2.29.2008

Cuba signs up for human rights

Cuba signed two major human rights treaties at the UN in New York on Thursday. The country’s Foreign Minister, Felipe Perez Roque, signed the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The treaties commit Cuba to respect rights including freedom of expression and association, and freedom of movement. (Amnesty)

Kidney transplant survival rates in kids on rise: report

Though kidney failure once meant a death sentence for young patients, the quality and quantity of transplants has greatly boosted survival rates, according to a new study. (CBC)

Finding could pave the way for future AIDS treatment, scientists say

Researchers at the University of Alberta have discovered a gene that can block certain forms of HIV and may perhaps one day be used to prevent the onset of AIDS.

In lab studies, conducted with scientists at the University of Pennsylvania, researchers at the Edmonton university identified a human gene called TRIM22 that can block HIV infection by preventing the virus from replicating. (CBC)

2.28.2008

Kenyan rivals shake hands as power-sharing deal reached

Rival Kenyan leaders Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga signed a power-sharing agreement Thursday aimed at ending weeks of election-related violence that has killed about 1,000 people.

Onlookers clapped as the two men signed the deal and shook hands during a late afternoon ceremony in Nairobi, and Odinga referred to his rival as "my countryman, President Mwai Kibaki" – an important sign of acceptance. (CBC; audio at NPR)

"The Teacher Who Couldn't Read" Becomes Literacy Activist

John Corcoran had 35 years of education behind him, including a bachelor's degree, and many graduate and professional-level classes. He had worked with at-risk youth as a classroom teacher. He'd taught a wide range of subjects, including social studies, English grammar, and world history, always holding a textbook at his side. But in all his years as a teacher, he never once cracked the spine of any of his books. (Gimundo; video at 10News)

Most Muslims 'desire democracy'

The largest survey to date of Muslims worldwide suggests the vast majority want Western democracy and freedoms, but do not want them to be imposed. The poll by Gallup of more than 50,000 Muslims in 35 nations found most wanted the West to instead focus on changing its negative view of Muslims and Islam. (BBC)

2.27.2008

Beauty Salons Tackle Domestic Abuse



A new program is tackling domestic violence by enlisting the help of beauty salons. Employees are educated on how to spot and help abuse victims. Bianca Solorzano reports.

Youth Work to Raise More Than $100,000 for Famine

More than 200 teenagers this weekend built cardboard houses on muddy ground, where they slept the night so they could begin to understand poverty and famine. In the past four years, their church, St. John's Episcopal Church, has raised more money than any worldwide for hunger-relief. (Charlotte Observer)

Climate change resulting in shift to “green” economies, says UN agency

More and more companies are embracing environmentally-friendly policies and investors are pumping hundreds of billions of dollars into cleaner and renewable energies, according to a new publication released today by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). (UN News Centre)

2.26.2008

Cop Helps Set Sentence for his Shooter After 20 Years: A Donation to Charity

A former Chicago cop agreed to a bit of restorative justice for his shooter, who was extradited from Canada after 20 years of clean living to face charges of aggravated battery and skipping bail. (NY Times)

Congo, Rwanda and Uganda Unite to Save Mountain Gorillas

Borders will matter less to central Africa’s mountain gorillas, following the launch of a strategic conservation plan which covers adjoining areas of Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. (Good News Network)

Women’s participation in Pakistan's election encouraging

The participation of a large number of women in Monday’s elections is a significant development that will pave the way for gender equality in politics. This time, women have not only secured the reserved seats, but also contested and won fifteen general seats of the National and provincial assemblies. (Daily Times of Pakistan)

2.25.2008

Empowering West African Women With Diesel Engines


The mechanization of domestic tasks such as milling or husking grains (normally done with a mortar and pestle or grinding stone) can transform these time-consuming chores into profitable economic activities for rural West African women. The diesel engines responsible for such transformation are being distributed in Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) with help from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. (Good News Network)

Ghana Adopts National Peace Plan

Ghana has adopted a new peace plan dubbed "National Architecture for Peace" to foster respect for the rule of law, transparency, accountability and free and fair elections, which have been achieved for the past seven years and ultimately lead to a durable internal peace. (Modern Ghana.com)

City unveils peace plan

Salinas police and city officials have launched a new campaign intended to reduce local violence. The effort is called CAPSTONE, which stands for "City At Peace: Supporting and Transforming Our Neighborhoods." (Californian.com)

2.22.2008

New Miracle Mosquito Nets



Sleeping under mosquito nets treated with insecticide has been shown to be an extremely effective and cheap method of preventing deadly malaria. Now, a manufacturing partnership between Japan and Tanzania is creating superior nets in the heart of Africa where they are needed most, "supporting African innovation for Africans."

