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Beaten and discarded, Congo street children are strangers to mining boom

By Aaron Ross KINSHASA (Reuters) – Kevin Lusongo has been on the streets since he was 11. He sleeps on a piece of cardboard in an unlit parking lot in a poor neighborhood of Kinshasa, behind trucks he hopes can shield him from view. Some nights he's unlucky. Recently police came looking for a stolen handbag and beat him up when they didn't find it, said the boy, who's now 14. Then there are the older children. “Often when you sleep, the others come and burn your feet with (flaming) plastic bags,” he said. “The oldest will see you and take your money. If you complain, they beat you severely

Air strikes hit at least 12 hospitals in Syria in past weeks: MSF

Air strikes in northern Syria have hit at least 12 hospitals in recent weeks, killing at least 35 patients and medical staff in a new escalation of fighting, international medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said on Thursday. The violence has also caused the displacement of thousands of civilians since the end of September, MSF said, reporting a significant increase strikes on medical facilities. The charity did not specify which country had carried out the air strikes.