Austria raises alarm over pandemic’s impact on children

Germany's child protection agency has criticized a shortage of hospital beds for youngsters hit by a severe respiratory virus. Lockdowns kept the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) at bay but it's now circulating widely.

As Syrian camps housing families of Islamic State fighters get more dangerous, there are calls to bring children out, even if the mothers don't want to go. The idea of separating families is a controversial one.

Famous German virologist Christian Dorsten believes the coronavirus pandemic has ended and COVID-19 is now an endemic disease. And Justice Minister Marco Buschmann called for the last restrictive measures to be lifted.

In Cameroon, tennis is seen as a sport for the wealthy. But former Cameroonian tennis titleholder Joseph Oyabog is challenging that, with his tennis academy for disadvantaged youths.

The beaches of Portugal, known worldwide in the surfing scene, are becoming increasingly popular surfing spots among people with a disability.

Sixty-six women and children kidnapped by armed assailants in northern Burkina Faso last week have been freed, national broadcaster Radiodiffusion Television du Burkina (RTB) said on Friday

Under former US President Donald Trump thousands of migrant families were split up at the US-Mexico border. A special task force has been working to reunite children with their parents, but it's got a long way to go.

After Ornella lost several family members over the space of three years, relatives and neighbours in her east Congo village of Kabare began suspecting the 14-year-old of witchcraft. It is not uncommon in some African countries for frail children like Ornella, who suffers from a genetic form of anaemia, to be considered a bad omen and blamed for the mishaps that hit isolated and impoverished communities.

Discarded laptops and smartphones contain valuable metals. However, extraction, usually performed by children, is a crude and hazardous process that goes unregulated.

In the aftermath of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, the level of trauma suffered by survivors is enormous. Among the homeless are thousands of children. They are particularly vulnerable and urgently need help.

At the UN Human Rights Council, Ukraine condemned what officials called Russia's systematic deportation of Ukrainian children. Germany's foreign minister said allies would "not rest until all these kids are home."

FBI Director Christopher Wray has accused China of obstructing US efforts to find the cause of the coronavirus pandemic. He said his agency believes COVID-19 spread due to a lab accident in the city of Wuhan.