Twelve children were shot by the paramilitary between 2009 and last year in Northern Ireland and the Human Rights Commission have called on the UK Government to take immediate action to stop violent attacks on children. As well as twelve youngsters being shot, twenty seven were assaulted, the organisation said in a report to an influential UN committee investigating children’s rights. The report asked the state party to address the issue of paramilitary-style attacks on children in Northern Ireland through measures relating to both transitional justice and child protection. Figures for the number of attacks may be under-reported since fear of paramilitary violence and self-reported experiences of attacks on children are much higher, the Commission said. It has contacted the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. Research published late last year from Queen’s University Belfast said more than 500 children were shot or beaten by loyalist and republican paramilitaries over the past two decades.

Christian Labour MP Dawn Butler told Premier Radio that she's standing by her decision to nominate leadership contender Jeremy Corbyn, despite backing rival Andy Burnham. The left-winger now has the support of more than half of those with a vote in the Labour leadership contest. ‘If Jeremy's got a momentum behind him that's a good thing for our party and it's a good thing for the debate, but I still think overall that Andy is the candidate that will unite the party and bring the party forward,’ said Dawn Butler. She said Corbyn's participation in the leadership race had engaged more young people in politics, and praised Corbyn for encouraging what critics argue is an idealistic agenda. ‘As a young person you're supposed to be uncompromising and you're supposed to want to see a different world and want to change the world, so it's great to see that,’ added Butler.

Russia's federal forestry agency said, ‘More than 5,000 Russian emergency workers are battling to put out wildfires raging across forests in Siberia. Over 1,250 square kilometres of woodland are ablaze in at least six eastern regions. Wildfires are a common occurrence in Russia each summer due to the burning of dry grass and can claim lives and damage property. Historically every year many die in southern Siberia as a results of wildfires while hundreds of others are left homeless. The current wildfires have not yet affected inhabited areas. See also World article, ‘USA: California blaze grows, prompting more evacuations’.

We've all seen the news of desperate migrants trying to cross the channel. But few people know about the conditions people are living in. This is a humanitarian crisis on our doorstep and western governments are turning their backs on it. I know because I’m a nurse in Calais, giving medical support to migrants who have fled their countries because of war and persecution and are now living in horrendous conditions. Whole families are crammed into small tents with poor access to food and water, leading to all sorts of terrible health problems. These include serious skin problems, gangrene, breathing difficulties, diarrhoea and scabies. Many have shattered bones after falling from trucks, have been slashed by razor wire climbing fences or have been beaten up. Some are extremely vulnerable, including children and pregnant women. With needs ever increasing, it is charities and not governments that are picking up the pieces, providing essential medical consultations and psychological support for the many migrants traumatised by their experiences.