrest,_handcuffed.jpg

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GHOUTA CHEMICAL STRIKE: Dozens of innocent Syrians feared dead

Douma – VIJAY SHAH via TOM ACRES and Sky News

In an escalation of the Syrian crisis where government troops allied with the country’s president, Bashar Al-Assad, are fighting rebels in the Ghouta area east of Damascus, a report has come in stating that around 70 people have been killed in a chemical bomb attack blamed on the Syrian army.

In what UK media firm Sky News has dubbed ‘one of (the) worst chemical strikes in Syrian history’, dozens of people, many believed to be women and children, were said to have died in Ghouta, a rebel-controlled district on the outskirts of capital Damascus, where a months-long siege between rebel and government forces has caused immense hardship for thousands of residents. Around five hundred people have been reported injured, according to Sky.

 

The United States has called on Russia, which is supporting President Al-Assad, to cease its support after the Ghouta chemical atrocity. The U.S. State Department said it was keeping tabs on the ‘grossly disturbing’ situation, which occurred in a city named Douma, around 10 km (6 miles) north-east of Damascus city centre. Babies and small children were among those caught up in the attack, according to video footage provided by Sky News. Children were seen in great distress, some clutching gas masks. A volunteer rescue service, called White Helmets in English, an opponent of the government, said it found dead children with frothing saliva around their mouths

The Syrian government has denied carrying out a chemical attack in Douma, but has been accused of using chemical weapons on civilian populations in previous skirmishes with the numerous rebel groups active in the Middle Eastern country. In April 2017, more than 80 people were killed in another suspected chemical attack in the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun, which was also said to have been carried out by the Syrian government army. According to US intelligence, Al-Assad’s army is said to have stockpiles of the highly lethal gas agent, sarin, and possibly mustard gas.

“The United States continues to use all efforts available to hold those who use chemical weapons, in Syria and otherwise, accountable,” the State Department said in a statement, which referenced the alleged sarin gas attack on Khan Sheikhoun last year.

“The Assad regime and its backers must be held accountable and any further attacks prevented immediately.

“Russia, with its unwavering support for the regime, ultimately bears responsibility for these brutal attacks, targeting of countless civilians, and the suffocation of Syria’s most vulnerable communities with chemical weapons.”

Britain called for an “urgent investigation” into the alleged use of illegal weapons and an immediate end to the bloodshed.

“These are very concerning reports of a chemical weapons attack with significant number of casualties, which if correct, are further proof of Assad’s brutality against innocent civilians and his backers’ callous disregard for international norms,” the country’s Foreign Office said in a statement.

“An urgent investigation is needed and the international community must respond. We call on the Assad regime and its backers, Russia and Iran, to stop the violence against innocent civilians.”

In addition to the denial of responsibility by the official Syrian government, state-owned media outlets there have claimed that reports of the chemical attacks were propaganda, fabricated by rebels who they claim are close to defeat. Most of the Ghouta area is now back under government control, with only Douma city itself still under the control of the rebel group called  Jaish al Islam.

SOURCES:

Shere Singh via Facebook.

“Dozens dead in ‘one of worst chemical strikes in Syrian history’ ” – Tom Acres, Sky News/Sky UK (8 April 2018) https://news.sky.com/story/at-least-70-dead-in-chemical-attack-by-syrian-regime-in-eastern-ghouta-says-rescue-group-11322143

IMAGE CREDIT:

“File:Syria – Damascus Areas of Influence and Areas Reportedly Affected by 21 August Chemical Attack.jpg” – whitehouse.gov and Elissa Rubria Honoria, Wikimedia Commons (3 September 2013) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Syria_-_Damascus_Areas_of_Influence_and_Areas_Reportedly_Affected_by_21_August_Chemical_Attack.jpg

INFANT ENCEPHALITIS: New outbreak reported in Indian city

Gorakhpur – VIJAY SHAH via PRABHASH DUTTA and India Today

The latest stage in a series of infant encephalitis outbreaks has claimed the lives of around sixty children in the Indian city of Gorakhpur, in Uttar Pradesh state, India Today news magazine reported this Saturday. The city, which lies 200 kilometres north-west of India’s capital New Delhi has been the scene of yearly outbreaks of both Japanese encephalitis and acute encephalitis syndrome since 1978, a period of nearly forty years.

