Health News

New Delhi shuts power plant in fight against Diwali smog

By AFP

New Delhi - India's environmental watchdog shut down a coal-fired power plant and banned the use of diesel generators in New Delhi as air quality plummeted in the world's most polluted capital on Wednesday, the start of the Diwali festival.

'Sex addict' therapy unlikely to help Harvey Weinstein: experts

By AFP

Miami - Fallen Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein has reportedly checked in to a US rehabilitation center that treats male sex addicts, but experts say such therapy is unlikely to help.

Seychelles schools closed over plague fears

By AFP

Victoria - The Seychelles government ordered schools to close Friday, after the discovery of two suspected cases of plague thought to have been brought from Madagascar where the disease has killed scores.

Squeeze on UK health gives advanced nurses leading role

By AFP

London - Sara Dalby never imagined she would one day operate on patients when she started studying nursing.

Air pollution kills over 500,000 Europeans a year: report

By AFP

Copenhagen - Air pollution causes more than 500,000 premature deaths across Europe each year despite "slowly" improving air quality on the continent, the EU's environment authority said Wednesday.

Child obesity grows tenfold since 1975: study

By AFP

Paris - The world had 10 times as many obese children and teenagers last year than in 1975, but underweight kids still outnumbered them, a study said Wednesday.

After shooting, Las Vegas seeks healing

By AFP

Las Vegas - Far from the Las Vegas Strip and its flashy hotels, a small healing park opened Friday in the north of Las Vegas, as communities shaken by Sunday's horrific mass shooting join together to grieve.

MEPs urged to probe Monsanto influence on research

By AFP

Brussels - A US firm pursuing a lawsuit against Monsanto is urging the European Parliament to examine its claims that the agro giant has hidden the dangers of its weedkiller, according to a letter obtained by AFP on Thursday.

Plague outbreak forces closure of two Madagascan universities

By AFP

Antananarivo - Madagascan authorities Thursday ordered two universities to close temporarily as efforts intensify to halt a plague outbreak that has killed 33 people and caused widespread panic.

Taiwan's battle with betel nut addiction

By AFP

- For years Huang Sheng-yi helped feed Taiwan's addiction to the betel nut, planting thousands of the trees on his mountainous farm.

EU watchdog OKs cancer drugs without evidence they work: study

By AFP

Paris - European regulators approved 39 new cancer drugs between 2009 and 2013 despite having no evidence that they worked, unnecessarily exposing patients to toxicity, researchers said Thursday.

Panic in Madagascar as plague spreads

By AFP

Antananarivo - Crowds of fearful residents flock to their local pharmacies before dawn, desperate to buy masks and antibiotics to stave off a plague outbreak sweeping Madagascar.

Thousands of Poles rally to defend women's rights

By AFP

Varsovia - Several thousand black-clad women took to streets across Poland on Tuesday to defend their reproductive rights, which they say are being curtailed under the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) government.

'Skin and bones': doctors fear for malnourished Rohingya kids

By AFP

Cox's Bazar - The five-year-old Rohingya boy was so emaciated that doctors could not insert a drip into his tiny arm, one of thousands of children facing life-threatening malnutrition in overstretched Bangladeshi refugee camps.

Fear of epidemic disaster as disease stalks Rohingya camps

By AFP

Cox's Bazar - Rashida Begum steers clear of the water pump near the reeking latrine shared by more than 100 families in a grim corner of Bangladesh that has grown into one of the world's largest refugee settlements in just weeks.

US halves Cuba diplomatic staff over mysterious 'attacks'

By AFP

Washington - The United States said Friday it is withdrawing more than half the personnel from its embassy in Cuba in response to mysterious attacks that have sickened diplomatic staffers, in a new blow to fragile relations between the former Cold War foes.

US halves Cuba diplomatic staff over mysterious 'attacks'

By AFP

Washington - The US is withdrawing more than half of its personnel from the embassy in Havana in response to "specific attacks" targeting at least 21 of its staff, a senior State Department official said Friday.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus announces she has breast cancer

By AFP

Los Angeles - Award-winning "Veep" star Julia Louis-Dreyfus revealed Thursday that she has breast cancer.

Cannibalism suspects return to South Africa court

By AFP

Johanesburg - Seven men suspected of cannibalism appeared in a South African court on Thursday, with one of the accused reportedly wanting to plead guilty to charges that have shocked the country.

Fake Australian cancer blogger gets hefty fine

By AFP

Sydney - An Australian blogger who faked brain cancer and professed to have cured the disease with natural therapies was fined Aus$410,000 (US$320,000) on Thursday over the false claims.

Can Twitter, Google and AI help in forecasting flu outbreaks?

By Karen Graham

Predicting and forecasting the yearly flu season has always been difficult, and proper preparation is essential. To improve their forecasts and predictions, the CDC is getting some help from social media, AI, and other groups.

Tillerson has 'firm and frank' talks with Cuba on US staff 'attacks'

By AFP

Washington - Top US diplomat Rex Tillerson met his Cuban counterpart Tuesday for a "firm and frank" discussion amid a fierce dispute over alleged attacks Washington says caused brain trauma to some American diplomats in Havana.

Doctors and hospitals among Taliban casualties of war

By AFP

Kandahar - After the Taliban closed his local health clinic, Afghan farmer Haji Fazel Ahmad was forced to rent a car to take his sick wife to the nearest hospital six hours away. To his dismay the insurgents had shut that too.

'World's heaviest woman' dies in Abu Dhabi hospital

By AFP

Abu Dhabi - An Egyptian believed to be the world's heaviest woman died Monday of heart and kidney failure at an Abu Dhabi hospital, following months of treatment to help her lose weight and one day walk again.

Brazilian with German Olympian's heart runs race of her life

By AFP

Rio De Janeiro - Brazilian Ivonette Balthazar felt jittery ahead of a Rio de Janeiro road race Sunday, but her heart -- transplanted from a German Olympian a year ago -- spurred her on.

Conflict leaves blind in rebel-held Ukraine stuck in dark

By AFP

Donetsk - Partially sighted Georgiy Lukyanov makes his way through the ageing lathes in the factory where he works in rebel-held eastern Ukraine.

McCain torpedos Republican effort to repeal Obamacare

By AFP

Washington - US Senator John McCain Friday announced his opposition to the latest Republican attempt to replace Barack Obama's signature health care law, likely dooming the repeal effort.

Alarm over flesh-eating ulcer cases in Australia

By AFP

Sydney - The spread of a flesh-eating bacterial condition in Australia sparked calls Thursday for more government-funded research into the disease, which is normally limited to developing countries.

Little league football linked to mood problems later: study

By AFP

Paris - Taking up American football before the age of 12 may have an impact on behaviour and mood much later in life, a study of former players said Tuesday.

UN seeks $10 million as Nigeria cholera outbreak worsens

By AFP

Maiduguri - At least 44 people have now died in a cholera outbreak in northeast Nigeria, the United Nations said Monday, calling for nearly $10 million to keep the disease from spreading.