Category: World

An ongoing investigation into the deaths of more than 70 children in The Gambia linked to cough syrups made in India, has been delayed by parents of the victims not cooperating with investigators, a senior medical officer has said. In October, the World Heath Organization (WHO) issued a global alert over four brands of cough...

Cameroonian President Paul Biya marked 40 years in power on Sunday but stayed out of the spotlight.The 89-year-old, who is the only leader most of the Central African country’s people have ever known came into power in 1982 . Thousands of his supporters gathered in the capital, Yaounde, to celebrate the anniversary but there were...

Rishi Sunak said on Tuesday he was not daunted by the scale of the challenge as he became Britain’s third prime minister in two months, pledging to restore trust, rebuild confidence and lead the country through an economic crisis. The 42-year-old former hedge fund boss, who has only been in elected politics for seven years,...

Financial markets have reacted calmly as it emerged that Rishi Sunak is set to be the UK’s next prime minister. The pound was broadly unchanged against the dollar on Monday afternoon and government borrowing costs stayed lower after Commons leader Penny Mordaunt dropped out of the leadership race. Earlier in the day, the pound had...

The United Nations says Somalia faces famine on a scale last seen half a century ago. An estimated 7.8 million people – roughly half of the population – are now affected by drought, of whom 213,000 are at high risk of famine. It has therefore set a new target of more than $2bn in funding...

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has withdrawn controversial benefits for cabinet ministers and their deputies that saw their homes supplied with free electricity and water.The benefits caused a public outcry as they were considered insensitive at a time South Africans are struggling with daily power cuts and rising cost of living.   In a press...

The number of people killed has risen to 36, and 56 others are missing, after landslides swept away their homes in the Venezuelan town of Las Tejerías. About 1,000 emergency personnel are taking part in search and rescue operations. “We’re trying to save whoever we can and are expressing our condolences to all those who...

A global alert has been issued over four cough syrups after the World Health Organization (WHO) warned they could be linked to the deaths of 66 children in The Gambia. The syrups have been “potentially linked with acute kidney injuries and 66 deaths among children”, it said. The products were manufactured by an Indian company,...

The number of suspected Ebola infections continues to rise in Uganda. The health ministry says there have been 34 suspected cases. It believes 21 deaths were probably caused by the Ebola virus. Health teams are continuing to trace any people that may have come into contact with it. The outbreak began in the central district...

Burkina Faso junta chief Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who took power in a January coup, has sacked his defence minister and assumed the role himself after a series of jihadist attacks, according to decrees published Monday. The first decree, read on national television, removed General Barthelemy Simpore as defence minister, while the second said the...