Polio, which can paralyze small children, has become the latest threat to refugees already struggling with famine and disease in the camps of Darfur.
Sudan is one of 12 countries that had been polio-free for at least two years but is now again seeing cases of paralysis as a result of a major outbreak in northern Nigeria.
PHOTO: EPA
There have been 453 cases of polio in Kano, Nigeria, because controversy over the polio vaccine in the Muslim province led to cessation of immunization.
Although immunization in Kano started again two weeks ago, major efforts will be needed across much of Africa to contain the outbreak.
One case was identified in Darfur earlier in the year. On Tuesday it was confirmed there have been three more, all caused by the Nigerian polio strain.
Mali and Guinea also have had polio cases, it was revealed yesterday, taking the total from ten in June to 12 now.
African Union health ministers have agreed on a campaign to reach 74 million children under five years old, but it will be able to go ahead only if more money is forthcoming from donors.
Six countries have never been polio-free. There have been 453 cases in Nigeria this year, 33 in India, 21 in Pakistan, 19 in Niger, three in Afghanistan, and one in Egypt.
Australians were downloading virtual private networks (VPNs) in droves, while one of the world’s largest porn distributors said it was blocking users from its platforms as the country yesterday rolled out sweeping online age restriction. Australia in December became the first country to impose a nationwide ban on teenagers using social media. A separate law now requires artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot services to keep certain content — including pornography, extreme violence and self-harm and eating disorder material — from minors or face fines of up to A$49.5 million (US$34.6 million). The country also joined Britain, France and dozens of US states requiring
Hungarian authorities temporarily detained seven Ukrainian citizens and seized two armored cars carrying tens of millions of euros in cash across Hungary on suspicion of money laundering, officials said on Friday. The Ukrainians were released on Friday, following their detention on Thursday, but Hungarian officials held onto the cash, prompting Ukraine to accuse Hungary’s Russia-friendly government of illegally seizing the money. “We will not tolerate this state banditism,” Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said. The seven detained Ukrainians were employees of the Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank, who were traveling in the two armored cars that were carrying the money between Austria and
Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani on Friday after dissolving the Kosovar parliament said a snap election should be held as soon as possible to avoid another prolonged political crisis in the Balkan country at a time of global turmoil. Osmani said it is important for Kosovo to wrap up the upcoming election process and form functional institutions for political stability as the war rages in the Middle East. “Precisely because the geopolitical situation is that complex, it is important to finish this electoral process which is coming up,” she said. “It is very hard now to imagine what will happen next.” Kosovo, which declared
MORE BANS: Australia last year required sites to remove accounts held by under-16s, with a few countries pushing for similar action at an EU level and India considering its own ban Indonesia on Friday said it would ban social media access for children under 16, citing threats from online pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud and Internet addiction. “Accounts belonging to children under 16 on high-risk platforms will start to be deactivated, beginning with YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox,” Indonesian Minister of Communications and Digital Meutya Hafid said. “The government is stepping in so that parents no longer have to fight alone against the giants of the algorithm. Implementation will begin on March 28, 2026,” she said. The social media ban would be introduced in stages “until all platforms fulfill their
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