Govt gives £50k to African aid

Fighting has broken out across the Blue Nile State Sierra which sits on the border of Sudan and the recently independent South Sudan.

There have been many thousands of casualties as rebel forces continue to clash with the Sudanese government.

Around 70,000 refugees have been driven from their homes and there has been a loss of agricultural land and a failed harvest.

The Committee has agreed to give more than £25,000 to the charity Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust for emergency food to those most affected, while also providing seeds to farmers.

In Sierra Leone a national state of emergency has been called by the President as a result of a cholera epidemic. So far, more than 200 people have died and 12,000 have contracted the disease.

The Committee has subsequently given almost £25,000 to Oxfam.

The charity will provide access to clean water and sanitation facilities and undertake hygiene promotion in slums.