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Smoke from Canadian wildfires detected in Norway
Smoke from Canadian wildfires has been detected thousands of kilometres away in Norway this week, the Scandinavian country's Climate and Environmental Research Institute NILU said on Friday.
In haze-filled Washington, tourists are undeterred
On many ordinary days, one can gaze down the National Mall from the Washington Monument and clearly see the dome of the US Capitol offset by blue sky.
WHO declares end to Marburg virus outbreak in Equatorial Guinea
The UN's health agency on Thursday declared an end to a nearly four-month epidemic of Marburg virus in Equatorial Guinea, saying the disease, a cousin of Ebola, had caused 35 confirmed or suspected deaths.
Pressure on frontline medics as Ukraine fights back
Ukraine's assault against Russian positions flanking the city of Bakhmut has triggered a surge in battlefield casualties and piled pressure on frontline medics.
'AI doctor' better at predicting patient outcomes, including death
Artificial intelligence has proven itself useful in reading medical imaging and even shown it can pass doctors' licensing exams.
Pope in hospital for check-up: Italian media
Pope Francis visited a Rome hospital for a medical check-up on Tuesday, according to Italian media, just over two months after he was hospitalised with bronchitis.
Experts warn bird flu virus changing rapidly in largest ever outbreak
The virus causing record cases of avian influenza in birds across the world is changing rapidly, experts have warned, as calls increase for countries to vaccinate their poultry.
Chile says recent mass seabird death not due to avian flu
Early tests indicate that the recent mass death of thousands of seabirds along Chile's northern coast were not caused by avian flu, authorities said Friday.
Breast cancer drug shown to reduce recurrence risk
Even when the disease is caught early, breast cancer recurrence is relatively commonplace -- and for survivors, the prospect can be daunting.
US slaps sanctions against Sudan after ceasefire violations
The United States announced sanctions Thursday on Sudanese leaders it blamed for the collapse of US and Saudi-brokered ceasefire efforts after shelling and air strikes killed 18 civilians at a Khartoum market.
Sudan army quits truce talks, attacks paramilitary bases
Sudanese army forces blasted paramilitary bases with artillery in Khartoum on Wednesday after pulling out of US and Saudi-brokered ceasefire talks, accusing their paramilitary foes of failing to honour their commitments.
Cholera-hit S.African town blames govt for deadly outbreak
A grieving family gathers in their yard in a town near Pretoria, the epicentre of a deadly cholera outbreak, mourning the death of a relative, one of 17 people killed by the disease in just days.
US top health official sounds alarm on child social media use
The top US health official on Tuesday issued a stark warning to parents, tech companies and regulators, saying the evidence is growing that social media use may seriously harm children.
New US HIV infections decline as prophylactic access rises
New HIV infections in the United States fell by 12 percent in 2021 compared to 2017, continuing a decline driven by fewer cases in younger people, especially gay and bisexual men, official estimates showed Tuesday.
'I am not a robot': Evenepoel says Giro criticism hurt
Belgian cycling star Remco Evenepoel took a swing at his critics on Tuesday as he announced he was back in training nine days after abandoning the Giro d'Italia with Covid even though he was in the lead.
Italy's Berlusconi leaves hospital after six weeks
Former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi was discharged on Friday from a hospital in Milan, where he was admitted more than six weeks ago suffering from leukaemia and a lung infection.
Running from abuse: The migrant women trying to enter France
Women may still be a minority among migrants crossing the Mediterranean for Europe, but their number is rising and so is their need for special attention after what are often traumatic experiences, assocations say.
Oregon turns on, tunes in to the power of magic mushrooms
Tori Armbrust grows magic mushrooms.
US judges appear skeptical of preserving access to abortion pill
A US federal appeals court panel appeared skeptical on Wednesday of preserving access to a widely used abortion pill.
Evenepoel's Giro team shredded by new positive Covid cases
The Giro d'Italia lost six more cyclists, four of them from former race leader Remco Evenepoel's team, on Wednesday owing to positive Covid tests taking the total of withdrawals due to the virus to 15 since the race began on May 6.
Possible antidote discovered for deadliest mushroom: study
Researchers said on Tuesday that an already widely used medical dye reduces the poisonous effects of death cap mushrooms in mice, raising hopes of the first targeted antidote for the world's deadliest mushroom.
It's snow joke -- Giro d'Italia cancels highest climb of race
This year's Giro d'Italia has been robbed of its most challenging climb as organisers told AFP on Tuesday that there is too much snow covering the Great-Saint-Bernard Pass.
New threat to privacy? Scientists sound alarm about DNA tool
The traces of genetic material that humans constantly shed wherever they go could soon be used to track individual people, or even whole ethnic groups, scientists said on Monday, warning of a looming "ethical quagmire".
Peru fumigation effort aims to curb dengue outbreak
Health personnel in protective suits are going door to door in Peru, fumigating homes to eradicate mosquitos spreading the dengue-causing virus that has already killed 79 people in the country this year.
WHO declares mpox no longer a global health emergency
The World Health Organization declared that mpox no longer constitutes a global health emergency on Thursday, almost exactly a year after the disease formerly known as monkeypox started spreading globally.
US panel recommends nonprescription use of contraception pill
A US panel of health experts voted Wednesday in favor of making birth control pills available without a prescription, a move backed by reproductive rights advocates especially in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling overturning the national right to abortion.
Five figures on Covid-19 in the United States
Though daily life has long returned to near-normal for many in the United States, the official end of the Covid-19 health emergency Thursday night still marks a new post-pandemic era for the country.
No longer a death sentence: Four decades of living with HIV
Forty years after the discovery of HIV, AFP looks at how far we have come in fighting a deadly virus that was once shrouded in fear and shame but is now treated as a manageable chronic condition.
'Lucky to still be alive': Living with HIV for over 30 years
When people were diagnosed with HIV more than three decades ago, it was considered a death sentence.
New study finds prehistoric migration from China to Americas
As the last continents to be settled by humans, the question of how and when people first came to the Americas has long intrigued scientists.
Mammograms should start at 40, says US task force
All women should get mammogram screening for breast cancer starting from age 40, rather than 50, an influential US health body announced Tuesday, a move it said could save thousands of lives.
Half of Chicago residents have been exposed to gun violence: study
Half of the residents of Chicago have witnessed a shooting by the age of 40 with Blacks significantly more likely to have done so than whites, according to a study published on Tuesday.