1 week ago Botswana declares public health emergency over medical shortages as Trump aid cuts hit

The diamond-rich country has faced mounting debt while losing two-thirds of its support for its from the US

Politics

1 week ago Botswana’s president declares health emergency over supply shortages

Duma Boko announces urgent funding package for medicines to be distributed with military oversightBotswana’s president has declared a public health emergency due to shortages of essential medicines and equipment, as a downturn in the global diamond market and US aid cuts take a toll on the country’s finances.The announcement came after the Ministry of Health suspended non-urgent surgeries on 4 August, stating that the country was short of medicines to treat hypertension, diabetes, cancer, asthma and eye conditions, as well as supplies including bandages and sutures and those for sexual and reproductive health. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago What to know as Mississippi declares public health emergency over spike in infant deaths

There were 9.7 infant deaths for every 1,000 live births in 2024 in Mississippi.

Events

2 w. ago Declaration of famine in Gaza lays bare Israel’s disregard for humanitarian duty

The IPC’s findings that a quarter of Palestinians in Gaza are starving should mark an urgent turning point in this warThe declaration on Friday of widespread famine in Gaza by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) should mark a turning point in the war. The IPC, which represents a fastidious survey of available data, is regarded as the international gold standard in nutritional crises.Long-criticised by humanitarians in other emergencies for its overabundance of caution, the IPC’s declaration of Level 5 – “catastrophic” hunger – in Gaza is a significant moment. Famine, under the IPC’s exacting criteria, requires three critical thresholds to be passed: extreme food deprivation, acute malnutrition and starvation-related deaths, all of which are now visible in Gaza. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago County councils say rural taxpayers to face unfair burden under funding reforms

Concerns have been raised about the Government’s plan to boost resources at councils with lower council tax receipts.

Economics

2 w. ago Search underway for missing after Pakistan flash floods kill over 330

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province declares emergency as weather department issues new heavy rain warning

Events

3 w. ago Protesters confront federal officers as Trump tightens grip on DC policing

Democratic leader says ‘no fucking way’ as president signals he could declare emergency to keep control past 30 daysUS politics live – latest updatesProtesters heckled federal law enforcement officials as they reportedly stopped dozens of cars at a checkpoint along a busy street in Washington DC on Wednesday night, underscoring tensions after Donald Trump announced he was taking control of the city’s police department and deploying the national guard in the city.Around 20 law enforcement officers, some of whom appeared to be from the Department of Homeland Security, pulled over drivers for infractions such as broken taillights and not wearing seatbelts, according to the Washington Post. At least one woman was reportedly arrested as more than 100 protesters gathered and reportedly yelled things like “get off our streets”, according to NBC News. Some protesters began warning drivers to avoid the area, the outlet reported. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Council to spend £4.7m on THOUSANDS of new homes in Greater Manchester borough

The council declared a housing emergency back in 2023

Economics

3 w. ago State of emergency declared in New Mexico following rise in crime and drug use

Local authorities and tribal officials in the county had called for state reinforcements to combat the escalating crime linked to illicit drug use

Events

3 w. ago New Mexico governor declares state of emergency in rural county afflicted by crime, drug use

The governor of New Mexico has declared a state of emergency in response to violent crime and drug trafficking across a swath of northern New Mexico, including two Native American pueblo communities

Events

3 w. ago 9 people plead not guilty in a Texas elections probe involving 'vote harvesting'

Nine people have pleaded not guilty to felony charges brought forth in a rural Texas county by Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton as part of a widening elections investigation

Politics

3 w. ago Spain declares red weather emergency with maximum threat posed to UK tourists

Spain's weather agency AEMET has issued a rare 'red warning, the highest regarding heat, for parts of the country as the UK has been warned of a heatwave

Society

3 w. ago Trump’s military takeover of Washington DC is a sheer demonstration of power | Moira Dongan

No one believes that the deployment of troops to America’s most liberal, most racially diverse, and most culturally thriving cities is about solving a real problemPresident Trump imposed a military takeover of the nation’s capital on Monday, sending National Guard troops to Washington. He also seized control of the DC municipal police department, invoking an obscure section of the 1973 D.C. Home Rule Act which allows the president to take control of local law enforcement in the district for a period of one month in times of emergency.That there is no emergency is irrelevant: Trump has declared one in order to exercise powers that are only available to him in a state of exception, which is, of course, what the whole country increasingly finds itself to be experiencing as the president expands the powers of his office from those of a constitutional executive into something more like the power of authoritarian control.Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Rise in dengue fever outbreaks across the Pacific driven by the climate crisis, experts say

Samoa, Fiji and Tonga among the worst affected amid warning the disease and others will become ‘more common and more serious’ as the planet warmsThe climate crisis is driving a sharp rise in dengue fever cases across the Pacific islands, experts say, as infections hit their highest level in a decade and several countries declare emergencies.Pacific Island countries and territories have reported 16,502 confirmed cases and 17 deaths since the start of 2025, according to the Pacific Syndromic Surveillance System (PSSS), which collaborates with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other agencies. Infections across the region are at the highest level since 2016, the WHO said. Fiji, Samoa and Tonga are among the worst affected. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Trump places Washington DC police under federal control and will deploy National Guard – live updates

Trump declares ‘public safety emergency’ despite record crime low; DC mayor says ‘any comparison to a war-torn country is hyperbolic and false’Trump vows to ‘clean up’ DC crime despite sharp drop in violenceDonald Trump said on Truth Social today that DC “will be LIBERATED today”.Ahead of his press conference, in just over an hour, the president said that “crime, savagery, filth, and scum will disappear” from the city.I will, MAKE OUR CAPITAL GREAT AGAIN! The days of ruthlessly killing, or hurting, innocent people, are OVER! I quickly fixed the Border (ZERO ILLEGALS in last 3 months!), D.C. is next!!! Continue reading...

Politics