Official figures claim that so far, around 25,000 children have succumbed to both conditions, which is spread by mosquitoes and causes inflammation of the brain and can leave survivors mentally and physically disabled, since the first outbreak in 1978. Unofficially the death toll since then has been claimed to be double that, at 50,000. The unofficial tally includes those children who never made it to hospital and were not officially recorded by doctors. Lack of medical facilities, poor nutrition and hygiene and close contact in crowded family environments in Gorakhpur and other parts of Uttar Pradesh has seen regular encephalitis outbreaks impossible to control.

 

Government records suggest that since September 2016, 224 children had died of encephalitis at just one hospital, BRD Medical College hospital, where already sixty children died just this year. This is the only hospital within a 300-kilometre radius that has the facilities to treat encephalitis victims, some of which come to the hospital from as far away as Nepal. Most of the victims were below the ages of eight and ten. Including all age ranges, Gorakhpur has lost 114 residents to the lethal diseases this year alone..

Government support of medical facilities and initiatives to combat the outbreak, of which Gorakhpur is the epicentre, have been minimal most of the time. In 2007, a government initiative was launched to save people live’s using drugs imported from China. While successful in many other parts of India, it failed to halt the march of encephalitis in the struggling eastern regions of Uttar Pradesh.

Recently, the Yoga Adityanath administration that governs the northern state launched a massive anti-encephalitis drive, vaccinating babies against catching the illness, but it will be years before results become conclusive, and the yearly sceptre of death is lifted from Gorakhpur’s innocent children.

SOURCES:

Vijay Shah { विजय }, Twitter, Twitter Inc. https://twitter.com/VShah1984

annapurnapande, Twitter, Twitter Inc. https://twitter.com/ManyaPande

Abhijit Majumder, Twitter, Twitter Inc. https://twitter.com/abhijitmajumder

“Gorakhpur has a history of children’s deaths, 25,000 kids have lost lives to encephalitis” – Prabhash K. Dutta, indiatoday.in/Living Media India Limited. (12 August 2017) http://m.indiatoday.in/lite/story/gorakhpur-encephalitis-deaths-brd-medical-college-hospital/1/1024551.html

IMAGE CREDIT:

“How is Japanese Encephalitis transmitted?” – Sanofi Pasteur, Flickr (22 February 2013) https://www.flickr.com/photos/sanofi-pasteur/8497288143

HIV ORPHANS: Beauty contest winner sparks controversy after meeting children wearing protective gloves

Johannesburg – VIJAY SHAH via CHRIS BAYNES and The Independent

A winner of the Miss South Africa beauty pageant has sparked controversy after visiting a home for children orphaned by HIV/AIDS while wearing protective gloves, the Independent newspaper of Britain reported today.

Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters visited a soup kitchen in the major city of Johannesburg to meet with the orphans. She was seen wearing gloves, which have led observers to accuse her of being racist. She was handing out hot meals to the orphans as part of the Winter Soup Drive charity event at the Ikageng community centre in Johannesburg, organised by the city’s Maslow Hotel. The Miss South Africa, aged 22 and of mixed heritage, however insisted the gloves were worn for hygienic reasons as she was working with food. On Twitter, Nel-Peters showed herself sitting down on steps with some of the Ikageng orphans, eating soup and bread rolls with them.

Winter is for yummy soup, fresh bread rolls and cozy blankies 💜 supporting @themaslowhotel 's #wintersoupdrive pic.twitter.com/n4lzOjpPTA

— Demi-LeighNel-Peters (@DemiLeighNP) July 5, 2017

 

The picture shows Nel-Peters wearing what appears to be white latex surgical gloves as she eats a roll. It sparked a backlash from other Twitter users who claimed Nel-Peters was being racist or that she was afraid of being ‘contaminated’ by the children, many of whom had lost parents to HIV/AIDS or suffered from the virus themselves. South Africa has one of the world’s highest numbers of infected people. The 2007 UNAIDS report estimated that 5,700,000 South Africans had HIV/AIDS, or just under 12% of South Africa’s population of 48 million.

