World news in brief: £52m emergency aid for drought-stricken Africans

A £52.25 million emergency aid package has been put together to help millions of drought victims in the Horn of Africa, the Government announced.

International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said the cash would be used to support starving people in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya hit by the worst drought in half a century.

Speaking before a visit to Kenya, where he will meet Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Internal Security Minister George Saitoti, Mr Mitchell admitted the situation was "getting worse" and urged the international community to do more to help.

He said: "The situation is particularly devastating in Somalia, where families already have to cope with living in one of the most insecure countries in the world.

"More than 3000 people every day are fleeing over the borders to Ethiopia and Kenya, many of them arriving with starving children."

The Dadaab camps in Kenya are overflowing with tens of thousands of refugees fleeing the parched landscape in the region where Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya meet.

The World Food Programme estimates that 10 million people already need humanitarian aid.

Jennifer Lopez marriage split

JENNIFER Lopez and husband Marc Anthony have announced their separation after seven years.

The couple had twin children, went on tour together, did a movie together and even planned a music-based reality show they were working on together.

Chavez heads back to Cuba

VENEZUELAN president Hugo Chavez announced that he will return to Cuba to begin a new phase of cancer treatment that will include chemotherapy.

Mr Chavez said he was seeking legislative approval to go back to Havana today "to begin what we've called the second phase".

EIGHT out of 90 banks across Europe have failed stress tests, the European Banking Authority has said, a slight increase on seven last year.

The tests act as a check to ensure banks have sufficient capital to deal with difficult economic developments.

All five UK banks covered by the tests passed, the EBA said, with five Spanish, two Greek and one Austrian failing. The stress tests are designed to identify weak banks so national regulators can push them to strengthen their finances.

Astronauts fix shuttle alarm

THE pilots on Nasa's last space shuttle flight fixed another one of their main computers after it failed and set off an alarm that shattered their sleep.

Nasa declared all five of Atlantis' primary computers to be working, pending evaluation of the latest shutdown. Computer failures are extremely rare in orbit, said Nasa.China: The government has called on the US to withdraw an invitation for the Dalai Lama to meet President Obama at the White House, saying it could hurt relations between the two countries.

China opposes any foreign official meeting with the Tibetan leader.

Italy: Italy has backed a 70 billion euro (43 billion) austerity package - a move considered crucial to stopping the eurozone's third-largest economy from succumbing to the debt crisis.