Health

Growing calls for the world to come to grips with the many ways that global warming affects human health have prompted the first day dedicated to the issue at crunch UN climate talks starting next week. Extreme heat, air pollution and the increasing spread of deadly infectious diseases are just some of the reasons why the World Health Organization has …

Students in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on Sunday once again took the Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) 2023 after allegations of cheating marred the previous test conducted on September 10. The test began at 10 am in 11 centres set up by the administration. Over 40,000 students are taking part in the exam which is being reconducted after allegations …

SIALKOT: Eight business centres including six hotels were sealed in Silakot, Punjab, over violating smart lockdown amid smog. According to the district administration, so far 52 people have been arrested over violating the lockdown, while a fine of Rs508,000 has been imposed for the violations. The government has been taking steps to control the increasing threat of smog, while it …

KARACHI: Dr Hafeezur Rehman is among the 2,800 Pakistani doctors who have responded to volunteer in Gaza on the call of Al Khidmat Foundation (AKF), a non-governmental organisation. When the 42-year-old orthopedic surgeon from Lahore told his father about his decision, the only thing the latter said was “give my salams to the people of Palestine”. Several Pakistani NGOs have …

China’s health ministry on Sunday urged local authorities to increase the number of fever clinics as the country grapples with a surge in respiratory illnesses in its first full winter since easing Covid-19 restrictions. The spike become a global issue last week when the World Health Organisation asked China for more information, citing a report on clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia …

ISLAMABAD: As winter sets in, the World Food Programme (WFP) in Afghanistan has warned that it is critically underfunded and won’t be able to continue its support for families arriving from Pak­istan with nothing but a few basic morsels. WFP Afghanistan Country Director Hsiao-Wei Lee said in a statement that WFP was forced to cut 10 million people from its …

SANTIAGO: The world’s largest iceberg is on the move for the first time in more than three decades, scientists said on Friday. At almost 4,000 square kilometres, the Antarctic iceberg, A23a, is roughly three times the size of New York City. Since calving off West Antarctica’s Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf in 1986, the iceberg, which once hosted a Soviet research station, …

LONDON: Leading scientists urged caution over fears of another pandemic on Thursday after the World Health Organisation requested more information from China on a rise of respiratory illnesses and pneumonia clusters among children. “We have to be careful,” said Marion Koopmans, a Dutch virologist who advised the WHO on Covid-19. “We really need more information, particularly diagnostic information.” Concerns were …

China called for vigilance on Friday as a surge of respiratory illness hit schools and hospitals and the World Health Organisation, which has asked the government for disease data, said no unusual or novel pathogens had been detected. China is grappling with a spike in respiratory illnesses as it enters its first full winter season since it lifted strict Covid-19 …

Indonesian court documents have revealed for the first time the chain of events that led to toxic ingredients being used in cough syrup that was among the products blamed for the deaths of more than 200 children in the country last year. According to the previously unreported 373-page court ruling in a criminal case of officials at Indonesia drugmaker Afi …