One Twitter user wrote: “I want to know why she would put on latex gloves to touch black children.” Another said: “I really can’t believe ‘our’ Miss SA is wearing latex so that she can touch these kids!” A third suggested she wore gloves “to protect herself from black kids” because she feared they would “contaminate her”. The backlash soon grew into a Twitter hashtag competition, #MissSAChallenge, which went viral this past Thursday, where users began posting pictures of themselves wearing white latex gloves, making fun of the beauty queen’s decision.

Some posted photos of themselves wearing gloves to type at a desk, make a drink, and read a book.

The Ikageng centre has spoken out against the challenge. Its programme director, Carol Dyanti, said “All volunteers, including our staff members, wore gloves during the food preparation. It was mandatory.

“It was such successful day and I am sorry that the focus is now on the glovs (sic) rather than the positive impact it had.”

Nel-Peters also spoke out against the controversy, stating in the Independent story via an uploaded video on Twitter: “We were handing out food to young kids and that was the only intention with wearing the gloves.

“It was purely to be as hygienic as possible. I really feel like my intention were really misunderstood but I would like to apologise if I offended anyone.”

Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters, who was born in Sedgefield in the Western Cape province in 1995, is a model who was crowned Miss South Africa this year and will go on to represent the country at the Miss World and Miss Universe pageants this year. Latex gloves are often worn by people working in catering and hospitality, as well as in the medical field, for reasons of hygiene and safety.

SOURCES:

The Independent, Facebook, Facebook Inc. https://www.facebook.com/TheIndependentOnline/

“Miss South Africa sparks uproar by wearing gloves to meet orphans with HIV” – Chris Baynes, The Independent (8 July 2017) http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/miss-south-africa-wears-gloves-to-meet-hiv-orphans-uproar-demi-leigh-nel-peters-a7829581.html?cmpid=facebook-post

INDIA ENCEPHALITIS OUTBREAK: 11 children dead, 15 hospitalised

Gaya, INDIA

VIJAY SHAH via Ace Worldwide News and Times of India

 

Bihar, the state in India where majority of Bihari People live (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Eleven children have died from an outbreak of the brain disease acute encephalitis syndrome and 15 others have been admitted to hospital in India, the Times of India reports via the Ace Worldwide News Group network of blogs has reported today.

The outbreak occurred in the town of Gaya in Bihar state, which lies around 100 kilometres from the state capital Patna.

Acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) is a severe inflammation of the brain caused by a variety of pathogens including viruses, bacteria, fungi and brain-dwelling parasites. In adults, AES can cause fever, headaches, confusion, and occassionally, seizures. In children, the most reported symptoms are irritability, poor appetite and drowsiness.

It is not yet known which pathogen is responsible for today’s outbreak.

In June 2014, a similar AES incident in the city of Muzaffarpur, also in Bihar, claimed the lives of 30 people, including several children, which was blamed on poor environmental hygiene and lack of ‘proper food’, according to the Times of India.

SOURCES:

Vijay Shah { विजय }, Twitter, Twitter Inc. https://twitter.com/VShah1984

#AceBreakingNews, Twitter, Twitter Inc. https://twitter.com/AceBreakingNews

“#Breaking144 – 11 children die, 15 patients admitted to hospital over Acute Encephalitis Syndrome in Gaya, India – @timesofindia – @AceBreakingNews” – Ace Worldwide News Group (9 July 2016) https://acebreakingnews.wordpress.com/2016/07/09/breaking144-11-children-die-15-patients-admitted-to-hospital-over-acute-encephalitis-syndrome-in-gaya-india-timesofindia-acebreakingnews/

Times of India, Twitter, Twitter Inc. https://twitter.com/timesofindia/status/751670897514196992

“No let-up in acute encephalitis syndrome, four more kids die” – Priti Nath Jha, The Times of India – City/Times Group (8 June 2014) http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/No-let-up-in-acute-encephalitis-syndrome-four-more-kids-die/articleshow/36227642.cms

IMAGE CREDIT:

“File:India Bihar locator map.svg” – Planemad, Wikimedia Commons (29 December 2008) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:India_Bihar_locator_map.svg

RAGS TO RICHES: Beckton schoolchildren raise money for Tuberous Sclerosis Association

Children at a school in Beckton, in the London borough of Newham, have done themselves proud and made a noble contribution toward charitable causes after organising a clothes collection on behalf of the Tuberous Sclerosis Association, the Newham Mag has reported.

