Emma Batha

Thousands of overseas workers hired by care companies across Britain have been left broke and desperate after losing their jobs in what campaigners say is a national crisis.

In 2022, Britain launched a visa scheme to encourage migrant workers to bolster its ailing care sector. About 150,000 have arrived from countries including India, Nigeria and Zimbabwe.

When Zimbabwean sales rep Zola landed a job in Britain as a care worker she was excited about forging a new career, but the mother-of-three is now homeless, jobless and trapped in debt.

Labour rights experts say Zola is among tens of thousands of victims in an emerging national scandal that they say is a "shocking betrayal" by the government.

Five years after COVID-19 swept around the globe, killing millions and overwhelming health systems, countries have adopted a landmark treaty aimed at bolstering the world's ability to fight future pandemics.

The proposed accord seeks to improve early detection of dangerous new diseases and ensure fairer access to tests, drugs, vaccines and other health supplies.

When the Taliban seized Afghanistan, public prosecutor Roya fled for her life - 18 months and 11 countries later she arrived in the United States believing she had finally found safety.

But now Roya is terrified she may be forced back to Afghanistan after the Trump administration announced it would end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Afghans, leaving them at risk of deportation.

International aid fell in 2024 for the first time in six years, and is set to plunge further this year after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed a sweeping freeze on foreign aid, and many other key donors announced cuts.

The world's major donors contributed $212.1 billion in 2024, down 7.1% in real terms compared to 2023, according to preliminary data collected by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to slash aid will cost lives in Afghanistan where millions depend on assistance to survive, humanitarian experts say.

They warned of "massive impacts" on everything from healthcare to demining programmes, along with huge staff layoffs. 

Respiratory consultant Binita Kane was working on the frontlines of the pandemic in Britain when her 10-year-old daughter Jasmin developed long COVID in 2021.

Tens of thousands of children in Britain - and millions worldwide - have long COVID, impacting their health, education and futures.

As a lively 11-year-old, Louise's son loved riding his bike, building outdoor dens, and swimming in the sea near his home on England's south coast. But then COVID struck.

He has since spent most of the last three years housebound with long COVID, needing a stairlift and wheelchair to get around when not bedridden.

Thousands of South Sudanese refugees working with aid agencies in Bidibidi camp in northern Uganda lost their jobs overnight after U.S. President Donald Trump froze government aid funding, paralysing humanitarian programmes.

Yesua Aliki, 28, a refugee advocate in Bidibidi - one of the world's biggest camps - warned that the stoppage would lead to a big rise in malnutrition and more deaths.

Long COVID is costing countries billions of dollars in lost productivity and increased health and social welfare costs, economists say.

Five years on from the start of the COVID-19 crisis, millions of people are struggling with debilitating health problems that have decimated their lives and livelihoods.