(BBC) US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr is set to announce a ban on certain artificial food dyes, according to a statement from the health agency.

Kennedy plans to announce the phasing out of petroleum-based synthetic dyes as a “major step forward in the Administration’s efforts to Make America Healthy Again” the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said on Monday.

No exact dates for the changes were provided, but HHS said Kennedy would announce more details at a news conference on Tuesday.

The dyes – which are found in dozens of foods, including breakfast cereals, candy, snacks and beverages – have been linked to neurological problems in some children.

On the campaign trail alongside Donald Trump, Kennedy last year pledged to take on artificial food dyes as well as ultra-processed foods as a whole once confirmed to lead to top US health agency.

The move comes after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) earlier this year banned one dye, Red Dye 3, from US food and pharmaceuticals starting in 2027, citing its link to cancer in animal studies. California banned the dye in 2023.

Most artificially coloured foods are made with synthetic petroleum-based chemicals, according to nutrition nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).

Some of the petroleum-based food dyes include Blue 1, used in candy and baked goods; Red 40, used in soda, candy, pastries and pet food; and Yellow 6, also used in baked goods and drinks. Synthetic food dyes are found in dozens of popular foods including M&M’s, Gatorade, Kool-Aid and Skittles.

The only purpose of the artificial food dyes is to “make food companies money”, said Dr Peter Lurie, a former FDA official and the president of CSPI.

“Food dyes help make ultra-processed foods more attractive, especially to children, often by masking the absence of a colorful ingredient, like fruit,” he said. “We don’t need synthetic dyes in the food supply, and no one will be harmed by their absence.”

Companies have found ways to eliminate many of the dyes in other countries, including Britain and New Zealand, said former New York University nutrition professor Marion Nestle.

For example, in Canada, Kellogg uses natural food dyes like carrot and watermelon juice to colour Froot Loops cereal, despite using artificial dyes in the US.

How harmful the synthetic dyes are is debatable, said Ms Nestle.

“They clearly cause behavioural problems for some – but by no means all – children, and are associated with cancer and other diseases in animal studies,” she said.

“Enough questions have been raised about their safety to justify getting rid of them, especially because it’s no big deal to do so,” she added. “Plenty of non-petroleum alternative dyes exist and are in use.”

In 2008, British health ministers agreed to phase out six artificial food colourings by 2009, while the European Union bans some colourings and requires warning labels on others.

In recent months, Kennedy’s food-dye ban has found momentum in several state legislatures. West Virginia banned synthetic dyes and preservatives in food last month, while similar bills have been introduced in other states.

