Lifestyle

The first known case of bird flu in the Philippines has occurred at an isolated farm in a town just north of the capital Manila, the Philippine government has confirmed. Agricultural Secretary Arthur Yap said it is not clear whether it is the deadly H5N1 strain responsible for the deaths of more than 50 people in Asia since 2003 but confirmed that a strain of flu, H5, had been found in ducks. Mr. Yap told a news conference, "It is a low-risk flu strain found in three healthy ducks and the risk to human health is almost nil." Transportation a

Upholding a previous decision by a lower court, the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis ruled that the federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act is unconstitutional because it does not provide an exception for the health of the woman. While the ban does provide an exception for the life of the mother it does not for the health of the mother. "When `substantial medical authority' supports the medical necessity of a procedure in some instances, a health exception is constitutionally required," Judge Kermit Bye of the 8th Circuit wrote i

Soon after a UN report highlighted the food crisis facing Somalia, a ship carrying food aid to Somalia has been hijacked off the coast of the country and its ten crew members abducted. The pirates are demanding a ransom of half a million dollars for the return of the ship. Neither the UN World Food Programme (WFP) nor the ship's owners are willing to pay the ransom. Last year, pirates killed 30 sailors. The WFP hopes the ship will be released soon but cannot continue shipments until then because of safety concerns. If the ship is released soo

According to a report from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 500,000 Somalians are directly affected by a drought, around 400,000 are internally displaced, and an additional 12,000 Somalians had been affected by seasonal flooding in the central regions of Hiraan and Middle Shabelle as well as in the self-declared northwestern republic of Somaliland. "Overall, the extended effects of four years of drought, which adversely impacted livelihoods and coping mechanisms, combined with chronic food insecurity, and mor

U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson of San Francisco has ordered the state's health care system for prisoners be put under the control of a receiver to stop deaths of inmates due to medical malfeasance. The system provides medical care to 164,000 inmates at a cost of US$1.1 billion annually. Reportedly the judge described conditions in the state's medical system as barbaric. The appointment of a receiver was the last resort available after repeated failures of Governor Schwartenegger's administration to improve medical conditions at state pri

The World Health Organisation has announced that the number of people receiving anti-retroviral treatments (ART) in developing countries is increasing significantly - more than doubling between December 2003 and June 2005. One million people are now getting the drugs they need, compared to just 400,000 eighteen months ago. However, access to treatment is not growing as fast as demand, and the UN is unlikely to reach its target of treating three million people by the end of 2005 - just over half the people who need it. The longer-term target of

A recent survey conducted by the American Cancer Society has turned up some surprising results: Americans generally hold false beliefs about the nature of cancer and its treatment, even though many believe they are well informed. Health experts say this ignorance could be dangerous: People may be making poor health decisions -- avoiding cancer screenings or rejecting potentially life-saving treatments -- based on their incorrect notions. The most common misconception is that surgery causes cancer to spread. Decades ago, cancer often was not d

Farming in urban areas has been banned in the latest turn in the Zimbabwean government's 'crackdown' on the country's poor. Zimbabwe is in the grip of a chronic drought and with food supplies running low, thousands fear starvation after they were told they could no longer supplement their food supply with crops grown themselves. A police spokesman told a UN news agency that they were under government instruction to prevent urban farming. Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena said "a lot of harm is being done to the environment. Why can't those w

A Romanian priest and four nuns have been charged in the death of a reportedly schizophrenic nun who was crucified in an exorcism. The novice, Maricica Irina Cornici, of Holy Trinity convent in northeast Romania, died last week after spending three days gagged and chained to a cross without food or water in the church’s cellar. The 23-year-old nun was found with a towel stuffed into her mouth and had been left in the cold room while the priest delivered prayers to drive out evil spirits. An initial autopsy revealed the nun died from dehydratio

The Indianapolis Formula One Grand Prix descended into farce when just six cars started the race on Sunday. The problem arose when Michelin discovered that its tires were incapable of more than ten laps at race pace. The first indication of trouble was when the rear left tire of Ralf Schumacher's Toyota racecar exploded during practice on Friday. Schumacher's car collided with the track wall while travelling at 300 km/h (approx. 186 miles/h), leaving him shaken but generally unharmed. However, further investigations by Michelin revealed that

For a second time this week, the southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan was rocked by a bombing. Like the previous bomb blast reported Tuesday, it was relatively small and produced only three injuries and no fatalities. This is in stark contrast to bombs detonated over the weekend in Ahwaz and Tehran, which produced a dozen fatalities and scores of injuries. The Ahwaz bomb went off in a fast-food restaurant at 7:50 PM local time. A government spokesperson said both bombings were "...anti-[Islamic] revolution elements against innocent people."

The international medical aid group Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has claimed in a press release that its medical staff have been prevented from accessing their clinic inside the Songore transit camp. The camp holds almost 7,000 Rwandan asylum seekers, who were receiving more than 100 medical consultations a day from MSF staff. MSF claims that the camp is now guarded by the Burundese military. "It's unacceptable that our medical staff are denied access to our own health facility in Songore camp, denying medical care to the people in the camp.