Pupils from the Ellen Wilkinson Primary School and Children’s Centre, off Tollgate Road in the south of the borough, got together with parents and teachers to collect old and unwanted clothes for the charity. Eleven children from the ‘We Day‘ citizenship group at the school took on the responsibility of going around classes and encouraging fellow students to rummage through their wardrobes and cellars for clothes they no longer wanted.

(c) G. Vojtko/U.S. Navy/Wikimedia Commons – file photo

Charity Clothes Aid, who were also involved in the garments drive, then pooled all the clothes gathered from Ellen Wilkinson pupils and parents together and were able to net an impressive £285, which will be donated to the Tuberous Sclerosis Association, which was launched in 1977 to support sufferers of this genetic condition and their families. The TSA was chosen by the students to be the beneficiary of their clothes collection donations.

Lara, one pupil at the school said to the Newham Mag: “I have now learned what helping charities means and I would like to help others in future”. Her classmate Alexandra added: “I would really love to do this again because helping others makes you feel better”

Tuberous sclerosis is a rare genetic condition that causes benign tumours to develop in the body, especially in the brain, heart, eyes, kidneys and lungs. Although not fatal in itself, tuberous sclerosis can cause complications such as epilepsy, learning disabilities, kidney disease and heart problems, and there is currently no cure.

If you are residing in London, UK. and wish to set up your own clothes collections for charity, please call the Clothes Aid helpline on 020 7288 8545 or visit www.clothesaid.co.uk

SOURCES:

“Rags to riches” – The Newham Mag <Issue 313>, Newham Council (10 April 2015)

“About The Tuberous Sclerosis Association” – Tuberous Sclerosis Association http://www.tuberous-sclerosis.org/about-us.html

“Tuberous sclerosis” – NHS Choices/National Health Service http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Tuberous-sclerosis/Pages/Introduction.aspx

IMAGE CREDITS:

cc Search, Creative Commons http://search.creativecommons.org/

“File:US Navy 111123-N-HW977-185 Sailors weigh Thanksgiving food drive donations before delivery to the Corona-Norco Settlement House.jpg” – Greg Vojtko & United States Navy, Wikimedia Commons (23 November 2011) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_Navy_111123-N-HW977-185_Sailors_weigh_Thanksgiving_food_drive_donations_before_delivery_to_the_Corona-Norco_Settlement_House.jpg

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OLYMPIC LEGACY: London 2012 ‘oak tree’ transformed into a primary school’s learning tool

In warmer climes, the tree makes a good spot for idle chit-chat and outdoor picnics, not forgetting to mention its natural beauty and life-giving properties, but a Surrey primary school has given a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘tree of learning’, while honouring the nation’s Olympic legacy at the same time.

Three years after London played host to the Olympic and Paralympic Games, with its spectacular opening and closing ceremonies masterfully organised by 28 Days Later and Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle, Epsom Primary & Nursery School has transformed one of the artificial oak trees used at London 2012 into a learning suite for its 547 pupils.

As part of the redevelopment at the school, which caters for children aged 3-16, the oak was taken out of storage and donated by the company that made it specially for the elaborate opening ceremony three years ago in Stratford, east London. The school then undertook an educational project over fifteen months to incorporate the tree into a new ‘learning suite’ with modern interactive technology for pupils to enhance their learning. The new facility, dubbed the “Enchanted Learning & Technology Suite” drew inspiration from the Enid Blyton children’s classic stories compilation Magic Faraway Tree, a favourite of the school’s deputy head teacher, as well as Epsom School’s emblem, a green stylised tree.

On the new suite’s opening at the school in Pound Lane, Epsom on the 18th March, which was covered by the local newspaper, the Epsom Guardian , children sat on specially-designed tree stumps to read books under the Olympic learning tree. In its earlier role at the critically acclaimed Olympic Games ceremony, the tree was seen rising out of a mound of grassy earth representing Glastonbury Tor, as more than a billion people watched Danny Boyle’s ceremony to kick off the London games.Workers streamed out from beneath the roots as the tree was lifted into the air and ‘an industrial revolution transformed the rural scenery’. The oak traditionally has a long association with British culture and was revered as a sacred tree by the Celts.