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Traoré’s anti-democratic posture is not a blueprint for development — it is a calculated strategy to entrench military rule under the guise of a populist revolution.
What Traoré is selling is not a radical reimagining of governance. It is an age-old authoritarian tactic: discredit democracy, invoke national pride, and suppress dissent — all while consolidating power… Since assuming power through a 2022 coup, Traoré has suspended political parties, cracked down on the press, and muzzled civil society organisations. He claims these actions defend national sovereignty and promote a “popular, progressive revolution.”
Clad in fatigues and fluent in fiery rhetoric, Captain Ibrahim Traoré of Burkina Faso has emerged as a poster child of a new wave of African populism. To his supporters, he is a revolutionary — bold, youthful, and principled.
To the disillusioned youth across the continent, he offers a seductive promise: progress without the inconveniences of democracy. But behind the revolutionary slogans and Sankara-inspired aesthetics lies a far less romantic reality.
Traoré’s anti-democratic posture is not a blueprint for development — it is a calculated strategy to entrench military rule under the guise of a populist revolution. Let us be clear, Africa has every right to interrogate the forms and functions of democracy on the continent.
For decades, many African states have endured dysfunctional governance, hollow elections, and endemic corruption — even under democratically elected leaders. But that frustration must not be manipulated into legitimising authoritarianism.
What Traoré is selling is not a radical reimagining of governance. It is an age-old authoritarian tactic: discredit democracy, invoke national pride, and suppress dissent — all while consolidating power.
Since assuming power through a 2022 coup, Traoré has suspended political parties, cracked down on the press, and muzzled civil society organisations. He claims these actions defend national sovereignty and promote a “popular, progressive revolution.”
But there is little “popular” about a regime that stifles dissent and sidelines citizen participation. Beneath the rhetoric, his governance follows a familiar authoritarian script: glorify the military, delegitimise the opposition, and centralise authority.
His framing of democracy as a Western construct is both lazy and intellectually dishonest. Democracy is not a Western invention — it is a universal aspiration. It is not perfect — no system is — but it provides tools for accountability, the protection of rights, and peaceful transitions of power.
Traoré’s assertion that no country has developed under democracy ignores glaring counterexamples: India, Indonesia, Botswana, Mauritius, and even South Africa — imperfect democracies that have made tangible developmental progress.
Democracy is not the enemy of progress; bad leadership is. Traoré frequently cites China and Rwanda as models of authoritarian success. But cherry-picking these exceptions while ignoring the graveyard of failed autocracies is deeply misleading.
For every China, there are countless Zimbabwes, Sudans, and Libyas — nations brought to their knees by unchecked power. Even China’s economic gains have come at great human cost: widespread censorship, suppression of dissent, and the erosion of personal freedoms — trade-offs many Africans are neither willing nor ready to accept.
In truth, Traoré’s appeal is more symbolic than substantive. His military garb, rejection of Western aid, and Pan-Africanist slogans serve a performative function — designed to project the image of a revolutionary, while masking the repressive nature of his regime.
It is political theatre, expertly staged for a generation hungry for change but jaded by the failures of democracy. And let us not be fooled by his youth or populist flair. Africa has seen this movie before.
From Mobutu in Zaire to Mengistu in Ethiopia, the continent’s post-independence history is littered with military strongmen who promised renewal but delivered repression. They all began with charismatic appeals and revolutionary fervour.
They all ended with censorship, violence, and economic ruin. Traoré’s growing popularity among young Africans — many of whom have no memory of the brutality of past military regimes — is understandable, but dangerous.
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Disillusionment with democracy should fuel reform, not nostalgia for dictatorship. Africa does not need another soldier-saviour. It needs strong institutions, functional systems, and an empowered citizenry — not one infantilised by authoritarian paternalism.
If Captain Traoré is genuinely committed to African sovereignty and development, let him invest in institution-building. Let him empower an independent judiciary, uphold press freedom, invest in civic education, and be accountable to the people — not just through speeches, but through action.
Anything less is not leadership — it is manipulation. The truth is, democracy does not fail because it is un-African. It fails when it is hijacked by corrupt elites, undermined by weak institutions, and eroded by poverty and exclusion.
The solution is not to discard democracy — but to fix it, to deepen it, to make it real. That is the only sustainable path to development, dignity, and self-determination.
Umar Farouk Bala writes from Abuja. He can be reached via: umarfaroukofficial@gmail.com.
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By Joy Nyambe/BBC

Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, has died on Easter Monday at the age of 88.

The Vatican’s announcement of his death came just a day after he appeared in a wheelchair at St Peter’s Square to wish thousands of worshipers gathered there a “Happy Easter”.

Pope Francis was discharged from hospital last month after five weeks of treatment for an infection that led to double pneumonia.

Catholics around the world have been mourning his death and crowds of well-wishers have begun arriving at the Vatican.

Among those who have paid tribute to him was Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who praised him as “great man” and said she had the privilege of enjoying his friendship, advice and teachings.

King Charles, who met with the Pope privately earlier this month during his state visit to Italy, said in a statement that he was “deeply saddened” to hear of the Pope’s death.

“His Holiness will be remembered for his compassion, his concern for the unity of the Church and for his tireless commitment to the common causes of all people of faith, and to those of goodwill who work for the benefit of others.”

The news of the Pope’s death was announced by the Vatican in a statement.

And President HAKAINDE HICHILEMA says he is deeply saddened by the death of Pope FRANCIS.

President HICHILEMA says Pope FRANCIS was a man of great humility and compassion, who led the Catholic Church by example.

The President says Zambia joins Catholics and fellow Christians across the world in mourning the Pope.

President HICHILEMA says Pope FRANCIS has been promoted to glory in a Jubilee year, on the most important day of the year for the Catholic faithful.

This is according to the President’s Facebook page, monitored by ZNBC News.

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