| | |
| Giffords makes emotional plea as US lawmakers confront gun violence Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 10:55 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former congresswoman Gabby Giffords, grievously wounded in a 2011 mass shooting, made an emotional plea on Wednesday for Congress to take action to curb U.S. gun violence, but a National Rifle Association executive said new gun laws "have failed in the past and they'll fail again." Speaking haltingly, Giffords urged lawmakers to "be courageous" as she opened testimony at the first congressional hearing on gun violence since the December 14 massacre in which a gunman shot dead 20 children and six adults at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pakistani girl shot by Taliban to have skull reconstructed Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 09:35 AM PST LONDON (Reuters) - A Pakistani schoolgirl shot in the head by the Taliban for advocating girls' education is to return to a specialist hospital in Britain for surgery to reconstruct her skull. Fifteen-year-old Malala Yousufzai, who was shot in October and brought to Britain for treatment, was discharged from the hospital earlier this month to spend time with her family after her initial treatment phase. ... Full Story | Top |
| Study supports lumpectomy in early breast cancer Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 08:25 AM PST NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new look at real-world outcomes for women with early-stage breast cancer finds that breast-conserving surgery may offer survival odds that are as good, or even better, than breast removal. "It was kind of an exciting and hopeful message that women don't have to go off to get a mastectomy to do better," said Dr. E. Shelley Hwang, the study's lead author from the Duke Cancer Institute in Durham, North Carolina. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mozambique floods displace nearly 150,000 Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 08:06 AM PST MAPUTO (Reuters) - Widespread flooding in southern Mozambique has displaced 143,000 people and aid agencies are struggling to get assistance to communities underwater for nearly a week, officials said on Wednesday. The death toll from the flooding in the lower Limpopo river now stands at 80, Mozambican officials said, while aid groups said supplies of drugs and malaria test kits were running low, raising concerns about the spread of disease. ... Full Story | Top |
| First black S.African billionaire donates fortune to poor Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 06:54 AM PST  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's first black billionaire, Patrice Motsepe, on Wednesday said he has signed up for the Giving Pledge, becoming the first African to join some of the world's wealthiest people in donating vast sums of personal wealth to the poor. Mining magnate Motsepe, with assets estimated by Forbes magazine of $2.65 billion, said he is making the pledge to benefit the millions of South Africans who have seen little gain in their personal fortunes since white-minority rule ended in 1994. The Giving Pledge is a philanthropic initiative started by U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Supplement reduces risk of diabetes in pregnancy Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 06:50 AM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A nutritional supplement called myo-inositol may help protect women at risk for gestational diabetes, according to a small pilot study. Previous studies have shown that inositol supplements may help restore fertility in polycystic ovary syndrome, but this is the first evidence that it may reduce the number of cases of gestational diabetes, lead author Dr. Rosario D'Anna told Reuters Health by email. Women who are overweight or obese or have a family history of diabetes are at risk for gestational diabetes, which affects up to 10 percent of pregnancies in the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| First black South African billionaire donates fortune to poor Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 06:45 AM PST  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's first black billionaire, Patrice Motsepe, on Wednesday said he has signed up for the Giving Pledge, becoming the first African to join some of the world's wealthiest people in donating vast sums of personal wealth to the poor. Mining magnate Motsepe, with assets estimated by Forbes magazine of $2.65 billion, said he is making the pledge to benefit the millions of South Africans who have seen little gain in their personal fortunes since white-minority rule ended in 1994. The Giving Pledge is a philanthropic initiative started by U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Donors pledge more than $1 billion for Syrian refugees: Kuwait Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 06:14 AM PST KUWAIT (Reuters) - Donors pledged more than $1 billion at an international aid conference in Kuwait on Wednesday for Syrians displaced by nearly two years of fighting, a Kuwaiti minister said in remarks carried by the state news agency KUNA. Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah al-Mubarak al-Sabah told reporters he hoped the total pledges would reach the target of $1.5 billion set by the United Nations by the end of the meeting later in the day. (Reporting by Raissa Kasolowsky writing by Sami Aboudi) Full Story | Top |
| UK families face court fight over GSK diabetes drug Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 04:26 AM PST LONDON (Reuters) - British families seeking compensation for damage caused by GlaxoSmithKline's now-withdrawn diabetes drug Avandia face a lengthy court battle, despite the company agreeing to settle similar U.S. cases. Manchester-based law firm Express Solicitors said on Wednesday it had commenced high court proceedings in four cases against GSK over the way it developed and marketed Avandia. The law firm, which has a further 15 cases on its books, said it believed it was the first to commence proceedings against the drugmaker over Avandia in British courts. ... Full Story | Top |
| Chinese millionaire fights pollution with thin air Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 04:09 AM PST  BEIJING (Reuters) - China's foulest fortnight for air pollution in memory has rekindled a tongue-in-cheek campaign by a multimillionaire with a streak of showmanship who is selling canned fresh air. Chen Guangbiao, who made his fortune in the recycling business and is a high-profile philanthropist, on Wednesday handed out soda pop-sized cans of air, purportedly from far-flung, pristine regions of China such as Xinjiang in the northwest to Taiwan, the southeast coast. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sanofi expects FDA decision on Lemtrada in H2 Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 02:30 AM PST PARIS (Reuters) - Sanofi expects the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to rule on its application for multiple sclerosis treatment Lemtrada by the second half of this year. The injectable drug, chemically known as alemtuzumab, is one of the new products the French drug maker is betting on to restore growth after losing several blockbusters to generic rivals. The drug, which late-stage trials have shown helps people who have not responded to other multiple sclerosis treatments, has already been submitted for review by the European Medicines Agency. ... Full Story | Top |
| Los Angeles official seeks to shut hotels for maternity tourists Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 07:02 PM PST LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A Los Angeles official moved on Tuesday to crack down on so-called maternity hotels he said have sprung up across parts of Southern California as pregnant women travel to the United States in a growing "birthing tourism" trend. Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe asked colleagues to approve a series of steps designed to ultimately close the hotels - typically single-family homes carved into bedrooms where visiting women pay to stay in anticipation of giving birth to a child who will be born a U.S. citizen. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Thermo Fisher weighs Life Tech takeover-sources Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 06:47 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc is considering making an offer for Life Technologies Corp , the biomedical laboratory equipment maker that is exploring a potential sale, three people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. Thermo Fisher, the world's largest maker of laboratory equipment and scientific instruments, is one of the parties that have held discussions with Life Technologies about a potential deal, said the sources, who asked to be anonymous because the talks are confidential. ... Full Story | Top |
| Texas governor: give excess tax money back to people Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 02:48 PM PST  AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Texas Governor Rick Perry on Tuesday called for returning excess tax money to taxpayers and tapping the state's rainy-day fund for water and transportation infrastructure. Perry, 62, the longest-serving governor in the nation at just over 12 years, touted the success of Texas in creating jobs and luring companies to the state. The Republican called for changing the constitution of the state, the nation's second most populous, to allow the return of tax money to the people who paid it when the state brings in more than needed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Top Senate Democrat sets up fight over looming budget cuts Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 02:11 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top Senate Democrat said on Tuesday that he wants increased tax revenues to help replace the automatic spending cuts looming on March 1, a demand that could reignite partisan budget tensions. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Democrats are working on alternatives to the $85 billion in delayed, across-the-board spending cuts, known as the sequester. They will seek to end some tax credits and close loopholes - possibly some for oil companies - to find revenues to help replace the cuts, he said. ... Full Story | Top |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment