Greek child charity leadership axed following abuse claims

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The Greek government has axed a prominent private charity’s leadership following a string of allegations that children in its care were subjected to physical abuse by staff members. The decision was taken at a meeting Monday chaired by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis into the scandal concerning the Ark of the World children’s charity. Founded in 1998 by a charismatic Greek Orthodox priest in a depressed Athens neighborhood, the charity has denied the allegations. A police and judiciary investigation is under way into claims that some children in the organization’s homes around Greece were abused in punishment for perceived misbehavior. One case involved alleged sexual assault by a charity functionary.