children

Vaccinating children crucial - top Fiji health official

It comes amid concerns raised by the Health Ministry and the public at the rate of children dying from the virus in Fiji.

So far about 10 young people have succumbed to the Delta variant, with the latest victims a six-month-old boy and an 11-year-old girl among the dead reported last weekend.

Fiji's chief medical advisor Dr Jemesa Tudravu said vaccinating children would also be a crucial factor in deciding when schools reopen

Schools have been closed since April this year.

China's Tencent introduces facial scanning to crack down on children gaming all night

In 2019, China passed official guidelines with a view to stopping minors playing too much games while also requiring gamers to register accounts with their official IDs.

Sixth Tone, a state-owned media outlet aimed at those outside the country, reported the moves come after teenagers stole money to top up their accounts and concerns were raised over the physical and mental wellbeing of young gamers.

A coronavirus-linked threat to children in India

Their mothers had contracted Covid-19 more than a month ago. The children had developed no symptoms of the disease. At the 1,000-bed Kasturba Hospital in Sevagram, the young patients, however, were found to have antibodies to Covid-19, indicating past infection.

Now they were battling a rare, inflammatory and potentially life threatening condition called multi-system inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C). This condition usually develops four to six weeks after children and teenagers have recovered from Covid-19.

Coronavirus: Spanish PM promises to ease confinement of children

Now Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez aims to relax the rule on 27 April so they can "get some fresh air".

Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau, who has young children herself, this week pleaded with the government to allow children outside.

Spain has seen more than 20,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic and almost 200,000 reported cases.

In a televised briefing on Saturday evening, Mr Sánchez said Spain had left behind "the most extreme moments and contained the brutal onslaught of the pandemic".

'Global epidemic' of childhood inactivity

The World Health Organization says children's health is being damaged as well as their brain development and social skills.

It says failing to take the recommended hour a day of exercise is a universal problem in rich and poor countries.

Boys were more active than girls in all but four of the 146 countries studied.

What exercise counts?

Pretty much anything that makes the heart beat more quickly and the lungs breathe harder.

It could include:

Child among dead in Japan stabbing

At least 16 people have been injured in the mass attack and at least two people are reportedly dead. Police have confirmed one girl has died.

The suspect reportedly stabbed himself in the neck and was later detained. He has now died from his injuries.

The motive for the attack is unknown.

Police responding to the violent incident recovered two knives, said NHK.

Digicel lends timely help to 50 HART children with back to school items

Digicel staff got together and contributed general school stationary items while Star Printery gave all the exercise books to the children.

Digicel Fiji CEO, Mike Greig made the presentation and met the children and encouraged them to do their best in school this year.

“This is an excellent gesture at the start of the year, I want to thank Digicel Fiji staff who took pride and made an effort to buy stationary and help some needy children in our community,” said Greig.

Boy's heart stopped after bite of hot dog

But choking wasn't the cause, according to a case studypublished Wednesday in the journal Pediatrics.

The terrifying incident had a much more unlikely cause, according to Dr. Isa Ozyilmaz of Mehmet Akif Ersoy Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Training and Research Hospital in Istanbul.

Study: Caesarean births linked to developmental delays in primary school children

Using NAPLAN test results of 5,000 year 3 students, researchers from the University of Melbourne found the delays were equivalent to a child missing about 35 days of a school year.

Melbourne University's Cain Polidano described the findings are relatively small but significant.

"There is already a bit of evidence that shows that caesarean birth is related to a number of negative childhood health outcomes, including risks of ADHD, autism and also asthma", Dr Polidano said.

Chain-smoking children: Indonesia's ongoing tobacco epidemic

But this boy has a tumultuous past and a reputation that precedes him, having undergone a recovery most children will never face.

Six years ago, Aldi Suganda, also known as Aldi Rizal, was a 2-year-old chain smoker addicted to cigarettes, smoking packs each day. "It was hard for me to stop," he said. "If I am not smoking, my mouth taste is sour and my head feel dizzy.

"I am happy now. I feel more enthusiastic, and my body is feeling fresh," he said.