The tree once again takes centre stage after it was converted into a nature-themed staircase by local architects. Pupils can ‘climb’ up the learning tree to reach a mezzanine floor where the suite is located. Once there, they can access technology such as e-readers and tablets to reinforce classroom learning or do homework. Other uses planned for the suite and its accompanying tree include as a base for after-school clubs, breakfast clubs and as a facility for drama classes and computer activities.

London 2012 banner at The Monument. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Michelle Pollard, the deputy head at Epsom Primary School said: 

“Securing the Olympic tree was the icing on the cake for our new library project. We wanted the new room to ignite a love of reading in the school – we couldn’t have asked for a more magical design. The tree was given to the school by Souvenir Scenic Solutions, the specialist company who built it for the Olympics, we are so grateful for their support and generosity.“

Simon Kenny, a specialist working with the scenery builders told how his team assembled the tree to accommodate the space within the new library as well as creating the stumps.

He said: “We were happy to donate the labour and time to the school because we want to support education in these hard times. We are very happy for the tree to have another life.

“It was great to see everybody’s faces and how excited they were. The room they created is like a magic world.“

The library has been created to ensure current and future generations of students at Epsom Primary School develop a love of reading and research. Additional funding for the construction of the learning and technology suite came from the School Commissioning and Early Years Education Departments at Surrey Borough Council, the local authority administering the school.

SOURCES:

“Olympic ‘Oak Tree’ becomes ‘Tree of Learning’ at Epsom Primary School” – Journalism.co.uk – Press Release/Mousetrap Media Ltd (31 March 2015) https://www.journalism.co.uk/press-releases/olympic-oak-tree-becomes-tree-of-learning-at-epsom-primary-school/s66/a564650/

“Recent News” – Epsom Primary School http://www.epsomprimaryschool.co.uk/news-recent

“Olympics opening ceremony tree placed at heart of library at Epsom Primary and Nursery School” – Alice Foster,  Your Local Guardian.co.uk – Epsom (24 March 2015) http://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/local/epsomnews/11875295.Olympics_opening_ceremony_tree_placed_at_heart_of_school_library/

VIDEO CREDITS:

“Recent News” – Epsom Primary School http://www.epsomprimaryschool.co.uk/news-recent

“Enchanted Learning & Technology Suite” – EPS Calendar, Epsom Primary School, YouTube GB (20 March 2015) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_x6LTivjBkg&feature=youtu.be

IMAGE CREDIT:

“File:15-11-05 101 Monument.jpg” – Michael Pead, Wikimedia Commons & michaelpead.co.uk (5 January 2006) http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:15-11-05_101_Monument.jpg

 

 

LUNCHTIME PUNISHMENT: Oregon schoolchild forced to eat behind screen for lateness

The parents of a six-year old American schoolchild are up in arms against the child’s school after teachers punished the boy for being late to lessons, by making him eat his lunch behind a cardboard screen while forced to sit on a separate table from other children.

Hunter Cmelo’s parents, from Grant’s Pass in Oregon, were running late when they managed to take the first-grader to Lincoln Elementary School, the local primary school in the town. Teachers there punished Hunter by seating him on an unoccupied bench with a folded piece of cardboard shielding him from the eyes of his schoolmates. A set of polystyrene cups with the letter ‘D’ – standing for detention – scrawled on one of them was also placed near Hunter as he sat down to eat.

(c) Facebook via Metro

Pictures of the incident were put up on Facebook by Hunter’s grandmother Laura Hoover, who commented in the British newspaper site of Metro “This is my grandson, Hunter. He’s a little first grader“.

“His momma’s car sometimes doesn’t like to start right up. Sometimes he’s a couple of minutes late to school.

‘Yesterday, he was 1 minute late and this is what his momma discovered they do to punish him! They have done this to him 6 times for something that is out of his control! They make a mockery of him in front of the other students.”