Kenyan Youth Club Helps to Heal Ethnic Tensions



In Nairobi's Mathare slum, a youth association helps to heal ethnic tensions which have flared up recently in Kenya. The group won a Nobel Peace Prize nomination in 2003 for its success in fostering community development through sports and particularly soccer. Now, they are initiating classes in tolerance and justice and forming new inter-ethnic teams.

Top marks for great gran, 96

A blind 96-year-old great grandmother is taking an Open University degree in social sciences. Grace Ledger, of Selsey, West Sussex, passed the first year with top marks of 80% and is set to receive a certificate of merit. (Ananova)

2.21.2008

Loss of Leg Doesn't Stop Police Cadet from Achieving Dream



Adam Griggel says even after he lost his leg, he was determined to become a Wisconsin police officer. Now as a police cadet he is top in his class. (MSNBC Video)

Random Acts of Kindness Kick Off First Ottawa Kindness Week

For one week, February 15 to 24, Ottawa is choosing to be kind. The city will be celebrating, encouraging, and even keeping a web journal to showcase the simple acts of kindness brought to life throughout the community this week. (Good News Network)

Homeless Community Creates a Self-Governing Village

Just outside downtown Portland, Oregon, you'll find a small community with some odd-looking houses: tents; teepees; wooden shacks; structures built from mud, straw, and adobe – almost anything goes. As you might imagine, these buildings don't exactly meet the city's standard housing code. But that's okay – they're not exactly part of the city. The residents of this makeshift town are formerly homeless people who've worked together to build their own self-regulated "campground," Dignity Village. (Gimundo)

2.20.2008

Former Gang Rivals Embrace Each Other in Ministry Outreach


The California Cease Fire Ministry seeks out hard-core Mexican-American gang members to participate in a truce. The program is run by ex-gang members, 50-year-olds who successfully persuade California's murderous Latino gangs to embrace each other and rebuild their lives in the church. (San Jose Mercury News)

Creating opportunity for the disabled in Peru

In a country where jobs are scarce, it's nearly impossible to find work for people with disabilities. But three friends are fighting to change that. Angeles Anonimos (Anonymous Angels), a Peru-based group, trains disabled and handicapped people -- regarded by locals as unemployable and often left to beg on the streets -- to create fair-trade sterling silver jewelry. (StoryBridge TV)

Google, Others Team to Invest in India

Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google Inc., has teamed up with the Soros Economic Development Fund and Omidyar Network to fund a $17 million company that will invest in small- and medium-size business in India.

The Small to Medium Enterprise Investment Co. would fill the gap between loans offered by microfinance institutions and those of large commercial banks and private equity funds. (AP)

2.19.2008

Eco-friendly forest management in Brazil



Brazil's government focuses on eco-friendly ways of managing the Amazonian forests. The Forest Stewardship Council estimates that illegal loggers kill 30 to get one usable tree. The new conservation projects protect far more trees than they cut down. (Reuters)

Australia Pledges More Outback Teachers

Determined to prove that a national apology to Australia's indigenous population is more than empty words, the government on Thursday promised more teachers to tackle widespread illiteracy in Outback Aboriginal communities, one of several bold targets to remove inequalities in living standards. (AP)

Passion to help others unhindered by Down Syndrome

Simon Eng, 22, has already touched the lives of thousands of children around the world and he wants to help a lot more. Fourteen months after he began packing school kits for MCC Alberta, he had already reached the milestone of 10,000 kits.

