New Zealand: Māori communities mourn loss of hard-won smoking reform

When New Zealand’s new government announced it was scrapping the country’s world-leading tobacco laws, it came as a particularly hard blow to Māori people. With the Indigenous community having the…

Kenya: Four women receive settlement in forced sterilisations case

Four women in Kenya have each been awarded $20,000 (£16,000) in damages for being sterilised without their informed consent. The women fought a nine-year legal battle – and their names…

Cameroon: Health Minister battles nationwide malaria vaccine scepticism

Cameroon’s Health Minister Dr Manaouda Malachie has urged the population to trust the government’s health policy, amid growing scepticism over the malaria vaccines which arrived the country nine days ago.…

Uganda: Seventy-year-old woman gives birth to twins

A 70-year-old woman has given birth to twins following IVF treatment. Safina Namukwaya delivered a boy and a girl via caesarean at a fertility centre in the capital, Kampala. Ms…

Australia: Authorities to ban disposable vape imports from January

Australia will ban imports of disposable vapes from January, in an effort to curb nicotine addiction in children. New laws to stop single-use vapes from being made, advertised, and supplied…

New Zealand: New government plans to reverse smoking ban

New Zealand’s new government says it plans to scrap the nation’s world-leading smoking ban to fund tax cuts. The legislation, introduced under the previous Jacinda Ardern-led government, would have banned…

Malawi: Nurses reject wage rise

In his seven years as a nurse in Malawi’s civil service, Mathews Saindi has never found financial stability. Things just keep getting worse, he says. Three years ago, his monthly…

Australia: Rat plague in Queensland overwhelming residents

Thousands of rats – dead and alive – have swept up on beaches in Queensland Australia, overwhelming residents. The state has been battling a rat and mouse plague for months…

Uganda: Unidentified illness kills 12

Ugandan health authorities are investigating an unidentified disease outbreak that has killed at least 12 people in a span of two weeks in Kyotera district in the central region. Affected…

UK: One killed in New Hampshire psychiatric hospital shooting

An armed suspect opened fire in the lobby of a psychiatric hospital in New Hampshire, killing a security guard, before an officer returned fire, killing the attacker, police say. Officials…