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In risks to bees, study finds not all neonicotinoids are equal

By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) – A group of chemical insecticides known as neonicotinoids that have been banned in Europe due to fears about potential harm to bees have been found in new research to have very differential risks for bumblebees. Scientists who conducted the research said their findings showed that at least one neonicotinoid in the banned group – clothianidin – may have been unfairly named as among the offenders. This insecticide did not show the same detrimental effects on bee colonies as the others, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam, the researchers found.

California bill to fight fashion models’ eating disorders advances

By Sharon Bernstein SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) – A California bill aimed at reducing eating disorders among models cleared its first legislative hurdle on Wednesday, following efforts in several countries to fight extreme thinness in an industry that pressures models to lose weight. The measure would require the state to develop health standards for models and regard them as employees of the brands they represent. “The goal of the bill is not only to protect the health of the workers themselves, but also to help young people who emulate models,” said the bill’s author, state Assemblyman Marc Levine, a Democrat who represents the Marin County suburbs of San Francisco.

Tsunami alert wound back after large quake hits off Vanuatu

Officials wound back an initial tsunami threat issued after a large earthquake struck off the coast of the South Pacific islands of Vanuatu on Sunday. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the danger had largely passed and canceled an earlier warning of a possible tsunami as a result of the quake, which was initially measured at a magnitude of 7.2 but later revised down to 6.9. The quake was also deemed to be deeper that first thought – 33 kilometers (21 miles) as opposed to 10 kms, Kanoa Koyanagi, a geophysicist at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii told Reuters.

Antibiotic combination marketed by Abbott in India on list of banned drugs

By Zeba Siddiqui and Aditya Kalra MUMBAI (Reuters) – A powerful antibiotic combination that is marketed in India by U.S. pharmaceutical giant Abbott Laboratories is among 344 drug combinations that have been banned by the Indian health authorities. A Reuters investigation revealed in December that a unit of Abbott in India was selling a combination of the antibiotics cefixime and azithromycin without approval from the central government. A notice issued by the Indian Health Ministry at the weekend said that a government-appointed committee of experts had found that the banned combinations were “likely to involve risk to human beings, whereas safer alternatives to the said drug are available.” The government notice said the ban would take effect immediately.

Trump’s march stirs growing sense of dread among U.S. Republicans

By James Oliphant WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Republicans in Washington are coming to grips with what many of them not long ago considered an unimaginable reality: Donald Trump is likely to be their presidential nominee and standard-bearer. The prospect of Trump winning the Republican primary had been the stuff of Washington jokes, whispered hallway conversations and eye-rolls, even as he led in public opinion polls for months and dominated debate after debate. “It fills all of us with concern and dread,” said Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona, who has endorsed fellow Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, considered the main hope of the Republican establishment to derail Trump’s march to the nomination.

White House says magnitude of Zika challenge means new funding needed

The White House said on Monday that it will ask the U.S. Congress for permission to redirect some money set aside for Ebola-related projects for its response to the Zika virus, but said it would primarily need new funding to address the outbreak. President Barack Obama has asked Congress for more than $1.8 billion to fight Zika, but several top Republican lawmakers have said the administration should instead draw from funds not yet used for public health projects aimed at the Ebola virus. “The magnitude of the Zika outbreak primarily requires new resources to ensure it is adequately addressed,” White House budget director Shaun Donovan said in a letter to Representative Hal Rogers, the top Republican appropriator in the House of Representatives.

U.S. panel reaffirms depression screening for adolescents

By Andrew M. Seaman (Reuters Health) – Adolescents between 12 and 18 years old in the U.S. should be screened for depression, according to guidelines reaffirmed by a government-backed panel of prevention experts. “From a parent’s perspective, I think it’s important for them to know that depression can be relatively common in adolescence and we have ways to treat it,” said Dr. Alex Krist, a member of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) and professor at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.

Zika found in saliva, urine in Brazil; U.S. offers sex advice

By Pedro Fonseca RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Authorities in Brazil said on Friday Zika has been detected in patients' saliva and urine, adding to the concern over the spread of the virus, while U.S. officials offered new guidance on sex for people returning from Zika-hit regions. Zika, linked to thousands of birth defects in Brazil, is primarily transmitted through mosquito bites, but word surfaced this week of infections through sex and blood transfusions, and news of the presence of the virus in the saliva and urine of two patients prompted new worries. In fact, the president of the Brazilian federal biomedical research institution that made the announcement urged pregnant women not to kiss strangers during the country's free-wheeling Carnival celebrations.

War crimes should not be part of any Syria amnesty: U.N. rights boss

Starvation of Syrian civilians is a potential war crime and crime against humanity that should be prosecuted and not covered by any amnesty linked to ending the conflict, the top United Nations human rights official said on Monday. Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, speaking to a news briefing in Geneva as Syria peace talks were being held said: “In the case of Syria, we are there to remind everyone that where there are allegations that reach the threshold of war crimes or crimes against humanity that amnesties are not permissible.” Pointing to the what he said was the starvation of people in the town of Madaya, and the siege of 15 other towns and cities in Syria, he said this was “not just a war crime but a crime against humanity if proven in court.” “We estimate that tens of thousands are held in arbitrary detention and clearly they need to be released,” Zeid added.