Eng was born with Down Syndrome. Despite limited communication skills he clearly articulates why he packs school kits for MCC. “Poor countries, poor people and poor children—I want to help them,” he says. (MCC)

2.18.2008

World's Largest Marine Reserve Declared

The tiny Pacific islands nation of Kiribati declared the world's largest marine protected area Thursday—a California-sized ocean wilderness that includes pristine reefs and eight coral atolls teeming with fish and birds. (AP)

Costa Rica Aims to Be a Carbon-Neutral Nation

One of the smallest countries in the world has a big goal. Costa Rica says it wants to be the first developing country to become carbon neutral — that is, to have zero output of carbon dioxide by 2021. (audio at NPR)

911 dispatcher honored for helping homeless

For Toni Dukes, love isn't delivered with a sugary sweet Hallmark card or an overpriced bouquet of red roses. It's given in a Ziploc bag stuffed with a hat, gloves and a packet of Kleenex, and the words "From the Heart" written in black marker on the outside. (SF Gate)

2.15.2008

Kid power quenches thirst in Africa



Children from from Conneticut to California were inspired to help African kids gain reliable access to clean water, teaming up with a non-profit called Random Kid, an organization that helps kids help others. "I finally get to do something big in the world. I'm not just a small person in society," says 9 year-old Liam Keran. (MSNBC video)

Reclaiming youth from war in Congo



Gabriel and Pascal are just 2 of 130 former child soldiers from all factions at a UN transit centre. They are learning how to leave war behind them and become children again. "I know that yesterday Pascal was my enemy, but now he is my brother," says Gabriel. (MSNBC video)

College to Give Bikes to Freshmen

A tiny liberal arts college here hopes it has found an answer to a nagging shortage of campus parking: a bicycle giveaway. If incoming freshmen promise not to bring a car to campus for a full year, Ripon College will give them a Trek 820 mountain bike, a helmet and a lock — a $400 value. (AP)

Jewelers shun gold from proposed Alaska mine

Five of the nation's leading jewelers have sworn off gold that could someday come from the proposed Pebble Mine, a huge deposit near the world's most productive wild sockeye salmon stream. (AP)

School Lunches Get Leafy in Los Angeles

Across the country, only one-third of children between the ages of 2 and 19 eat the recommended three to five servings of vegetables per day, and only a quarter eat enough fruit. As a result, many schools are trying to teach better eating habits. Marx says kids love salad bars; it's the adults who are often skeptical. (NPR)

2.14.2008

Empathy Lessons from Babies



It's just Nolan Winecka's second time teaching a class of fifth graders at Emerald Park Elementary School in this Seattle suburb, and it shows as he stares nervously at the two dozen kids surrounding him.

Nolan is 6 months old and hasn't had any formal pedagogical training. But to the group that put him in the classroom, he has everything he needs to help teach children an unconventional subject. A Canadian nonprofit group, Roots of Empathy, is now bringing to the U.S. a decade-old program designed to reduce bullying by exposing classrooms to "empathy babies" for a whole school year. (Wall Street Journal)

Device on knee can produce electricity

Call it the ultimate power walk. Researchers have developed a device that generates electrical power from the swing of a walking person's knee. With each stride the leg accelerates and then decelerates, using energy both for moving and braking. It's sort of like the way that some hybrid-electric cars produce electricity from braking.

With the device, a minute of walking can power a cell phone for 10 minutes, Donelan, of Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia, said in a telephone interview. Other potential uses include powering a portable GPS locator, a motorized prosthetic joint or implanted drug pumps. (AP)

Traveler Exchanges Cash and Possessions for Kindness

Equipped with only a few T-shirts, a bandage and spare sandals, former dotcom businessman Mark Boyle is set to cross Europe and the Middle East on a pilgrimage to Gandhi's birthplace.

Mr Boyle, 28, said: "I will be offering my skills to people. If I get food in return, it's a bonus." He says he is part of the freeconomy movement - a group which began in the US and aims to bring about a moneyless society. (BBC)

Packing MCC school kits fuels passion to help others

Simon Eng, 22, has already touched the lives of thousands of children around the world and he wants to help a lot more. Eng began packing school kits for Mennonite Central Committee Alberta in November 2006. Fourteen months later he had reached the milestone of 10,000 school kits.

Eng was born with Down Syndrome. Despite limited communication skills he clearly articulates why he packs school kits for MCC. “Poor countries, poor people and poor children—I want to help them,” he said. (MCC)

New ovarian cancer blood test 99 per cent effective: Yale researchers

A new blood tests has been developed that Yale researchers say can detect ovarian cancer with 99 per cent accuracy. The test uses six protein biomarkers to identify proteins in the bloodstream that signal an ovarian tumour is present in the body. The test is 99.4 per cent effective.

