A group of parents in The Gambia have begun legal action against the government, an Indian pharmaceutical company and a medicine importer followings the deaths of their children which have been linked to cough syrup manufactured in India.
The 19 parents are seeking about $4.7m (£3.7m) in damages.
A team of lawyers from the Gambia Bar Association and the Female Lawyers Association of The Gambia are representing the parents.
They want the health ministry and the medicines control agency to admit they failed in their duties to regulate the importation, distribution, and sale of medicines in the country.
They are also asking for a declaration that their children did in fact die from the cough syrup and want the importer’s license to be withdrawn.
A parliamentary committee in The Gambia had recommended the prosecution of Maiden Pharmaceuticals but said the children’s cause of death was still being investigated.bbc
SA Women’s Team Row With Officials Ahead of World Cup
South Africa’s women’s football team, known as Banyana Banyana, are in turmoil ahead of the World Cup due to be held in Australia and New Zealand later this month.
On Sunday, the players boycotted a warm-up match against neighbouring Botswana to show their dissatisfaction.
Banyana Banyana is one of Africa’s top teams having won the Africa Cup of Nations last year.
Unequal pay, salary disputes and anger over bonus agreements are the main reasons for the long-standing clash between South Africa’s most successful national football team and the country’s football association, Safa.
Football’s world governing body Fifa announced an incentive of $30,000 (£24,000) for world cup-bound players.
The South African team asked for written assurances that they would get the money but that hasn’t been forthcoming.bbc
