The Battle Against the Deadly ‘Superbug’
New cases of CRE have hospitals stepping up how the clean medical devices.
U.N. investigators to publish Syria war crimes suspect names
By Tom Miles GENEVA (Reuters) – United Nations war crimes investigators plan to publish names of suspects involved in Syria’s four-year war and push for new ways to bring them to justice, in a radical change of strategy announced on Friday. Diplomatic sources said the independent Commission of Inquiry, led by Brazilian investigator Paulo Pinheiro, may publish some or all of hundreds of names on secret lists of suspects at the U.N. Human Rights Council on March 17. Pinheiro, speaking to reporters after informally briefing the U.N. Security Council, refused to be drawn, saying any release of names would need to “be of some use” and have some “follow-up”. The investigators have already drawn up four lists including military and security commanders, the heads of detention facilities, and commanders of non-state armed groups, including the so-called “emirs” of radical groups, they said.
WHO urges developing countries to fund tropical diseases fight
By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) – The World Health Organization called on developing countries on Thursday to invest $1 per person per year until 2030 to tackle 17 neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and improve the health and well-being of more than 1.5 billion people. “Increased investments by national governments can alleviate human misery, distribute economic gains more evenly and free masses of people long trapped in poverty,” WHO director-general Margaret Chan said in a report.
Futures point to flat open, major indexes at records
NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures pointed to a quiet open on Tuesday, the first trading session after the S&P 500 closed at a record high, although investors continued to watch the uncertainty over a Greek debt deal and a fragile Ukraine truce.
Australian food company recalls berries after hep A outbreak linked to China
By Jane Wardell SYDNEY (Reuters) – An Australian company has recalled its frozen berry products following a hepatitis A outbreak linked to poor hygiene and water supplies in a Chinese packaging plant, reigniting fears about the safety of the Asian giant’s food exports. Australian authorities were investigating on Monday after five people fell sick after eating the Patties Foods Ltd berries, which were grown in both Chile and China before being packaged at the Chinese factory. There has long been concern about food safety in China, where pollution from rapid industrialization has exacted a heavy toll on soil and water. Contamination scandals that led to deaths and serious illnesses have increased the popularity in China of imports of European infant formula, New Zealand milk and Japanese rice.
Crowds attack Ebola facility, health workers in Guinea
Crowds destroyed an Ebola facility and attacked health workers in central Guinea on rumours that the Red Cross was planning to disinfect a school, a government spokesman said on Saturday. Red Cross teams in Guinea have been attacked on average 10 times a month over the past year, the organisation said this week, warning that the violence was hampering efforts to contain the disease. During the incident on Friday in the town of Faranah, around 400 km (250 miles) east of the capital Conakry, angry residents attacked an Ebola transit centre and set ablaze a vehicle belonging to medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres. A Red Cross burial team was also targeted and forced to flee, said Fodé Tass Sylla, spokesman for the government campaign against the disease.
Hormone drugs boost ovarian cancer risk by 40%
Menopausal women who take hormone replacement therapy (HRT) boost the risk of ovarian cancer by 40 percent, even if they take the treatment only for a few years, a study said Friday. The probe marks the widest-ever analysis of the risk of ovarian cancer from HRT, a treatment whose use declined when its safety was questioned a dozen years ago. Researchers publishing in The Lancet carried out an overview of 52 published studies, covering nearly 21,500 women in North America, Europe and Australia who had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. “For women who take HRT for five years from around age 50, there will be about one extra ovarian cancer for every 1,000 users, and one extra ovarian cancer death for every 1,700 users,” said Richard Peto, a University of Oxford professor who co-authored the study.
Death of the bake sale: New rules mean healthier fundraisers
WASHINGTON (AP) — When it comes to school fundraisers, bake sale tables loaded with sugary goodies are out. Fun runs, auctions and sales of healthier treats are in.
Pfizer in $5 billion accelerated buyback deal with Goldman, Sachs & Co
(Reuters) – Drugmaker Pfizer Inc said it entered into an agreement with Goldman, Sachs & Co to buy back $5 billion of its stock. Pfizer said the accelerated share repurchase was assumed in the forecast for the full year it provided last month. Under the agreement, which forms a part of Pfizer's existing buyback authorization, about 150 million shares will be bought. The settlement is expected during or prior to the third quarter. Shares of the New York-based company closed at $33.06 on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday. …
Three wounded in shooting at Pittsburgh area shopping mall
By Daniel Kelley PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) – A gunman wounded three people at a Macy’s department store in a shopping center outside Pittsburgh on Saturday in what police said was a shooting that targeted one of the victims. “We believe that one of those three people shot was a targeted individual,” said Monroeville Police Chief Doug Cole of the incident at the Monroeville Mall outside Pittsburgh. Andy Sherman, head of the Allegheny County Detective Division, said surveillance videos could help identify the gunman. The victims were taken to Forbes Hospital in Monroeville, about 12 miles (20 km) east of Pittsburgh, where two were in critical condition and one was in fair condition, according to Dan Laurent, a hospital spokesman.