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Tag Archives: health

Protests as Sri Lanka cuts tax on sugary drinks

Colombo, Sri Lanka | AFP | Sri Lanka Saturday slashed a tax on sugary drinks in a controversial reversal of an anti-diabetes policy that attracted immediate criticism. The finance ministry ordered an immediate 40 percent reduction in the levy as part of a package of tax cuts launched by the …

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Niger reports sharp drop in new AIDS infections

Niamey, Niger | AFP |  The number of new AIDS infections in Niger dropped by more than two thirds between 2012 and 2016, the health ministry said Saturday, in a statement marking World AIDS day. Health Minister Idi Illiassou said new infections in the four-year period under review fell from …

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Now, Gabon president in Morocco to convalesce

Rabat, Morocco | AFP | Gabon’s President Ali Bongo arrived in Morocco on Thursday to convalesce after a month’s treatment at a Saudi hospital for an illness that has not been officially revealed. The 59-year-old leader of the oil-rich West African state had been in hospital in Saudi Arabia since …

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Measles cases rise 30 percent worldwide

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP |  Measles cases worldwide jumped more than 30 percent last year compared to 2016, with increases recorded in wealthy European countries like Germany where vaccination coverage has historically been high, the UN said Thursday. The World Health Organization said the worrying trend of resurgent measles cases …

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US life expectancy drops again as overdoses climb

Tampa, United States | AFP | Life expectancy in the United States dropped yet again as drug overdose deaths continued to climb — taking more than 70,000 lives in 2017 — and suicides rose, a US government report said Thursday. The drug overdose rate rose 9.6 percent compared to 2016, …

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In eastern DR Congo, 19 die of Ebola in five days

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The deadly Ebola outbreak which has ravaged eastern DR Congo for nearly four months has claimed another 19 lives in just five days, the health ministry has said. The outbreak, which began on August 1, has now killed 241 people, the ministry said in …

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