The number of measles cases in the European region doubled last year to reach the highest level in 25 years, health officials say. A joint report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN children's fund, Unicef, said children under the age of five accounted for more than 40% of the cases reported in Europe and central Asia.

BERLIN (Reuters) -Measles cases in the European region doubled in 2024 to a more than 25-year-high, the World Health Organisation and UNICEF said on Thursday, as they urged action to restore vaccination levels that slumped after the COVID-19 pandemic.

A fragment of a face from a human ancestor is the oldest in Western Europe, according to the results published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

The prehistoric facial bones were found buried in 50 feet of mud and silt, and are believed to be 1.1 to 1.4 million years old, researchers said.