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U.N. refugee agency urges Turkey to open borders to Syrians
The United Nations called on Turkey on Tuesday to open its borders to thousands of desperate Syrian refugees fleeing Aleppo, in line with its international obligations to protect people fleeing conflict or persecution. William Spindler, spokesman of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said the agency understood the concern of Turkish authorities about “possible…
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Factbox: Impact of Zika virus on Olympic preparations
(Reuters) – Sports authorities across the world are scrambling to find out more about the spread of the mosquito-borne Zika virus in Brazil as they make plans for August’s Rio Olympics. Below are the latest announcements: AUSTRALIA Australia’s Olympic Committee said no athletes have indicated they intended to withdraw, but it would “totally understand” if…
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Doctors puzzle over severity of defects in some Brazilian babies
By Bill Berkrot and Anthony Boadle NEW YORK/BRASILIA (Reuters) – Experts on microcephaly, the birth defect that has sparked alarm in the current Zika virus outbreak, say they are struck by the severity of a small number of cases they have reviewed from Brazil. Consultations among doctors in Brazil and the United States have increased…
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First Zika-linked deaths reported in Colombia
The mosquito-borne Zika virus sweeping through Latin America has claimed three lives in Colombia, as the United Nations urged increased access to abortion because of fears of severe birth defects. In the first direct statements from government health officials blaming Zika for causing deaths, Colombia's National Health Institute (INS) said Friday that the patients died…
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Convicted al Qaeda supporter, U.S. face off in medical malpractice trial
A New York man serving a 15-year prison sentence for providing support to al Qaeda is urging a federal judge to award him $7 million because of a medical condition he says went untreated while in U.S. custody. Lawyers for Wesam El-Hanafi, 40, and the U.S. government made their closing arguments on Friday in a…
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Lab criticized as slow to act in fatal French drug trial
By Matthias Blamont PARIS (Reuters) – An initial inquiry into a clinical drug trial that left one person dead and five others hospitalized in France last month found that the laboratory conducting the tests was slow to react when the first patient fell ill. A full investigation aimed at identifying the exact causes is expected…
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U.N. rights boss urges Turkey to probe shooting by security forces
By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) – The United Nations' top human rights official urged Turkey on Monday to investigate the shooting of unarmed people 10 days ago in its largely Kurdish southeast and said any members of the security forces committing rights abuses should be prosecuted. Southeastern Turkey has seen its worst violence in two…
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African boy attacked by chimps recovers after New York surgery
Just weeks after a surgical team on New York's Long Island began a series of operations to rebuild both lips of an 8-year-old boy mauled by chimpanzees in Africa, the sound of success filled a play room at Stony Brook Children's Hospital. “Slurp!” was heard as Dunia Sibomana sipped a spoonful of chicken broth through…