Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria said Monday it had confirmed three cases of monkey pox after receiving dozens of reports of the disease since last month in seven states across the country’s south. Health Minister Isaac Adewole said 17 suspected cases of the viral disease have been identified in Bayelsa …
Read More »Seychelles schools closed over plague fears
Victoria, Seychelles | AFP | 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. The health ministry has also put under surveillance 320 people who have come into contact …
Read More »Happier marriages linked to healthier hearts: study
Paris, France | AFP | Men whose marriages grow stronger over the years have healthier cholesterol and blood pressure than peers whose unions fall apart, said a study Tuesday that hinted at unexpected health perks of relationship counselling. Researchers got more than 600 men in Britain to rate the “quality” of …
Read More »Nigeria warns over suspected monkeypox outbreak
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Health officials in Nigeria have called for calm after dozens of suspected cases of monkeypox were reported in seven states across the south of the country. Thirty-one suspected cases of the viral disease have been identified since the first was reported in Bayelsa State on September …
Read More »‘All winners’ at inaugural Miss Wheelchair World pageant
Warsaw, Poland | AFP | In her elegant evening dress and perfectly styled hair and make-up, Maria Diaz looks like any beauty pageant contestant — except for the wheelchair she has been confined to since being shot by a stranger ten years ago. Maria is one of 24 young women …
Read More »Tunisian health minister dies after charity marathon
Tunis, Tunisia | AFP | Tunisia’s health minister died of a heart attack on Sunday after taking part in a charity marathon to help battle cancer, officials said. Slim Chaker, 56, fell ill after running some 500 metres (yards) and then making a speech at the start of a race in …
Read More »Orthorexia: When ‘healthy eating’ ends up making you sick
Paris, France | AFP | People, it seems, have never been so afraid of their food -– and, say some experts, an obsession with healthy eating may paradoxically be endangering lives. Twenty-nine-year-old Frenchwoman Sabrina Debusquat recounts how, over 18 months, she became a vegetarian, then a vegan — eschewing eggs, dairy …
Read More »Plague-hit Madagascar bans jail visits
Antananarivo, Madagascar | AFP | Authorities in Madagascar Friday announced a ban on prison visits to prevent the spread of a plague epidemic that has killed 36 people in the Indian Ocean island. “In order to protect prisoners from the plague that is spreading outside the prison, we have decided to …
Read More »MEPs urged to probe Monsanto influence on research
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | 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. The letter from the Los Angeles-based firm comes amid …
Read More »UN battles mounting illness in Rohingya camps
Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh | AFP | Relief agencies on Tuesday fought to contain a diarrhoea outbreak around camps in Bangladesh where more than 500,000 Rohingya have taken shelter in the past five weeks. The United Nations said meanwhile it would seek $430 million to increase operations in the camps along the …
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