Kenyan: Senator asked to leave over ‘period stain’

A female Kenyan senator who was asked to leave parliament because of an apparent blood stain on her trousers said she was proud to stand up against “period shame”. Gloria…

South Africa: Schools suspended amid flooding in SA province

A municipality in South Africa’s Mpumalanga province has suspended schooling and health services amid heavy floods. The floods have damaged roads and homes, leaving many families in Nkomazi Municipality displaced.…

Kenya: Authorities push for one-pub-per-town order to fight alcoholism

Kenya’s deputy president has ordered government administrators in the country’s central region to enforce a one-pub-per-town directive that was issued last week. Rigathi Gachagua also wants entertainment joints in the…

UK: Woman lay dead in a flat for three years

A mentally ill woman was discovered in a “mummified, almost skeletal state” after lying dead for more than three years in her flat, her family say. Laura Winham, 38, was…

Japan: Authorities to release radioactive water into sea this year

Japan says it will release more than a million tonnes of water into the sea from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant this year. After treatment the levels of most…

China: Authorities reopen borders to tourists after three years of Covid closure

China has reopened its borders to international visitors for the first time since it imposed travel restrictions in March 2020. Incoming travellers will no longer need to quarantine – marking…

USA: FDA allows sale of abortion pills at pharmacies for first time

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will allow retail pharmacies to offer abortion pills in the United States for the first time, the agency has said, even as more…

Malawi: Authorities delay school opening over deadly cholera outbreak

The authorities in Malawi have suspended primary and secondary schools opening in two major cities following a cholera outbreak that has so far killed 595 people. Schools in the capital,…

UK: At least 30 children have died from invasive Strep A since mid-September

At least 30 children have died in the UK from invasive strep A since 19 September, new figures reveal. In total, 122 people have died in England from the invasive…

Uzbekistan: Authorities link child deaths to India cough syrup

Uzbekistan’s health ministry has said that 18 children have died after drinking a cough syrup manufactured by Indian drug maker Marion Biotech. The ministry said that preliminary tests showed a…