Congo’s leader is blaming a deadly Ebola virus outbreak for the last-minute decision to keep an estimated 1 million voters from the polls in Sunday’s long-delayed presidential election, claiming it would be a “disaster” if someone infects scores or hundreds of others. Protests exploded for a second day on Friday in response as health workers suspended efforts and warned that new cases could rise.

The Hungarian authorities have removed a much-loved statue of Imre Nagy, hero of the 1956 anti-Soviet uprising, from a square in central Budapest.

The rarest bird in the world – a species of duck called the Madagascar pochard – has been given a new home in time for the new year.

The authorities in the Galapagos islands have banned the sale and use of fireworks in the archipelago to protect its unique fauna.