Noma is a rapidly progressing and often fatal infection of the face and mouth. It begins with gum inflammation in malnourished children living in polluted environments and quickly spreads to destroy soft tissues and bones. It mostly affects 2- to 6-year-old children, especially in poor communities.

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he has to decide whether to make a deal with Iran or "annihilate" the country, in a bombastic speech to the United Nations that appeared tailored to war-weary American voters

Pope Leo at his Weekly General Audience in St Peter’s Square. PHOTO/VATICAN. By PATRICK MAYOYO Millions of Catholics gathered in churches across the world today to celebrate Sunday Mass, hearing a powerful message centred on God’s mercy, forgiveness, generosity and the value of every human life regardless of status, achievement or past mistakes. The readings proclaimed in parishes from Africa and Europe to Asia, the Americas and Oceania challenged believers to turn back to God, trust in His wisdom and embrace a spirit of gratitude rather than envy. The liturgy opened with a reading from the Book of Isaiah in which God invites people to seek Him while He is near and abandon sinful ways. The prophet delivers a message of hope, assuring worshippers that God is always ready to forgive those who sincerely repent. At the same time, the reading reminds humanity that God’s thinking is far beyond human understanding. “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways,” the ...

President William Ruto currently on a tour of Nyanza region. PHOTO/UGC. By PATRICK MAYOYO By any serious measure, Senator Edwin Sifuna has become a problem President William Ruto can no longer laugh away. For months, the establishment treated the Nairobi senator as political noise: an ambitious young lawyer, an ODM firebrand, a man supposedly enjoying a moment of celebrity politics that would disappear as quickly as it arrived. But political noise does not normally provoke this much attention from State House. A politician who is irrelevant is ignored. A politician who is dangerous is attacked. And the increasingly personal rhetoric directed at Sifuna suggests that President Ruto’s political strategists have begun to understand what Sifuna’s growing popularity could mean for the 2027 presidential contest. Recent TIFA findings are particularly revealing. In its July 2026 survey, Sifuna emerged as the most preferred opposition presidential contender, with 15 per cent, ahead of Fred M...

In tonight's edition, the United States is withholding a visa for Sudanese army chief al-Burhan ahead of his scheduled UN appearance. Also, Ghana’s beefing up its drugs authority in the wake of  major drug busts in France, Belgium and South Africa. And it’s back-to-school season in Ivory Coast.

People living in Chad’s Lake Province are bearing the brunt of climate change. The region and the communities that have developed there have historically depended on this vast body of water. Fishing, first and foremost, but also farming, are the pillars of local livelihoods. Yet both are increasingly disrupted by erratic weather patterns: dwindling fish stocks, damaged farmland and a rising cost of living.

South African skincare company Naturals Beauty says revenue rose about 80% in three years as e-commerce, exports and bespoke product development drove growth.

Business France reports R166 billion in French investment in South Africa since 2019, ahead of a Johannesburg forum focused on trade and industrial cooperation.

Sanna Manjang, the former head of a Gambian paramilitary unit accused of carrying out extrajudicial killings under ex-President Yahya Jammeh, appeared before a military court in Banjul Sunday to face charges of desertion, months after prosecutors dropped a separate murder case against him. Manjang, a lieutenant colonel who led the unit known as the “Junglers,” […]

UBS Chief Executive Sergio Ermotti said Tuesday that a proposal requiring the bank to back its foreign units with 90% Common Equity Tier 1 capital, rather than the 100% sought by the Swiss government, does not amount to a genuine compromise, urging lawmakers to pursue a more moderate path ahead of a decisive parliamentary vote. […]