Tag Archives: health

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The World Health Organization said Tuesday there was a “moderate risk” that a plague outbreak in Madagascar would spread to other countries in the region, but advised against travel restrictions. The outbreak of both bubonic plague, which is spread by infected rats via flea bites, and …