PTC World News Roundup #1: Wild boars, computer dreams, and dancing teens.

This week we are launching 'PTC World News Roundup', your definitive guide to what's been happening to children and young people from around the world.

Each week we will release a selection of links, with a brief synopsis, to articles which we think you should read! From Al Jazeera and The Guardian, to prominent nonprofit blogs, to Reddit threads, our weekly roundup will keep you up-to-speed with international and national stories about young people, focusing on young people in conflict zones and refugees, as well as wider youth culture and integration.

"Khan al-Ahmar: Palestinian community faces threat of demolition"

Children living in the Palestinian Jahalin Bedouin community in the Khan al-Ahmar area are facing the prospect of their beloved Itarat School "Tyre School" being demolished by the Israeli authorities, who have ruled that the building does not conform to proper building regulations. The Tyre School was built with in 2009 with the help of Italian NGO, Terra di Vento, and is made entirely out of mud and tyres. Khan al-Ahmer is part of Area C in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and for this reason, it is impossible for the Palestinian people to obtain building permits. Read full article here.

Image via Save the Children

*UPDATE*: Save the Children released a statement this week saying that the planned demolition has been temporarily paused! They continue to put pressure on the Israeli government to not destroy the school. Read statement here.

"Iran, Instagram and the case of dancing teen, Maedeh Hojabri"

18-year-old Iranian teenager, Maedeh Hojabri, was recently arrested for uploading videos to her social media account of her dancing without her headscarf, sparking national debate about the minutiae of Islamic rules with regards to online activity, the legitimacy of State jurisdiction over the Internet, and wider questions about the mandatory wearing of the headscarf in Iran. Read the full article here.

"Talented and resilient: the Wild Boars footballers trapped in Thai cave"

Learn more about the young 'Wild Boars' football team: Note, Bew, Nick, Tee, Mick, Adul, Night, Pong, Dom, Titan, Tle, Mark, and their coach, Ekaphol, who have been trapped in a cave in Thailand for the past 18 days. Thankfully, the rescue mission is now complete! Read the full article here.

Image via The Guardian

"The peace games: Dreaming big for South Sudan's youth"

Sudanese refugee, Lual Mayen, grew up in a refugee camp in Uganda. Having discovered a passion for computers at a young age, Lual's mother saved up for three years to buy him a computer so that Lual could teach himself computer programming. Years later, when violence erupted once again in South Sudan, Lual asked himself, how can he help change the 'war' mentality that has persisted for so long? The answer: video games. Read the full article here.

"Security Council Seeks to Strengthen Protections for Children in Armed Conflict, Unanimously Adopting Resolution 2427"

Children are disproportionately affected by war, and are at greater risk of being maimed, abducted, recruited into armed militia groups, or killed, than any other category. In response to overwhelming evidence, the UN Security Council has issued a further mandate which gives additional protection to children, and states, crucially, that children associated with non-State armed groups who have possibly committed acts of violence should primarily be treated as victims. Read the full article here.

"Ramadan: Woman describes how daughter takes care of Muslim friend"

A German mother’s tweet goes viral, after she writes about how her daughter invited three of her school friends to their house for a sleepover, and one of them was following Ramadan. So, in order to respect their friend’s fasting schedule, the girls changed their dinner plans ("Pizza and sweets after sunset"). The mother concluded that, "Four 13-year-olds can be more considerate to each other than many adults." Her post was liked nearly 9,000 times. Read the full article here.

"'Mum, please pay or they'll kill me': Congo's child kidnapping crisis"

*DISTRESSING CONTENT* The Democratic Republic of Congo is currently experiencing a child kidnapping epidemic, with children being abducted, tortured and held for ransom, and often killed. High unemployment rates and poverty have led to desperate attempts to squeeze money from distraught families. One mother describes the hell of receiving a phone call from her son's kidnapper, who demanded $6,000 and tortured her son over the phone. Her 8-year-old son was eventually released with stab wounds, mutilated ears and five teeth pulled out. In 2007, 215 children were abducted in the North Kivu province and 34 killed. Read the full article here.

Image via The Guardian

** We hope you enjoyed our new 'PTC World News Roundup' series. If you enjoyed it then don't forget to 'like' this post and share on social media. Join us again, next week, for more news-bites from around the world! **