Wellington, New Zealand | AFP | Saturday 3/18/2023 Actor Sam Neill has revealed he is being treated for stage-three blood cancer, writing in a memoir that he was “possibly dying” from the illness diagnosed a year ago. The New Zealander, who burst to fame after starring as Dr Alan Grant in the 1993 blockbuster “Jurassic Park”, said he began treatment last March for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Neill, 75, makes the revelation in his book “Did […]
Tag: health
Dengue treatment advances in animal trials
Tokyo, Japan | AFP | Thursday 3/16/2023 by Sara HUSSEIN A new dengue treatment that could become the first to prevent and treat the virus has proven effective in initial trials in monkeys, according to new research. Dengue is transmitted by mosquitoes and affects tens of millions each year, producing brutal symptoms that have earned it the moniker “breakbone fever”. It is endemic in dozens of countries, but no treatment exists, and two vaccines that […]
Dengue treatment advances in animal trials
by Sara HUSSEIN Agence France-Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A new dengue treatment that could become the first to prevent and treat the virus has proven effective in initial trials in monkeys, according to new research. Dengue is transmitted by mosquitoes and affects tens of millions each year, producing brutal symptoms that have earned it the moniker “breakbone fever”. It is endemic in dozens of countries, but no treatment exists, and two vaccines that have […]
China lifts sweeping visa curbs on foreigners
by Daniel STUBLEN Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — China will once again start issuing a range of visas to foreigners as of Wednesday, the country’s embassy in Washington said, a major easing of travel restrictions in force since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The move marks the latest step towards reopening China to the outside world, as Beijing gradually breaks with the strict zero-Covid strategy that defined its pandemic response until a […]
Thousands of hospital doctors walk out in latest UK strike
by Helen ROWE UK hospital doctors on Monday began a three-day strike over pay at the start of a week that will also see teachers, train staff and civil servants walk out, in the latest wave of industrial action. The doctors say years of below-inflation pay increases mean they have effectively had a 26 percent pay cut since 2008. Ahead of the stoppage, the body that represents them, British Medical Association (BMA), launched an advertising […]
Japan eases mask guidelines, but few are keen to change
by Mathias CENA Agence France-Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s government eased its mask guidelines on Monday, recommending them only on crowded trains and in hospitals or care homes, but there was little sign residents were keen to unmask. Japan has never had a mask mandate, but residents have adhered to guidelines to wear them indoors and outside from the early days of the pandemic, and masks were common even pre-Covid during cold and hayfever […]
Nearly 130,000 facing starvation in Horn of Africa: WHO
Nearly 130,000 people in the Greater Horn of Africa are “staring death in the eyes” from catastrophic hunger, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned Friday. Some 48 million people in the Greater Horn — Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda — are facing crisis levels of food insecurity, the WHO said. That means households skipping meals and depleting savings and assets in order to eat. Of those, six million are facing emergency […]
Health warnings as Bangkok chokes on pollution
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Nearly 200,000 people in Thailand have been admitted to hospital because of air pollution this week, officials have said, with Bangkok shrouded in a harmful haze. The Thai capital, home to an estimated 11 million people and one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations, has been blanketed for days by an unpleasant yellow-grey mix of vehicle fumes, industrial emissions and smoke from agricultural burning. More than 1.3 million people have […]
‘Fix the system’: Indonesia parents seek justice after cough syrup crisis
by Gemma CAHYA Agence France-Presse JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Dinosaur-themed birthday decorations still hang on the walls of Safitri Puspa Rani’s Indonesian home, where the family celebrated their youngest son’s birthday last year. “Knock knock! Hey everyone! It’s my eighth birthday!” said a beaming Panghegar Bhumi in a video in September, while making a heart-shaped gesture with his arms. A month later he died from acute kidney injury, days after a doctor prescribed him a […]
FBI director says Covid ‘most likely’ caused by Wuhan lab accident
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — FBI Director Christopher Wray said Tuesday his agency believes the Covid-19 pandemic was “most likely” caused by an incident in a laboratory in Wuhan, China. “The FBI has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan,” Wray said in an interview with Fox News. The comments come after a report earlier this week said the US Department […]
Vaccine maker Novavax says ‘substantial doubt’ over future
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Covid-19 vaccine maker Novavax raised doubts Tuesday about its ability to continue its business, announcing plans to cut spending after struggles in rolling out its coronavirus jab. Shares of Novavax plummeted 25 percent in extended trading, after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings that missed analyst estimates. While the firm should have enough money to fund operations, the situation is “subject to significant uncertainty,” it said in a statement. “Given these […]
Brisk daily walk could prevent one in 10 early deaths: study
PARIS, France (AFP) — One in 10 early deaths could be prevented if everyone engaged in a small amount of daily exercise such as a brisk 11-minute walk, a large study said on Wednesday. Physical activity is known to reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer and other leading causes of death, but exactly how much is needed to have an impact has been unclear. So an international team of researchers pooled together the results […]