The harsh punishment of being segregated from friends at lunchtime has caused considerable distress to Hunter, who was on one occasion taken home in tears by his mother, Nicole Garloff. Hunter’s father, Mark Cmelo, said to local television station KOIN6: “They are shaming him for something that’s not in his control.” Hunter’s parents are reported to be devastated at the treatment of their son by the school.

His mother said the punishment has left her son anxious about attending school, and that a few days ago, he began ‘flipping out’ because they were running late for the school journey. She said that she has experienced car troubles and suffers from the brittle bone condition osteoporosis, which can set her back in the mornings. “It causes a lot of pain and in the mornings it’s especially hard for me to get going,” she said, according to the Daily Mail newspaper.

Lincoln Elementary School have agreed to stop using the cardboard partition in light of the Cmelos’ complaint, but have not said if they will end the policy of separating late students at lunchtime and forcing them to eat alone. According to the Daily Mail, the school received hundreds of complaints and threats after the incident went viral on social media.

A spokesman for the school district said: “The parents’ concerns were politely discussed and, ultimately, the issues were resolved to the satisfaction of both parents and the school. All parties involved believe that an appropriate resolution has been reached.“

Meanwhile, the school’s superintendent John Higgins, who received a barrage of threatening phone calls, told Newswatch 12 that the “protocol was communicated to parents via newsletter and is intended to provide the students with an above average level of tardiness, supervised additional learning time in a non-distracting setting,

‘It was never intended to isolate or stigmatize students.“

Principal Missy Fitzsimmons reached out to Hunter’s parents and arranged a meeting this past Thursday to hear the parents’ concerns, including ceasing use of the cardboard partition. Fitzsimmons said: “We are pleased to report the meeting was productive,“

‘The parents’ concerns were politely discussed and, ultimately, the issues were resolved to the satisfaction of both parents and the school. All parties involved believe that an appropriate resolution has been reached.”

The school has a roll call of 444 pupils and forms part of the Grant’s Pass School District 7 administration in the Oregon town.

SOURCES:

Facebook, Facebook Inc. https://www.facebook.com/

“Boy, 6, forced to eat behind a screen because his parents dropped him off late” – Richard Hartley-Parkinson, Metro/Associated Newspapers Limited (1 March 2015) http://metro.co.uk/2015/03/01/boy-6-forced-to-eat-behind-a-screen-because-his-parents-dropped-him-off-late-5084049/?ito=facebook

“Outrage as six-year-old boy is forced to eat lunch alone behind a screen after his parents dropped him off late to school” –  Lydia Warren, Mail Online – News/Associated Newspapers Ltd (27 February 2015) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2972459/Outrage-six-year-old-boy-forced-eat-lunch-screen-parents-dropped-late-school.html

“About Lincoln Elementary – Mission Statement” – Lincoln Elementary School, Grant’s Pass School District No. 7 http://www.grantspass.k12.or.us/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?sectiondetailid=22344&

IMAGE CREDIT:

“Boy, 6, forced to eat behind a screen because his parents dropped him off late” – Richard Hartley-Parkinson, Metro/Associated Newspapers Limited (1 March 2015) http://metro.co.uk/2015/03/01/boy-6-forced-to-eat-behind-a-screen-because-his-parents-dropped-him-off-late-5084049/?ito=facebook

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KIDS WITH MOBILES: 90% of six-year-olds to have mobile phones by 2020

British tabloid Metro reports that five years from now an astonishing ninety per cent of six year olds will have their own mobile phones, according to a prediction in a study commissioned by a leading telecommunications company. The statistic is said to come from a paper on global communications by Swedish handset manufacturer Ericsson, which also predicts that the pinnacle of the ‘communications boom’ that has characterised the industry for the past fifteen years is in fact yet to happen. Other media have reported however, that the figure of ninety per cent refers to the world’s population from the age of six onwards.

As more parents adopt advanced mobile technology, many of them are also introducing young children to smartphones in particular, as they are useful as playing devices for games and educational apps, as well as keeping youngsters from hassling busy and stressed parents. As more and more children experience mobile technology from toddler-age onwards, the reluctance of parents to gift phones to younger children will decrease. Even as more and more junior schoolers do own their own gadgets, a lot of parents are also increasingly concerned by the trend for younger and younger children to possess mobiles, as studies have found that increasing exposure to social networking sites and the internet are causing children to mature faster, as well as causing tough issues regarding child protection. The majority of parents in a recent poll by BullGuard admitted they worry their children are growing up too quickly, and 77 per cent blamed the web. They attributed this accelerated maturity, in particular, to peer pressure from friends and schoolmates, the vast amount of information they see online, and social networks – according to a news report by independent site NyoozTrend.

