Sydney, April 25: The Australian government has announced additional financial aid to a project working for women and girls in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
The Commonwealth of Learning's (COL) project "Reaching the Unreached" (RtU) is aimed at providing education and training to 40,000 women and girls who cannot attend school in remote and disadvantaged communities due to early marriage and cultural norms in these countries.
With the additional funds, the project will now reach more women and girls to provide secondary schooling and skills development training through open and distance learning, COL said in a statement on Tuesday.
The announcement was made by the Minister for International Development Concetta Fierravanti-Wells during the Global Citizen Live, an event related to the 2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London.
In India, the RtU project covers 150 villages in the Satara district of Maharashtra. These communities were selected because of dropout rates arising from migration, poverty and long distances to school.
According to a 2017 Baseline-Endline Report, 25,284 women and girls in these communities throughout India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, completed life skills and vocational skills training, with 4,724 successfully moving into income-generating activities.
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8 children between ages of 1 and 14 dead after mass shooting in Louisiana, police say
Shreveport(US) (AP): A gunman in Louisiana killed eight children in shootings at two different homes early Sunday in the nation's deadliest mass shooting in more than two years, police in Shreveport said.
The victims ranged in age from one to about 14 years old, said Shreveport police spokesperson Chris Bordelon. A total of 10 were shot and some of the children were related to the suspect, Bordelon said.
The gunman later died after a chase with officers who fired at the suspect, Bordelon said. The suspect stole a car while leaving the scene of the shootings and was followed by police, according to Bordelon.
Police did not release the name of the suspect but did say he was an adult male. The shootings were the result of a “domestic disturbance,” Bordelon said.
Officials said they were still gathering details at the crime scenes south of downtown Shreveport — the two homes and a third location.
“This is an extensive scene unlike anything most of us have ever seen,” he said.
It was the deadliest mass shooting in the US since eight people were killed in a Chicago suburb in January 2024, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.
At a news conference outside the residence where one of the shootings occurred, officials appeared stunned, requesting patience and prayers from the community as they sorted through multiple crime scenes.
“I just don't know what to say, my heart is just taken aback,” Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith said. “I cannot begin to imagine how such an event could occur.”
“This is a tragic situation — maybe the worst tragic situation we've ever had,” said Tom Arceneaux, mayor of the city in northwestern Louisiana with about 180,000 residents. “It's a terrible morning.”
Louisiana State Police say their detectives have been asked by Shreveport police to investigate. In a statement, state police say no officers were harmed in the shooting that involved an officer after a police pursuit into Bossier City on Sunday morning.
State police are asking anyone with pictures, video or information to share it with state police detectives.
Louisiana Gov Jeff Landry said in a statement that he and his wife were heartbroken. “We're deeply grateful to the law enforcement officers and first responders working tirelessly on the scene,” he added.
