Health

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 …

Novo Nordisk will launch its hugely popular anti-obesity drug Wegovy in Japan on Feb. 22 next year, its first launch in Asia, the company said on Thursday, even as it struggles to keep up with demand in existing markets. The Danish company has picked Japan as the sixth country in which to launch Wegovy despite obesity being a much smaller …

GENEVA: The World Health Organisation said on Tuesday three hospitals in Israeli-besieged northern Gaza had requested help with evacuating patients and that planning for that was under way, expressing regret that doing so would rob people of a lifeline. Hospitals have come under Israeli relentless bombardment and all hospitals in the northern part of the enclave have effectively ceased functioning …

GAZA: Israeli tanks surrounded the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza as ground forces fired into the complex, killing at least 12 people, including patients, on Monday. Dozens more were wounded and around 700 people trapped inside the “besieged” medical centre. The hospital, set up in 2016 with funding from Indonesian organisations, is located near the Jabalia refugee camp. Like all other …

UNITED NATIONS: A joint UN team, led by the World Health Organisation (WHO), discovered evident signs of shelling and gunfire at Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza, designating it a “death zone”. The hospital, with 24 health workers and 291 patients, including 32 critically ill infants, is no longer operational, resulting in recent patient deaths. Due to time limits associated with …

DOHA: Hamas fighters battled Israeli forces trying to push into Gaza’s largest refugee camp on Sunday, but despite the fighting, US, Qatari and Israeli officials said a deal to free some of the prisoners being held in the besieged enclave was edging closer. Separately, a top health official said all 31 premature babies at Al Shifa Hospital had been evacuated …

ISLAMABAD: A crackdown by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) in Karachi has revealed that pharmacies and medical stores are selling medicines at five-fold higher prices than the maximum retail price (MRP) approved by the authority. Following instructions of caretaker Health Minister Dr Nadeem Jan, the authority has launched a crackdown against drug profiteers across the country and raids …