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Health workers among dead in Ugandan Ebola outbreak

MSF calls situation ‘very serious’ as east African country grapples with outbreak of Sudan strain of virus, for which no vaccine exists It seems like a normal day in Mubende, central Uganda. Shops remain open, children are at school and public gatherings are allowed, provided people remain socially distant.The ambulances that whisk past every few hours and the health workers who wash themselves meticulously before they return home are the only indications that it is not business as usual in the densely populated mining district, which is struggling to contain an outbreak of Ebola. Continue reading...

Russian mercenaries ‘exploiting Africa to fund war in Ukraine’

US ambassador to the UN said Wagner Group are trafficking natural resources from African nationsThe United States has accused Russian mercenaries of exploiting natural resources in Central African Republic, Mali, Sudan and elsewhere to help fund Moscow’s war in Ukraine, a charge Russia rejected as “anti-Russian rage”.The US ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said the Wagner Group of mercenaries are exploiting natural resources and “these ill-gotten gains are used to fund Moscow’s war machine in Africa, the Middle East and Ukraine”. Continue reading...

African countries urge rich nations to honour $100bn climate finance pledge

Ministers rebuke ‘shameful’ failure to meet funding promises for poorer countries to cope with climate crisis ahead of Cop27 summit Ministers and high-ranking officials of African nations have urged rich countries to do more to combat the climate crisis, and called the failure to meet a funding promise from 2009 “shameful”.At a conference in Giza, Egypt, on Wednesday in the run-up to next month’s UN climate summit, Wael Aboulmagd, Egypt’s special representative for Cop27, attacked wealthier nations for not honouring an agreement to provide $100bn (£87.5bn) a year to developing countries by 2020. Continue reading...

‘I have a voice’: African activists struggle to attend UN climate talks in Egypt

Young campaigners from the continent most affected by the climate crisis face financial and accreditation difficulties for Cop27African climate activists from some of the countries most affected by global heating say they are struggling to get access to the UN climate talks in Egypt in November.Cop27, which has been termed “the African Cop”, threatens to take place without African activists advocating for communities devastated by drought, floods and fossil fuel projects in the negotiations when life-or-death decisions about climate finance will be made. Continue reading...

Warning over cough syrups after 66 children die in the Gambia

WHO says the contaminated medications may have been distributed outside of the West African country, with global exposure ‘possible’ The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued an alert over four cough and cold syrups made by Maiden Pharmaceuticals in India, warning they could be linked to the deaths of 66 children in the Gambia.The UN health agency also cautioned the contaminated medications may have been distributed outside the West African country, with global exposure “possible”. Continue reading...

Drone footage shows orcas chasing and killing great white shark

Scientists say behaviour, filmed in South Africa, has never been seen in detail before – and never from the airScientists have published findings confirming that orcas hunt great white sharks, after the marine mammal was captured on camera killing one of the world’s largest sea predators.A pod of killer whales is seen chasing sharks during an hour-long pursuit off Mossel Bay, a port town in the southern Western Cape province, in helicopter and drone footage that informed a scientific study released this week. Continue reading...

Easter Island fire causes ‘irreparable’ damage to famous moai statues

Forest fire that swept through more than 100 hectares of national park, with some moai ‘totally charred’A forest fire that tore through part of Easter Island has charred some of its monumental carved stone figures, known as moai, authorities have said.The blaze reportedly swept through the Rapa Nui national park, 3,500km (2,175 miles) off the west coast of Chile, causing “irreparable” damage to the archaeological site. Continue reading...

Canada mass stabbing suspect’s brother was victim not accomplice, police say

Myles Sanderson, who died in RCMP custody, was responsible for deaths of all 11 victims, including that of his brother DamienCanadian police have concluded that Myles Sanderson, who led officers on a multi-day manhunt after a mass stabbing last month, was responsible for all 11 deaths – including that of his brother.Officers initially named Sanderson’s brother Damien as a suspect in the stabbings in James Smith Cree Nation and the nearby town of Weldon, Saskatchewan. Continue reading...

Trudeau intervenes as sexual abuse scandal rocks Canada’s ice hockey body

Prime minister hints at setting up new governing body after major firms pull support for Hockey Canada over handling of allegationsJustin Trudeau has warned Canada’s ice hockey governing body that it has “lost the confidence” of Canadians and could be easily replaced by a new organization, amid growing outcry about its handling of a string of sexual assault allegations.The prime minister’s comments come as a wave of major companies publicly pulled support for the embattled organization on Thursday. Continue reading...

Mexico mayor among 20 killed in town hall massacre

Dispute between rival gangs lead to fatal shooting of lawmaker and his father in southern state of GuerreroA conflict between two rival gangs in the violence-plagued southwestern state of Guerrero has left 20 dead, including a local mayor, and two more wounded.The Guerrero state security council said gunmen burst into the town hall in the village of San Miguel Totolapan on Wednesday and opened fire on a meeting the mayor was holding with other officials. Continue reading...