Family News

Pope rows back from 'rabbits' comments, praises large families

- Pope Francis on Wednesday described large families as a "gift from God", just days after he said Catholics did not need to "breed like rabbits".

Pakistani father sacrifices five children 'to gain magic powers'

Karachi - A Pakistani father-of-six is on the run after strangling five of his children to death, apparently believing the sacrifice would endow him with magical powers including alchemy, police said Friday.

'A Reason' — indie sleeper film of the year Special

A Reason is an independent film written and directed by Dominique Schilling and produced by Caroline Risberg (Risberg Schilling Productions).

French families of switched-at-birth girls in court

Grasse - For years, two French couples had doubts over whether their daughters were really theirs and a DNA test eventually confirmed their worst fears, revealing the girls were switched at birth.

Pistorius siblings speak out on eve of sentencing

Pretoria - Oscar Pistorius's brother and sister on Monday gave a string of television interviews ahead of the sentencing of South Africa's star athlete for the fatal shooting of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Pope urges bishops to 'speak freely' at family synod

- Pope Francis urged bishops to be frank and not afraid to "speak freely" as a synod on the thorny subject of Catholic teachings on the family opened in Rome on Monday.

Pope backs reform as Church begins review on family, marriage

- Pope Francis on Sunday issued a strong signal of support for reform of the Catholic Church's approach to marriage, cohabitation and divorce as bishops began a landmark review of teaching on the family.

Breivik's father says he is partially responsible for murders

Oslo - The father of Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik said on Thursday he felt partially responsible and regretted not having been there for his son before he killed 77 people in 2011.

Blues guitarist’s love for LPs, family leads to long music career Special

Tucson - It was a matter of love at first sight for Bryan Dean. His father was a drummer and his mother a singer, but it was his grandmother who gave him his first Les Paul guitar in 1978.

French mum reunited with toddler taken by alleged jihadi father

Villacoublay - A young French mother whose two-year-old daughter was smuggled out of the country by her father and reportedly taken to jihadist centres in Syria, arrived home Wednesday after they were reunited in Turkey.

French mum reunited with daughter taken by alleged jihadi husband

Paris - A young French mother whose daughter had been smuggled by her father out of the country and possibly to Syria was reunited with the two-year-old in Turkey, a source close to the French interior minister said Tuesday.

Parents of tumour boy held in Spain as sympathy grows

Madrid - A Spanish judge on Monday extended the detention of a British couple arrested for taking their seriously ill son out of a hospital in England without medical consent, as sympathy for their situation grew at home.

Family gets stuck at top of Ferris wheel as park begins to close

The Riggs-Long family found themselves stuck at the top of a Ferris wheel ride when employees were closing down the park.

Girl survives tsunami, is reunited with her family after 10 years

Kabupaten - When Raudhatul Jannah was just four years old she was swept away in a 2004 tsunami. Somehow the girl survived the rushing waters and a fisherman rescued her. After 10 years her parents found her and they are together once again.

'We're still here': The enduring anguish of Korea's ferry tragedy

Jindo - When steel worker Huh Hong-Hwan heard his teenaged daughter might be trapped in a sinking ferry, he didn't hesitate.

Op-Ed: Can all parents raise their children as bilingual speakers?

“Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Gisele Bündchen do it, so why can’t we do it too?” Some monolingual parents ask when they hear about the Hollywood stars, rich or celebs, for whom it has become trendy to bring up children to be bilingual.

Op-Ed: Marine brings sons the best Father's Day gift he could give

Some of you have probably already guessed (or seen) that gift was him coming home. Master Sergeant Christopher Willenbecher thrilled his kids by coming home early on Father's Day to be with them.

Husband of bludgeoned Pakistani woman murdered first wife

Lahore - The husband of a pregnant Pakistani woman bludgeoned to death outside a courthouse murdered his first wife, he told AFP on Thursday, in a twist to a story that has shocked rights activists.

Four arrested in Pakistani woman bludgeoning case

Lahore - Pakistani police investigating the murder of a pregnant woman bludgeoned to death outside a court have arrested four men including her uncle and two cousins, a senior officer said Friday.

Husband of bludgeoned Pakistani woman murdered first wife

Lahore - The husband of a pregnant Pakistani woman bludgeoned to death outside a courthouse murdered his first wife, he told AFP on Thursday, in a twist to a story that has shocked rights activists.

Calls for justice for pregnant Pakistan woman beaten to death

Lahore - The husband of a pregnant Pakistani woman who was beaten to death outside Lahore's High Court for marrying against her family's wishes vowed Wednesday to fight for justice.

Re-Discovering The Magic Of Roy Orbison's 'Mystery Girl' Special

Roy Orbison’s 'Mystery Girl' was released two months after the legendary singer’s sudden passing. Now the 1989 album has been re-issued with new material. For the Orbison sons, the re-release is truly a family affair.

Laid-off worker quizzed after Spain politician shot dead

Madrid - Spanish police on Tuesday questioned a laid-off council worker and her mother suspected of gunning down a ruling party politician, a murder that halted Spain's European election campaigns.

Op-Ed: Brazilian cancer patient and daughter grateful for alkaline diet

A few years ago, a young Brazilian woman working and studying in Italy left the country to return to Brazil, so that she could care for her father who was recently diagnosed with cancer. Before she left, she met a woman who told her about alkaline diets.

Probe shows French family were murdered in Cambodia

Phnom Penh - A Frenchman and his four young children, whose skeletal remains were found in a submerged car in Cambodia two years ago, were murdered, a judge said Tuesday, after a probe by forensic experts.

Thousands languishing in Japan children's homes: Human Rights Watch

Tokyo - Almost nine out of 10 children taken from their families in Japan end up in institutions rather than foster care, a rights group said Thursday, a rate it said was the highest among developed nations.

Dad abandons son after mistaken paternity test

A hospital in Italy has been ordered by local courts to pay €50,000 ($69,000 USD) after a 14-year-old boy's father abandoned him over a mistaken paternity test.

Pope asks forgiveness for child sex abuse by priests

- Pope Francis on Friday personally asked forgiveness for child sex abuse by priests -- the first time he has made such an apology since being elected last year."I feel compelled...

Social pressures force Tunisia women to fake virginity

Tunis - It happens every April ahead of the summer marriage season, says Tunisian gynaecologist Faouzi Hajri -- desperate brides-to-be beg for surgery to make them "virgins" again for their wedding night.

Australia's top court recognises 'gender neutral' sex category

Sydney - Australia's highest court on Wednesday ruled that a person can be legally recognised as gender neutral, or non-specific, as opposed to male or female."The High Court...