Embed from Getty Images

Rima Qureshi, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at Ericsson said: “The falling cost of handsets, coupled with improved usability and increasing network coverage, are factors that are making mobile technology a global phenomenon that will soon be available to the vast majority of the world’s population, regardless of age or location.

“The Ericsson Mobility Report shows that in 2020 the world will be connected like never before.“

The Mobility Report, which tracks trends around mobiles, data and networks worldwide, suggests that the number of smartphones in use globally will explode by 2020. Currently there are 2.7 billion in circulation today, mainly in developed countries such as the US and Japan, but the growth of both wealth and mobile phone markets in developing countries will cause the smartphone population to swell to 6.1 billion. In 2014 alone, there have been 800 million new smartphone subscriptions worldwide, with India and China seeing the greatest expansion in new customers.

The company also expects people’s phone habits to change, with customers more like to use their handsets to send videos instead of texts, as video recording capacity inevitably improves. Fifty-five per cent of mobile data sent across mobile networks is expected to be video footage. Web browsing using inbuilt browsers on mobile phones will fare less well. Ericsson predicts mobile surfing to decline in importance as users make the jump to smart televisions and tablets.

“The relative share of traffic generated by web browsing will have declined by 2020 as a result of stronger growth in categories such as video and social networking. Consumer preferences are shifting towards more video and app-based mobile use relative to web browsing,” the company said.

“Many smartphones now have larger screens, enabling higher picture quality for streamed video. Video content is increasingly appearing as part of other online applications; for example, news, advertisements, and social media.”

In the United Kingdom, it is estimated that three-quarters of children aged ten own a mobile phone, according to the Daily Mail, that is twice as many as children in other countries. A third of under-tens keep a mobile, usually paid for by parents or carers. The BBC gives figures that ninety per cent of UK 11-16 year olds own a mobile, with ten per cent of teenagers spending more than forty-five minutes a day making voice calls. A study by comparison website USwitch.com, also in the UK, claims that nearly one in ten children receive their first phone by the age of five – with the average parent spending £125 on their child’s handset plus £11 per month on credit.

SOURCES:

Facebook, Facebook Inc. https://www.facebook.com/

Metro, Facebook, Facebook Inc. https://www.facebook.com/MetroUK?fref=ts

“Almost all six-year-olds will have mobiles within five years” – Rob Waugh, Metro/Associated Newspapers Limited (21 November 2014) http://metro.co.uk/2014/11/21/almost-all-six-year-olds-will-have-mobiles-within-five-years-4957456/?ito=facebook

“By 2020 90% of Children Over Six Years Old Will Have Mobile Phones” – Maria Khan, International Business Times – UK Edition/IBTimes Co., Ltd. (19 November 2014) http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/by-2020-90-children-over-six-years-old-will-have-mobile-phones-1475693

“Soon, almost everyone over the age of 6 will have a mobile phone: report” – Geoff Weiss, Entrepreneur.com via Fortune (18 November 2014) http://fortune.com/2014/11/18/soon-almost-everyone-over-the-age-of-6-will-have-a-mobile-phone-report/

“90% of world’s population over age of 6 “set to have a mobile phone” ” – 7dayshop.com http://www.7dayshop.com/blog/90-worlds-population-age-6-set-mobile-phone/

“90% of children over SIX years old will have mobiles by 2020” – NyoozTrend (19 November 2014) http://www.nyooztrend.com/regional/259070-90-of-children-over-six-years-old-will-have-mobiles-by-2020.html

“How many of us have mobiles?” – CBBC Newsround, BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/find_out/guides/tech/mobiles/newsid_1608000/1608701.stm

“Nearly 10% Of Kids Under 5 Have A Mobile Phone” – Press Association & Huffington Post UK, HuffPost Tech United Kingdom/AOL (UK) Limited (23 August 2013) http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/08/23/children-mobile-phones_n_3802401.html

IMAGE CREDIT:

Getty Images via Zemanta.

