An American aid worker infected with the deadly ebola virus while in Liberia was being treated at an Atlanta hospital in a special isolation unit yesterday.

Liberia has announced the quarantine of a number of communities and the closure of schools across the country, the toughest measures yet imposed by a West African government in a bid to halt the worst Ebola outbreak on record.

An American doctor is receiving intensive medical treatment in Liberia after he was infected with the deadly Ebola virus while treating patients in the West African nation, a spokeswoman for an aid organisation said.

Irish people are expected to collect up to 300,000 boxes of Christmas toys for needy children abroad in coming weeks.

KATE and Gerry McCann remain “philosophical” about the hunt for their missing daughter, despite the disappointment that a young girl spotted in Morocco was not Madeleine, relatives said last night.