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Israeli cabinet backs bill to force-feed jailed Palestinians on hunger strike

Israel’s cabinet approved on Sunday a proposed law that would enable authorities to force-feed Palestinian prisoners who are on hunger strike, a practice opposed by the country’s medical association. Israel has long been concerned that hunger strikes by Palestinians in its jails could end in death and trigger waves of protests in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan, who sponsored the bill, said the cabinet’s support for the legislation would allow him to re-submit it to parliament for two final votes in the near future.

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One of our most important life tasks is to know what we care about the most. And attaching our true responses — not necessarily the ones we’ve learned or have been told we should feel — to our emotions is a major life lesson.Overeating is not a cure for loneliness, personal dissatisfaction or lack of purpose. Overeating produces unwanted…

Ghana halts Ebola vaccine trial due to community protests

Ghana has halted a plan to test two Ebola vaccines in an eastern town after legislators backed local protests against the trials sparked by fears of contamination, officials said on Wednesday. The country's Food and Drugs Authority said it had begun enlisting volunteers in Hohoe in the Volta region to be injected with drugs made by Johnson & Johnson and Bavarian Nordic as part of a global Ebola vaccine drive. Ebola has killed more than 11,000 people in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia since it began more than a year ago but new cases have declined sharply.

Colorado rampage trial judge dismisses three jurors tainted by tweet

The judge in the capital murder trial of Colorado movie theater gunman James Holmes dismissed three jurors on Tuesday on the grounds they were tainted by hearing about a prosecutor's message on Twitter. Last week, District Attorney George Brauchler sent a tweet that referred to a videotaped interview a psychiatrist conducted with Holmes, who killed 12 moviegoers and wounded dozens more when he opened fire in a suburban Denver theater in 2012. Arapahoe County District Judge Carlos Samour has repeatedly told jurors not to read media reports or material on social media about the trial and not to discuss the case among themselves or with others.

South Korea reports sixth MERS death, surge in infections

South Korea recorded its sixth death and biggest single day jump in Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) infections on Monday, with 23 new cases in the largest outbreak of the potentially deadly virus outside Saudi Arabia. From just four cases two weeks ago, the total number of infections now stands at 87, including six people who have died. The latest fatality was an 80-year-old man who died Monday morning in a hospital in Daejeon, 140 kilometres (87 miles) south of Seoul, the health ministry said.

Protesters clash with police ahead of G7 summit in Bavaria

By Paul Carrel and Michelle Martin GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany (Reuters) – Protesters clashed with police in the German resort town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen on Saturday as thousands demonstrated against a meeting of Group of Seven (G7) leaders that starts on Sunday at a nearby luxury hotel. Scuffles first broke out as the demonstrators, some throwing bottles, faced off with riot police in a narrow lane of quaint Alpine houses on the edge of the town. Occasional clashes followed as the demonstrators snaked their way back through the town.

More reason for calm than panic in South Korea’s MERS scare

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Sales of surgical masks surge amid fears of a deadly, poorly understood virus. Airlines announce “intensified sanitizing operations.” More than 1,100 schools close and 1,600 people — and 17 camels in zoos — are quarantined.

Despite Obamacare, gap health insurance market explodes

By Beth Pinsker NEW YORK (Reuters) – Despite the promise of coverage through the U.S. Affordable Care Act (ACA), the number of people applying for non-compliant, short-term health insurance policies was up more than 100 percent in 2014, according to new data available from companies who broker these policies. This type of health insurance is exactly the kind that the ACA, known commonly as Obamacare, was supposed to upgrade. The government does not count these gap plans as qualifying health insurance, so people who have them are subject to penalties for being uninsured.

About 55 people at Utah homeless shelter suffer food poisoning

By Peg McEntee SALT LAKE CITY (Reuters) – About 55 people, including some children, fell ill with suspected food poisoning at a homeless shelter in Salt Lake City on the weekend, and authorities were investigating the source of the illness, officials said on Monday. Ambulances and a bus were sent to the shelter on Sunday to take those sickened to local hospitals, where they reported nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea, according to Salt Lake City Fire Department spokesman Jasen Asay. Ilene Risk, an epidemiologist at the Salt Lake County Department of Health, said those who check into Road Home often get food at a nearby soup kitchen and from other such facilities in the city.