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Utah becomes first US state to ban fluoride in drinking water

The western US state of Utah has become the first to prohibit fluoridation of its public drinking water, part of a growing movement reexamining the decades-old public health practice.

Gavi: vaccine alliance facing US funding cuts

The Gavi vaccine alliance, which proudly claims it vaccinates more than half the world's children against deadly and debilitating diseases, is now seemingly next in line for US funding cuts.

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'Knocking on our door': Experts warn of bird flu's pandemic threat

Health experts have been sounding the alarm about the potential pandemic threat posed by bird flu, which has been showing signs of mutating as it spreads among cows and infects people in the United States.

Brazil's Lula undergoes surgery for brain hemorrhage

Brazil's 79-year-old President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva underwent surgery for a brain hemorrhage related to a recent fall, hospital officials said Tuesday.

Man arrested over insurance executive murder

A 26-year-old man was arrested Monday after the targeted killing of a top health insurance executive on the streets of New York, police said, crediting a McDonald's employee in Pennsylvania who spotted a suspicious-looking customer.

LGBTQ groups challenge Canada province's transgender law

Two Canadian LGBTQ advocacy groups have launched a legal challenge, being processed in court Monday, which seeks to overturn a provincial law they say violates the rights of transgender minors.

Murder, memes and snark: A killing lays bare US health care frustrations

Jokes, snark, and a striking absence of sympathy have dominated public sentiment since the murder of a US health insurance executive -- exposing deep frustration and anger with the nation's medical system.

New York police hunt brazen Manhattan gunman

New York police released a new security camera picture Thursday of the man believed to have shot a top health insurance executive at close range in a brazen daylight murder outside a Manhattan hotel.

S.Leone launches nationwide Ebola vaccination a decade after outbreak

Sierra Leone on Thursday started injecting the first of thousands of frontline workers with a preventive Ebola vaccine, a decade after the disease ravaged parts of West Africa killing more than 11,000 people.

'Exceptional' wildfires across Americas in 2024: EU monitor

Severe drought stoked rampant wildfires across North and South America this year and churned up record carbon pollution in Bolivia, Nicaragua and the Pantanal wetlands, according to new data from Europe's climate monitor.

Top executive shot dead outside New York hotel

The chief executive of US health insurance giant UnitedHealthcare was shot and killed outside a New York hotel on Wednesday in an apparently targeted hit, local media reported.

Vaping while still smoking unlikely to help quitters: study

People who vape while still smoking cigarettes are less likely to successfully quit than those who only do one or the other, a new study said on Wednesday.

EU countries push for outdoor smoking and vaping bans

EU countries agreed Tuesday on a push for stricter anti-smoking rules, backing bans on smoking and vaping in many outdoor areas including playgrounds and cafe patios.

Brain stimulation can help injured people walk: study

Scientists said Monday that electrically stimulating a particular region in the brain could help people with injured spinal cords walk more easily, with one patient describing how the technique allowed him to conquer his fear of stairs.

Elton John unable to watch own musical due to 'lost eyesight'

Elton John has revealed he was unable to watch his new musical "The Devil Wears Prada" as an eye infection contracted over the summer had severely affected his eyesight.

Indigenous groups call for health protections in plastic deal

For Caleb Justin Smith-White, negotiations in South Korea on a landmark global deal to curb plastic pollution are about more than the environment. They are about saving lives.

Air pollution from fires linked to 1.5 million deaths a year

Air pollution caused by fires is linked to more than 1.5 million deaths a year worldwide, the vast majority occurring in developing countries, a major new study said on Thursday.

Defence lawyers plead to judges in French mass rape trial

A lawyer for the chief defendant in a French mass rape trial on Wednesday urged the court to recall his good side after prosecutors demanded lengthy jail terms for the dozens of suspects.

Biden proposes huge expansion of weight loss drug access

Outgoing US President Joe Biden proposed Tuesday to give millions more Americans access to weight loss drugs -- but Donald Trump's incoming health chief looked set to shoot down the idea.

Fewest new HIV cases since late 1980s: UNAIDS report

Fewer people contracted HIV last year than at any point since the rise of the disease in the late 1980s, the United Nations said Tuesday, warning that this decline was still far too slow.

20-year term sought for husband in French mass rape trial

French prosecutors on Monday demanded a maximum 20-year jail term for the man charged with enlisting dozens of strangers to rape his wife while she was drugged and unconscious, expressing hope the trial will help change "the relations between men and women".

US reports first bird-flu case in a child

A child in California has become the first in the United States to test positive for bird flu infection, authorities said Friday, as health officials offered checks and preventive treatment to exposed contacts at the child's day-care center.

UK pandemic hero's daughter slammed by charity probe

The family of a 100-year-old UK war veteran who became a global hero for his fundraising efforts during the Covid pandemic gained "significant" financial benefit from links to a charity set up in his name, a watchdog said Thursday.

K-drama for mental health? Binge on, one expert says

If you've ever binge-watched an entire season of a K-drama like "Squid Game" or "Crash Landing On You", one Korean-American expert has good news: it's likely improved your mental health.

Novo Nordisk's obesity drug Wegovy goes on sale in China

Novo Nordisk's blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy is now available for use in China, the company confirmed to AFP on Tuesday, as the Asian nation battles high rates of obesity.

Djibouti experiments with GM mosquito against malaria

Tens of thousands of genetically modified mosquitos are being released every week in Djibouti as the tiny Horn of Africa state experiments with a new weapon against an unprecedented malaria surge.

Anger, pain in Turkey as 'newborn deaths gang' trial opens

Dozens of suspects went on trial in Istanbul Monday over the deaths of at least 10 newborn babies as part of a vast social security fraud scheme in Turkey's worst health scandal in years.

McDonald's feast undercuts Trump health pledge

US President-elect Donald Trump's pick for health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has been pictured sharing a McDonald's meal with his future boss, days after they promised to "make America healthy again."

Gay, trans people voicing -- and sometimes screaming -- Trump concerns

At a popular LGBTQ cabaret in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood, Lisa Frankenstein wasn't about to let the topic of Donald Trump go without mention.

Biden administration touts record drop in overdose deaths

President Joe Biden's administration on Thursday celebrated new data showing the largest recorded year-over-year drop in US overdose deaths, attributing the success to its policies including expanding naloxone access and intensifying efforts against illicit fentanyl.

European watchdog partially approves new Alzheimer's drug

Europe's medicines watchdog on Thursday partially approved a marketing request for a long-awaited new treatment for Alzheimer's disease, reversing an earlier decision not to give it the green light.

Chile's 'transplant' footballers champion organ donation

With his team's 5-1 win over Spain, Hector Sanchez could truly say he was an international football champion -- though not in the way he dreamed of as a child.

WHO members' pandemic accord talks to spill into 2025

Talks between WHO member states on a landmark global accord on handling future pandemics will roll into 2025 after countries decided Monday there were too many gaps to seal a deal this year.

Reeking mud sparks health fears in Spain flood epicentre

The sea of mud and stagnant water submerging Spanish towns more than 10 days after the country's worst floods in decades has sparked a sickening stench and health fears.

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