2 days ago
Accused of 'terrorism' at 15 years old: The tragic story of Rhianan Rudd
Austrian papers are in mourning after the attack on a school in Graz that left 10 people dead and many wounded. Kurier reports that Austria is in tears, after the nation's deadliest post-war mass shooting. "Amoklauf", German for a run of lunacy or a killing spree, is a term that's used in a lot of the coverage. The Salzgeber Nachrichten is also in mourning with a blacked-out front page. Die Presse, meanwhile, is just asking "Warum": Why? The paper also asks if this tragedy could have been avoided. The front page of the tabloid Kronen Zeitung is a still from a video taken by a student as they escaped the school building.
France is also in shock after a teaching assistant was stabbed to death by a 14-year-old pupil. The daily Aujourd'hui en France remembers the victim Melanie on its front page. Le Figaro says that France is in shock and reports that the young pupil had previously been punished for bullying. Libération is also discussing the murder on its front page, saying that the incident has revived the debate on knife control.
The Financial Times has a long read about the story of Rhianan Rudd. In 2021, she became the youngest girl in the UK to be charged with crimes of terrorism at just 15 years old. Those charges were later dropped, and authorities recognised that Rhianan had been groomed, and was later considered to be a victim under modern slavery legislation. But she took her own life in 2022 while living in a care home. Her story has led to a re-evaluation of how teenage radicalisation and extremism is understood.
The UN Population Fund has just released its new report looking at why people are not having children. Al Jazeera reports that money, not infertility, is the cause of plummeting birth rates. According to the UN, some 39 percent of people say that financial limitations prevent them from having a child.
Meanwhile, The Times of London is discussing a new solution to phone addiction in young children that has been suggested in the UK. "No Ball Game" signs could be banned in the UK, in an attempt to get children back outside and away from their phones.
