"In the Aegean [Sea], about 30 percent of the deaths this year have been of children. This is currently 185 children out of a total of 590 deaths in the Eastern Mediterranean this year," UNICEF spokeswoman Sarah Crowe said on Tuesday.

"Generally many more people [of all ages] have died in the Central Mediterranean, 2,890 so far," Crowe said.

"We don’t know what share of those who died are children though," the UNICEF official added.

Between January and September 2015, children represented nearly one third of all asylum seekers in the European Union, according to UNICEF.

A quarter of all these child applicants hail from Syria, followed by Afghan children with 18 percent of the total.

Kids 'most vulnerable' among refugees

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) says children are among the most vulnerable of the refugees traveling to Europe.

"Children are among the most vulnerable of the migrants and refugees traveling to Europe," Leonard Doyle, the IOM spokesman, said on Tuesday.

"In October, over 90 children died on their way to Greece, and in the past week, nine of the 12 deaths on this crossing have been of children. Along the journey, children are also more at risk of illness and injury, as well as exploitation, separation from family, kidnapping and trafficking," the IOM says.

The organization added that an important cause for concern was the high number of unaccompanied and separated children arriving in Europe.

Along the route through the Balkans to Western Europe, Macedonian authorities have registered more than 15,000 unaccompanied minors since mid-June.

According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the number of refugees who have arrived on Europe's southern shores this year is climbing toward 900,000.

Marie-Pierre Poirier, the top UNICEF official dealing with the European migration crisis, has said, "Warm clothes, scarves and baby socks are not enough."

Check out these amazing photos from the world’s biggest day of climate action ever

By Grist staff on 30 Nov 2015

Sunday was far and away the biggest day of climate action the planet has ever seen — one day before world leaders descended on Paris for the landmark U.N. Climate Summit.

There was no major climate march in Paris — it had been called off in the wake of the recent terrorist attacks in the city, replaced by more quiet actions — but activists in other places around the world more than made up for it. Hundreds of thousands of people joined an estimated 2,300 marches and actions in 175 countries over the weekend, demanding that the heads of state and negotiators in Paris pull together a strong deal to fight global warming — and fight to keep fossil fuels in the ground and shift to 100 percent clean energy.

Suva, Fiji:

Aukland, New Zealand:

Melbourne, Australia:

Tokyo, Japan:

Seoul, South Korea:

Dhaka, Bangladesh:

Kiev, Ukraine:

Helsinki, Finland:

Johannesburg, South Africa:

Berlin, Germany:

Stockholm, Sweden:

Copenhagen, Denmark:

Oslo, Norway:

London, England:

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil:

Bogota, Colombia:

Washington, D.C.:

Jay Mallin

New York City, New York:

Ottawa, Canada:

Sayulita, Mexico:

Oakland, California:

Cliffs of Moher, Ireland:

• 13 hours ago

  
  What we know so far:
  
  
  

  • At least 14 people were killed and 17 others injured in a shooting at the InlandRegional Center in San Bernardino, Calif., Wednesday.
  • Two shooters opened fire inside the facility — which serves people with developmental disabilities — and fled in a dark SUV, police said.
  • Hours later, an SUV matching the description led police on high-speed chaseduring which shots were fired at police.
  • Two suspects — 28-year-old Syed Rizwan Farook and 27-year-old Tashfeen Malik— were killed during the police pursuit. Both were wearing tactical gear andcarrying assault rifles and handguns. The pair are believed to have been married or engaged.
    
  • Farook, a county employee, became angry and left a party at the Inland Regional Center, police said.
  • No motive was immediately released, but officials have not ruled out terrorism.
    
  • One officer was wounded and transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
    
  • Another person, a male who was seen leaving the area, was taken into custody. It's unclear if that person was involved in the shooting earlier in the day.
  • The shooters were armed with long guns and were wearing what appeared to be ski masks and vests, witnesses said.
  • “These were people who came prepared,” San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan told reporters. “They came in with a purpose, with an intent to do something.”
  • Burguan added: “We have no information at this point to indicate that this is terrorist-related, in the traditional sense that people may be thinking. Obviously, at a minimum, we have a domestic-terrorist-type situation.”
  • A suspicious device left at the center is "believed to be an explosive device," he said.
  • Officials are searching an apartment in Redlands, Calif., in a raid related to therampage.
  • President Obama called for stricter gun control in the wake of the shootings.
  • It is believed to be the deadliest mass shooting in the United States since Sandy Hook.
    

  
  

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  Dylan Stableford