The WHO chief has urged countries to ramp up testing to accurately reflect global transmission trends. Meanwhile, Mexico said it is transitioning from pandemic to endemic.

In Ethiopia's northern Afar region, discarded explosives have been maiming and killing children at an alarming rate, medical workers told Reuters. Fighting that began in November 2020 in the Tigray region and spread last year to Afar has eased in recent weeks. But even as open combat subsides, civilians continue to bear the costs of a war that has killed thousands, displaced millions and left hundreds of thousands suffering famine conditions.

The drought in Kenya threatens the survival of Turkana communities. Many children suffer from malnutrition and dehydration. NGOs call for increased funding for aid and a quick response to the humanitarian disaster.

A top German court is debating the case of two army officers who have refused a mandatory vaccination against COVID-19. The two have cited their right to "physical integrity" under German law.

A series of explosions in Transnistria is ringing alarm bells. Part of Moldova, this pro-Russian breakaway region borders Ukraine. With Moscow making veiled threats to intervene militarily, Moldova is on edge.

Kenya-based Yvonne Waiyaki uses art as therapy for deaf children. With support and proper follow-up, they are integrated in the community and can achieve as much as their hearing peers.

More than 4,000 children from Ukrainian orphanages and care homes have been evacuated to Poland to escape the war. Separated from their parents or abandoned, they're coming to terms with trauma.

The World Health Organization and its COVID-19 vaccine partner Gavi have said they are not currently planning to buy shots from South Africa's Aspen - whose CEO is warning a lack of demand threatens local production.

A year ago, South Africa celebrated the opening of the continent's first COVID vaccine production line. Now it's at risk of being shut down due to low demand.

After struggling through the early years of the pandemic to get enough Covid 19 vaccinations, Africa's first factory to produce the doses says it may have to stop because it hasn't had enough orders. A former Congolese policemen gets a death sentence for murdereing a rights activist in 2010. And sanctions on Mali have hit Senegalese neighbouring towns. Within one month of the embargo exports to Mali have fallen by close to a quarter.

After struggling through the early years of the pandemic to get enough Covid-19 vaccinations, Africa's first factory to produce the doses says it may have to stop because it hasn't had enough orders. Also, a former Congolese policemen gets a death sentence for murdering human rights activist Floribert Chebeya in 2010. And sanctions on Mali have hit neighbouring towns in Senegal. Within one month of the embargo, exports to Mali have fallen by close to a quarter.

A teenager shot dead 19 children at an elementary school in the small city of Uvalde, officials said. US President Joe Biden called for stricter gun laws, asking when "are we going to stand up to the gun lobby?"