Previous tests for ovarian cancer only used four protein biomarkers and recognized only 15 to 20 per cent of new ovarian tumours. (CBC)

2.13.2008

London to Spend US$975 Million on Walking and Cycling Programs Over Next Decade

London is certainly at the forefront of efforts by cities to lower emissions of carbon dioxide, reduce traffic and air pollution, and promote healthier lifestyles.

London is now announcing that it plans "to create a new network of quick, simple, and safe routes for cyclists and pedestrians that represents the largest investment in walking and cycling in the city’s history."

This is not some token initiative, either. London is committed to spending US$975 million over the next ten years to implement five new programs "with the aim of having one in ten round trips in London each day made by bike, and saving some 1.6 million tonnes of CO2 per year ." (Treehugger)

In Cairo, hordes of street kids no longer ignored

The Egyptian government and nonprofit groups are stepping up efforts to help street children. Cairo has thousands of street kids – sleeping on streets, joining gangs for protection, underfed and covered with the filth of a city packed with 18 million people.

New half-day centers, overnight facilities, and psychological services are being launched. They reach only a fraction of the tens of thousands of street children but the growth of the services is remarkable in a country where conservative estimates put the poverty rate at 20 percent and street kids have long been regarded by society and the government as little more than delinquents. (CS Monitor)

India to Create 8 New Tiger Sanctuaries

Conservationists welcomed an Indian government plan to create eight new reserves to protect the country's dwindling tiger population, and called Wednesday for more action to prevent illegal trading in tiger parts.

It will take five years to set up the new reserves, which will cover an area of more than 11,900 square miles at a cost to taxpayers of about $153 million, the government's Tiger Project announced Tuesday. Private groups will also contribute funds. (AP)

Vietnam veterans help returning Iraq soldiers deal with shocks of war

There is a grass-roots movement by Vietnam veterans to help American soldiers returning from Iraq cope with the mental rigors of war and ease the transition to civilian life. Across the country, both groups of Vietnam veterans and individual former soldiers are pitching in to help console, counsel, or just be a voice on the other end of the phone to those who have served in the Middle East. (CS Monitor)

Motivated by a Tax, Irish Spurn Plastic Bags

There is something missing from this otherwise typical bustling cityscape. There are taxis and buses. There are hip bars and pollution. Every other person is talking into a cellphone. But there are no plastic shopping bags, the ubiquitous symbol of urban life.

In 2002, Ireland passed a tax on plastic bags; customers who want them must now pay 33 cents per bag at the register. There was an advertising awareness campaign. And then something happened that was bigger than the sum of these parts.

Within weeks, plastic bag use dropped 94 percent. Within a year, nearly everyone had bought reusable cloth bags, keeping them in offices and in the backs of cars. (NY Times)

2.12.2008

Playtime for Grandma: Council opens new playground for the over-60s

You're never too old to have fun – but a playground for senior citizens? That's kind of pushing it, don't you think? Just try telling that to the folks at the Older People's Playground in Dam's Head, England, near Manchester.

This isn't their grandchildren's playground, you see – instead of merry-go-rounds and sandboxes, it comes equipped with specialized machines designed to strengthen and tone muscles, which are gentle enough for older adults to use without injuring themselves. (Daily Mail)

London hosts world's largest low emission zone

The world's largest clean transport area comes into effect in London on Monday. The British capital's low emission zone will add to its reputation as a leader in sustainable transport policies, following its congestion pricing scheme.

Low emission zones are already in operation or planned in 70 towns and cities in eight European countries including Norway, the Netherlands and Germany. But London's will dwarf them all. (ENN)

World Bank plans clean technology fund for poor

Poor countries will soon receive billions of dollars from a new World Bank fund to help them cut pollution, save energy and fight global warming, the international organization said. (ENN)

High-poverty -- AND high-achieving: Pinewood Elementary's unorthodox methods yield outstanding pass rates

What's going on at Pinewood Elementary? More than 80 percent of children in this south Charlotte school live in poverty, yet they're passing state tests at rates that leave other schools in the dust.

