Tag: country
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Sweden needs more immigrants to counter ageing population: employment agency
By Johan Ahlander STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Sweden needs more immigrants not fewer to sustain its cradle-to-grave welfare system and care for an ageing population, a senior official at the state employment service told Reuters in an interview. In 2015, a record 163,000 people sought asylum in Sweden, the highest per capita in Europe, part of…
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Heralding social, financial change, China aims blow at iron rice bowl
By David Stanway PINGDINGSHAN, China (Reuters) – China has ordered state firms to smash the decades-old system of providing cradle-to-grave welfare support, known as the country's “iron rice bowl”. At the heart of soot-covered Pingdingshan in central China is the Pingmei Shenma Group, a state coal conglomerate that dominates the economy, society and air of…
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France reports another bird flu strain in southwest
France has detected H5N9 avian influenza among poultry in the southwest of the country, an official report showed on Friday, the third strain of bird flu to be confirmed this month in the region known for its foie gras production. Bird flu has spread across Europe in recent weeks, prompting preventative slaughtering of poultry or…
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‘Night-owl’ preschoolers may have more sleep problems
By Shereen Lehman Preschoolers whose natural preference is for going to bed and waking up on the late side are more likely than their early-bird peers to have sleep problems, a recent study suggests. Adults and teens with a late “chronotype,” or internal “body clock,” tend to stay up later and wake up later and…
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Down the road: better seatbelts for seniors
By Randi Belisomo Ohio researchers say today’s seat belts weren’t designed to protect the smaller, frailer seniors who account for tens of millions of drivers in the U.S alone. “When seat belts were first designed four decades ago, safety dummies tested in car crash simulations resembled the average-size male driver of 40 years old and…
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Britain confirms bird flu outbreak at turkey farm in eastern England
The H5N8 bird flu strain has been found at a turkey farm in Lincolnshire, eastern England, Britain’s agriculture department said on Friday. Several European countries and Israel have found cases of H5N8 bird flu in the past few weeks and some have ordered poultry flocks be kept indoors to prevent the disease spreading. The last…
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The snake-catching tribe saving lives in India
A small scythe, a crowbar and a bundle of canvas bags are all that Kali and Vedan carry when they venture into the fields of southern India to catch some of the world's deadliest snakes. Since it began in the 1970s, the Irula snake-catchers' cooperative on the outskirts of the southern city of Chennai has…
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Novartis says 82 percent of leukemia patients in remission after CAR-T
An experimental cancer therapy being developed by Novartis AG eliminated an aggressive form of blood cancer in 82 percent of children and young adults treated with modified immune cells in a mid-stage trial, the company said on Saturday. Interim results from the multi-center trial for 50 patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia whose cancer returned or…
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Chelsea apologizes to abused former player
English soccer club Chelsea issued a public apology to former striker Gary Johnson on Saturday for the sexual abuse he suffered as a young player and said it had been wrong to insist on a confidentiality clause when paying him compensation. Johnson, 57, said on Friday that he had been abused by former Chelsea chief…
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Canada plans new fuel rules, aims 30-megatonne emissions cut by 2030
Canada will require reduced carbon footprints for all fuels so that the country can achieve a 30-megatonne cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, the country’s environment department said on Friday. Precise steps are to be determined after consultations, including with Canada’s provinces and relevant industries, and the government will release a discussion paper in…