Miscellaneous News

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CHOICE shows high levels of dangerous trans fats in Australian food supply

According to the consumer group CHOICE tests have proven that Australian manufacturers are continuing to use dangerous levels of unhealthy fats in processed foods.

29 Jun 2009

1.02 billion starving people worldwide, U.N. says

For the first time, the number of chronically hungry people worldwide is greater than 1 billion, according to a recent U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) statement, the Financial Times reports (Blas, Financial Times, 6/19).

23 Jun 2009

African scientists ask developed countries for greater investment in African research

The Network of African Science Academies (NASAC) issued a statement (pdf) asking developed countries to establish training programs that would allow African students to stay in Africa or other developing countries in effort to curb the "tide of African talent leaving the continent's universities," CNN reports (Wong, CNN, 6/22).

23 Jun 2009

World Bank Report predicts contracting global economy will hurt poorest countries

The World Bank released a report Monday, projecting "a 2.9 percent contraction in global GDP this year, as rich countries contract by 4.5 percent," the Wall Street Journal reports.

23 Jun 2009

Obama signs anti-smoking measure

President Barack Obama in the Rose Garden with a number of lawmakers and other guests today "signed the strongest anti-smoking measure ever, calling it an extraordinary accomplishment that will help keep children from getting hooked on cigarettes," the Associated Press reports (6/22).

22 Jun 2009

UNHCR calls for world to do more to protect refugees

To mark World Refugee Day on June 20, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) urged the "international community to do more to protect and care for refugees around the world," VOA News reports (Schlein, VOA News, 6/20).

22 Jun 2009

U.N. calls for increased commitment to help vulnerable countries prepare for natural disaster

Instead of responding to natural disasters after they happen, aid should be dedicated to helping countries prepare for future disasters, John Holmes, the U.N.'s emergency relief coordinator, said Friday, Reuters reports.

22 Jun 2009

EPA declares first-ever public health emergency in Montana

The Environmental Protection Agency yesterday declared its first-ever "public health emergency," asbestos contamination near Libby and Troy, Mont., northwestern mining towns, the Associated Press reports.

18 Jun 2009

Opinion: World must work together to stop human trafficking

"To some, human trafficking may seem like a problem limited to other parts of the world," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton writes in a Washington Post opinion piece, but "it occurs in every country, including the U.S., and we have a responsibility to fight it just as others do."

18 Jun 2009

Relief efforts for displaced people in Pakistan barely coping, report says

Despite significant efforts from Pakistani authorities and humanitarian organizations to respond to the world’s largest and fastest displacement of people in more than a decade, relief efforts are barely coping, according to an Oxfam report published on Monday, the International News reports.

17 Jun 2009

FDA focuses on contact lens safety

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is taking steps to improve contact lens safety by reminding consumers of the importance of following proper cleaning and storing procedures. Consumers who do not follow instructions for contact lens care and use increase their risk of serious eye infections that can lead to blindness.

16 Jun 2009

Senate passes landmark bill: FDA to regulate tobacco

The New York Times reports that "more than four decades after the surgeon general declared smoking a health hazard, the Senate on Thursday cleared the final hurdle to empowering federal officials to regulate cigarettes and other forms of tobacco for the first time.

13 Jun 2009

Congress clears tobacco bill for President's signature

The House of Representatives today voted by a 3-to-1 margin to pass a bill approved by the Senate yesterday. The measure gives the federal government sweeping new powers to regulate tobacco, reports the Washington Post. "President Obama hailed the bipartisan votes in Congress on the bill, which he said 'truly defines change in Washington.' He said he looks forward to signing it into law."

13 Jun 2009

Cargo-screening ferret to detect hidden drugs and weapons

A new type of robot being developed will make it easier to detect drugs, weapons, explosives and illegal immigrants concealed in cargo containers.

13 Jun 2009

Tobacco giants in the USA facing far stricter control

A bill which would give the government of the United States far more power and control over the tobacco industry has received the support of the Senate.

12 Jun 2009

G8 off track on aid commitments to Africa; France, Italy responsible for 80% of shortfall, report says

The Group of Eight (G8) industrial nations are "collectively off course in delivering on a 2005 pact to more than double aid to Africa through 2010," according to an annual report released Thursday by the One Campaign, Reuters/Washington Post reports (Wroughton, Reuters/Washington Post, 6/11).

11 Jun 2009

Indian Government delays implementation of ruling for graphic images to appear on tobacco products

Despite a recent ruling by India's Supreme Court that all tobacco products must have pictorial warnings by May 31, one week after the ruling was to go into effect, the warning labels have yet to appear on packaging, the National reports.

9 Jun 2009

St. Petersburg Times examines work of Paul Farmer, potential candidate for USAID, State Department position

The St. Petersburg Times examines the work of Paul Farmer – "the Harvard-educated doctor who, starting in Haiti, built a multinational organization on the radical idea that poor patients deserve the same care as rich ones" and is reportedly being considered for a high-level job with USAID or the State Department.

9 Jun 2009

Ongoing refugee crisis in Pakistan overwhelms health system

The AP/Washington Post examines how the millions of Pakistani refugees fleeing from the army's offensive against the Taliban in the northwest of the country are overwhelming the country's health care system. "The crisis has exhausted doctors, used up limited supplies of medicines and buried hospitals in a mountain of red tape as they try to get money and medicine for the crisis" pushing the entire health system to the brink of collapse, the AP/Washington Post writes.

9 Jun 2009

Washington Independent examines U.S. food aid

The Washington Independent examines a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, which found that a federal law requiring most international food aid to come from U.S. farmers could be "hobbling efforts to feed the world's hungry." Currently, Food for Peace – the nation’s largest food aid program – "requires that the crops be purchased from U.S. growers, processed through U.S. companies, and shipped using U.S.-flagged vessels," according to the article.

9 Jun 2009