Principal Nancy Guzman calls her strategies simple, if sometimes controversial. (Charlotte Observer)

HP Ink Cartridges From Recycled Water Bottles

Sounds so simple. Take plastic, crush, make new plastic. But it actually involves some new engineering technology. HP just announced that it is using recycled plastics gathered from water bottles, recycled inkjet cartridges, and other materials to create new ink cartridges made from 100% recyclable plastics. (Yahoo Tech)

2.07.2008

Shot of a Lifetime

Jason McElwain, an autistic high school basketball team member in Rochester, New York, served as the team manager and spirit coach for several years. On the final game of the season the coach let him put on a uniform with the rest of the team. What happened next you have to see to believe.

German kite ship saves fuel

The MS Beluga SkySail - driven in part by kite-power - successfully crossed the Atlantic and proved that the system does cut down on carbon emissions.

The world's first commerical ship part-powered by a giant kite, Beluga SkySails made energy savings of between 15 and 20 percent during the 14-day voyage from Germany to Venezuela, which according to Beluga is the normal duration of the journey. (Reuters)

Diddy pushes youth to vote once again

Four years ago, Sean "Diddy" Combs took his hip-hop swagger across the nation in an effort to get young people to vote, with the bold slogan "Vote or Die." Now the entertainer has just a simple message: Go vote.

"If we want to stop the war, if we want to get the economy better, I think that young people need to understand they have to take matters into their own hands," Combs, 38, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Monday. "It is really like waking up a sleeping giant." (AP)

Abortion Rate at 30-Year Low

The U.S. abortion rate has reached a 30-year-low. In 2005 a survey of abortion providers showed the rate was lower than the number of abortions in 1975, which was just two years after Roe v. Wade became the law of the land. The results revealed an eight percent drop in totals from 2000 to 2005. (Good News Network)

British Bishops Launch Carbon Fast

With the season of Lent upon us, bishops in London and Liverpool have come up with a new kind of 40-day fast. Along with the aid agency Tearfund, the bishops have launched a carbon fast. Instead of giving up chocolate, how about giving up on plastic bags or incandescent light bulbs? (NPR audio)

2.06.2008

Dutch gas guzzler tax hammers exclusive cars

Buying a Hummer just became 19,000 euros ($28,000) more expensive in the Netherlands.

A new "guzzle tax" came into force on Friday, penalizing cars that exceed a limit on emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide as the Netherlands seeks to reduce its contribution to global warming. (Reuters)

Aboriginal leaders to welcome lawmakers

Aborigines have long lived on the fringe of Australian society, but they will take center stage when Parliament holds a historic ceremony to acknowledge the nation's capital is built on their land. (AP)

Facebook Used to Mobilize Against FARC

The social-networking site Facebook is being used for more than socializing. In Colombia, a Facebook page dedicated to protesting the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, that country's largest rebel group, is helping organize millions of people. (NPR)

Waiter's flawless service is rewarded

A full scholarship to a $34,000-a-year private college for a waiter? Now that's a tip.

Two years ago, Marvin Burchall was working the lunch shift at a luxury beachside hotel in his native Bermuda when he waited on an administrator from Endicott College, just north of Boston. To him, Lynn Bak was just another customer, another tourist visiting the island getaway. But Burchall's service was impeccable, and his attentiveness and amiable manner caught Bak's eye. (Boston Globe)

Fredericton buses to use biofuel additive

Transit buses in Fredericton will soon include a spoonful of biofuel in their tanks with the aim of reducing emissions and fuel costs.

Using the biofuel will see greenhouse-gas emissions in the city decrease by 2,200 kilograms per year, Whelan said. (CBC)

2.05.2008

Kenyan parties sign agenda to end violence

Rival political parties in Kenya locked in a deadly dispute over December's elections said Friday they had agreed to take immediate action to end the violence that has ravaged the country.
Former UN secretary general Kofi Annan said the two sides signed a four-point agenda committing to completing talks within 15 days on measures to end the political crisis. (CBC)

Farming the Amazon with a Machete and Mulch

On jungle land at the mouth of the Amazon River, one resourceful female farmer has become a master of adaptation in a landscape of constant change. Her story offers an example of how individuals might face the challenges of climate change. (NPR)

Wild elephants on increase in Kenya due successful protection measures

Kenya's population of elephants -- both a tourism drive and a measure of the state of the East African country's wildlife -- is increasing, after successful anti-poaching measures and bans on the illegal ivory trade, wildlife officials say. (AP)