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PHOTO MOMENT: Khalsa Aid – a selfie against war

with Vipul Bhundia (contributor)

(c) Khalsa Aid

“ALL SIDES IN ALL WARS NEED TO STOP KILLING/ TARGETING CHILDREN.

God bless the children in war zones …”

Today’s photo was shared on Facebook by my cousin. A devout Sikh man silently protests against the killing of children in wars across the globe. His placard, written in thick black marker pen on a piece of paper, reads: “Please STOP killing children in wars created by grown men!! – @Khalsa_Aid “

Khalsa Aid is an international non-profit organisation and humanitarian charity founded in 1999 according to the Sikh principle of ‘seva‘ or selfless service onto others. Drawing inspiration from one of the original ten holy gurus of Sikhism, Guru Gobind Singh Ji, Khalsa Aid follows his teaching that Sikhs should “recognise the entire human race as one”. The charity first saw action during the Kosovo war of 1999, when a call was answered to send volunteers to the stricken ethnic Albanian population there who were being persecuted by the Yugoslav army under then president Slobodan Milosevic. Two trucks and a van with aid donated by the Sikh community in the UK were driven all the way to Kosovo.

Since then, Khalsa Aid have helped the victims of wars and disasters in places as diverse as Syria, Haiti, Libya, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In addition to war and disaster, the charity’s volunteers, who often offer their assistance with immediate short notice, also take part in anti-drug programmes, art therapy and helping on water purifications projects.

Currently the conflicts in Syria and in Palestine has seen children suffer inexorably. In Syria, where numerous rebel factions are fighting a protracted war against the government, it has been estimated by the Oxford Research Group think tank that 11,000 young Syrians have perished in the three years since hostilities began. The situation has seen thousands of families flee into neighbouring countries where children are crammed into makeshift refugee camps with little food or educational facilities. Many have been traumatised by the horrors they witnessed, seeing family members slaughtered in front of them or the relentless sounds of bombing and gunfire. The deliberate targeting and summary of Syrian children, especially young boys, has become so perverse in its frequency, that one BBC journalist described the targeted torturing and killing as “a war on childhood”.

Meanwhile the recent flare-up of tension between Israel and Palestine has already seen whole families wiped out by missiles, while the latest phase of the decades-long tension began when three Israeli seminary students were abducted by an unknown militant group and murdered. In a retaliatory attack, a Palestinian teenager was abducted and then set on fire alive. As Israel mounts operations against Hamas rocket launching sites with the Gaza Strip, their disproportionate approach has seen children in Gaza bear the brunt. A recent incident that saw widespread condemnation was the shelling of four boys from the same family who were playing a cops-and-robbers style game on a beach.While enjoying a moment of peace from the sounds of falling bombs, a warship positioned in the Mediterranean sea caught sight of them and began firing.  All four died, while in the aftermath the Israel military claimed that it thought the boys were militants launching an attack on them.

There are hundred of armed conflicts still going on, where children pay the ultimate price. Raped, murdered, abused, and even enlisted as soldiers themselves, war becomes a very horrible and soul-destroying place. For tens of thousands of children across the world, childhood isn’t fun and games. What should have beeen an idyllic time of happiness and smiles instead becomes one of tears and pain. No war ever begun because of a child, but it is they who suffer the most.

KHALSA AID

http://www.khalsaaid.org/

Office 7-8, 111 Whitby Road, Slough, Berkshire, SL1 3DR, United Kingdom.

Phone: +44 (0)1753 567457

E-mail: info@khalsaaid.org

IMAGE CREDIT:

Khalsa Aid, Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Khalsa-Aid/163220440824

SOURCES:

Facebook, Facebook Inc. https://www.facebook.com/

“About” – Khalsa Aid, Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Khalsa-Aid/163220440824?sk=info

“Khalsa Aid – How it started” – Khalsa Aid http://www.khalsaaid.org/whoarewe.html

“Syria conflict: Children ‘targeted by snipers'” – BBC News Middle East, BBC (24 November 2013) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-25055956

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