Among the surging number of migrants headed to Europe are pregnant women who are giving birth — whether it’s in Libya as they wait to cross the sea, on rescue ships or at Budapest’s Keleti train station.

A Nigerian migrant mother called her baby girl “Gift” after a difficult delivery on an Italian navy ship that rescued her in the Mediterranean.

• Resolution recognises child, early and forced marriage as a violation of human rights and calls for strengthened efforts to prevent and eliminate this harmful practice and support married girls
• Over 85 countries co-sponsored the resolution, including countries with high rates of child marriage
• Important call to action as States prepare to adopt and implement the Sustainable Development Goals and target 5.3 on child marriage

Several dozen of the world's most prominent scientists sprang from their seats and left the Vatican hall where they were holding a conference on the environment in May 2014. They were bound for a meet-and-greet with Pope Francis at the modest Vatican hotel where he lives, the Domus Sanctae Marthae.

Anantanand Rambachan

Professor of Religion, Saint Olaf College

The recent PEW Research Center findings on America's religious landscape revealed that approximately 56 million Americans are religiously unaffiliated and belong to the category of religious "nones". There are more " nones" than Catholics or mainline Protestants and the "nones" are second only to evangelical Protestants. "Nones" are comparatively younger and more educated.

In addition,the PEW survey estimated that the number of Hindus rose from 0.3 percent of the population in 2007 to 0.7 percent in 2014. 77 percent of Hindus in the U.S. are college graduates. Good questions have been raised by Murali Balaji about the challenges of gathering accurate numerical data for American Hindus. He suggests that the actual numbers may be higher. 

A massive earthquake has devastated children and families in Nepal, claiming the lives of nearly 4,000 people according to the latest count. Over 6,500 people are reported to be injured during and in the aftermath of the earthquake.

Josh Levs, CNN
Updated 11:55 AM ET, Mon April 13, 2015

Malala Yousafzai, reading her open letter to kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls to mark the anniversary of their abudction.
(CNN)On the eve of the one-year mark since nearly 300 schoolgirls were abducted by Boko Haram in Nigeria, Malala Yousafzai released an "open letter" to the girls Monday.

"Like you, I was a target of militants who did not want girls to go to school," she writes in the letter. The 17-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner survived an attack by the Taliban, which had singled her out for blogging from Pakistan about the importance of staying in school.

Special Event Organized on the Occasion of World Interfaith Harmony Week by the President of the United Nations General Assembly and the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations | Friday, February 6, 2015

This year’s two Nobel Peace Prize winners have already benefitted thousands of Nepali children and will inspire them.

The barbaric attack and killing of innocent school children in Peshawar this week is a poignant reminder of the relevance of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Kailash Satyarthi of India and Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan, and their tireless advocacy and activism in support of children’s right to quality basic education, and against hazardous child labour. Their work and example is a source of pride and inspiration to the children of Nepal, thousands of whom have already benefitted from their initiatives.