Scientists discover way to reverse loss of memory

Scientists performing experimental brain surgery on a man aged 50 have stumbled across a mechanism that could unlock how memory works. Scientists are now applying the technique in the first trial of the treatment in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Three patients have been treated and initial results are promising, according to Andres Lozano, a professor of neurosurgery at the Toronto Western Hospital, Ontario, who is leading the research. (Belfast Telegraph)

Boats to try to prevent hooking seabirds

Albatross looking for a free meal on the high seas often pay the price of being killed or injured going after baited hooks. Now, fishing fleets around the world have agreed to use measures to prevent hooking albatross and other seabirds whose numbers are declining. (AP)

2.04.2008

Respecting the aged in Mali

Less than 4 percent of Mali's population is over 60 and therefore considered elderly or in their third stage of life.

However, the elderly are considered a key part of Malian society.

These days, Mali's government isn't leaving the care of the elderly to luck. The average income in Mali is less than a dollar a day and some families find it difficult to take care of their older relatives. Mali's government is helping out and has built a clinic which specializes in geriatrics or healthcare, for the elderly.

U.S. Wind Power Generation Grows by 45 Percent in 2007

Overturning all previous records, the U.S. wind energy industry installed 5,244 megawatts of power in 2007, expanding the nation's total wind power generating capacity by 45 percent in a single calendar year and injecting an investment of over $9 billion into the economy, according to the American Wind Energy Association, AWEA.

The new wind projects account for about 30 percent of the entire new power-producing capacity added nationally in 2007 and will power the equivalent of 1.5 million American households annually. (ENS)

Gates donates $20 million to help rice farmers

Bill Gates, the world's richest man, is to donate nearly 20 million dollars for research into helping rice farmers deal with global warming, the International Rice Research Institute said Monday.

The Philippines-based institute said it would use the donation from the Microsoft founder to harness scientific advances and address major unsolved problems in agriculture. (Terra Daily)

Europe moves to protect trafficked people

Europe has taken a further step towards protecting people who have been trafficked with the entry into force of a new convention on Friday. The 14 states that have so far become parties to the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings have committed themselves to ensuring greater respect and protection of the rights of trafficked persons. (Amnesty)

No through road for polluting cars

It's "no entry" for some of Germany's most polluting cars as they are banned from some city centres.

Drivers are now required to get their vehicle's emissions tested and display an environment sticker if they want to drive in the so-called "environment zones" in the inner-city areas of Berlin, Cologne and Hanover. The new measures are designed to cut pollution which has been linked to asthma and other conditions. (video at Reuters)

2.01.2008

Blind photographer to hold exhibition

A wildlife photographer is to hold an exhibition of her pictures - despite being blind.

Alison Bartlett's hearing is so acute that she can pick up birds' wings flapping or a squirrel nibbling a nut, reports The Sun. (Ananova)

Boy, 9, averts 70mph smash

A nine-year-old boy steered his mother's car to safety across three lanes of traffic when she blacked out at 70mph. (Ananova)

Kiva lenders' generosity funds all projects

Over the last few months, some visitors to the Web site of Kiva, a nonprofit that lets users make interest-free “microloans” to entrepreneurs in low-development (that is, poor) countries all over the world, were greeted with a surprising message. “Thanks Kiva Lenders!” it began. “You’ve funded EVERY business on the site!!”

Not to worry, though – after instituting a $25-maximum cap on donations to individual enterprises, Kiva is back in business with a new lot of eager entrepreneurs, so if you're ready to invest, you'll probably get the chance. (NY Times)

Virtual World Online Helps Move Agoraphobics Into Real World

One woman can shop for groceries now for the first time in years, after learning to interact in a virtual world on the Internet called Second Life. She became virtually phobia-free by visiting with others like herself online and even sharing in a support group there through her animated alter ego. (Good News Network)

Nova Scotia junior high kids raise money for Bathurst High

Junior high school students in Truro, N.S., played a friendly game of basketball Wednesday to raise money for a New Brunswick high school that lost seven of its students earlier this month.

"We hope the proceeds of this event will help them keep basketball alive in their school," Louise Wirtanen, principal at Central Colchester, said in a release. (CBC)