from the news desk - measles

RIOTS swept through the Algerian town of Oued el Abtal after the deaths of seven babies who had received measles vaccinations.

Residents fought police and set fire to government buildings when the town's prefect arrived to attend the children's funerals.

Police fired warning shots in an attempt to disperse the crowd in the town near Mascara, about 225 miles west of Algiers.

The seven victims were between three and 18 months old. Three died immediately after receiving the injections last week as part of a vaccination campaign and four others died within an hour, witnesses said.

Dozens more were taken to hospital in a serious condition.

Local doctors claimed that the vaccine had passed its expiry date, but health authorities later denied this and said the vaccination had been administered incorrectly.