NWSDB not to suspend water supply to schools It has been decided not to disconnect the water supply connections of the schools that have not paid their water bills, education Minister Susil Premajayantha said.

The decision was announced following a discussion with the National Water Supply and Dranage Board (NWSDB) Chairman today (20).

The minister told the NWSDB chairman that necessary arrangements will be made to pay the bills in future, and following the minister’s reassurance, the NWSDB has agreed to this.

Liz Truss has dramatically resigned as prime minister after just 45 days in the job.

The PM said her successor will be elected in a Tory leadership contest, to be completed in the next week.

Tory MPs urged Ms Truss to go after her government was engulfed by political turmoil, following the ditching of most of her economic policies.

Ms Truss was elected by the Tory membership in September, but she lost authority after a series of U-turns.

In a brief speech outside Downing Street, Ms Truss said the Conservative Party had elected her on a mandate to cut taxes and boost economic growth.

But given the situation, Ms Truss said: “I recognise that I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party.”

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and other opposition parties called for an immediate general election following Ms Truss’s resignation speech.

Ms Truss said she would remain in post until a successor formally takes over as party leader and is appointed prime minister by King Charles III.

Jeremy Hunt – who was appointed chancellor last week – has said he will not stand in the leadership contest to be the next prime minister.

(BBC News)

The deaths of nearly 100 children in Indonesia have prompted the country to suspend sales of all syrup and liquid medication.

It comes just weeks after a cough syrup in The Gambia was linked to the deaths of nearly 70 children.

Indonesia said some syrup medicine was found to contain ingredients linked to acute kidney injuries (AKI), which have killed 99 young children this year.

It is not clear if the medicine were imported or locally produced.

On Thursday, Indonesian health officials said they had reported around 200 cases of AKI in children, most of who were aged under five.

Earlier this month, the The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a global alert over four cough syrups that were linked to the deaths of almost 70 children in The Gambia.

The WHO found the syrups used there – made by an Indian pharmaceutical company – contained “unacceptable amounts” of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol. The syrups have been “potentially linked with acute kidney injuries”, said the organisation.

Indonesia’s Health Minister on Thursday said the same chemical compounds were also found in some medicines used locally.

“Some syrups that were used by AKI child patients under five were proven to contain ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol that were not supposed to be there, or of very little amount,” said Budi Gunadi Sadikin.

However, he did not disclose how many cases involved the toxic medicines.

Indonesian authorities said the cough syrups used in The Gambia were not sold locally.

One epidemiologist said the true death toll could be even higher than reported.

“When cases like these happen, [what we know is] the tip of the iceberg, which means there could be far more victims,” Dicky Budiman, an epidemiologist from Griffith University told BBC Indonesia.

(BBC News)