Monrovia  - Researchers have identified swarms of mystery caterpillars that have been devastating crops and polluting water in Liberia, raising hopes that the problem could be tackled.

Researchers on Tuesday said the pests were not army worms, as previously thought, but caterpillars of the moth Achaea Catocaloides.

The creatures emerged almost a month ago in the remote Bong, Lofa and Gbarpolu counties and were now threatening the food security of about 350,000 people.

Monrovia  - When over 200 prisoners broke out of Monrovia Central Prison just before Christmas, some may have felt that the inmates, many of them on remand, were justified in their actions.

The prison system in Liberia, which is still recovering from a 14-year civil war that ended in 2003, is notoriously bad, with inmates facing serious overcrowding and brutality from prison officers.

The Liberian government has often been criticized for turning a blind eye to the increasingly poor conditions in prison facilities across the country.