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Egyptian court begins retrial of Mubarak in corruption case

An Egyptian court began a retrial on Saturday of former president Hosni Mubarak and his sons for allegedly diverting public funds earmarked for the renovation of presidential palaces to upgrade family properties. Mubarak, 86, toppled in a 2011 popular uprising, was sentenced to three years in prison last May and his two sons were given four-year jail terms in the same case. Egyptian state television aired brief footage of Mubarak and his sons inside a cage in the courtroom in the Police Academy.

Official: Ebola survivor may have infected new Liberia case

MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) — A woman who tested positive for Ebola in Liberia last week is dating a survivor of the disease, a health official said Tuesday, offering a possible explanation for how she became the country’s first confirmed case in weeks.

Florida beach town tries to tame spring break without killing the party

By Letitia Stein PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) – A tradition of around-the-clock spring break partying has drawn Lance Granata to this small Florida Gulf Coast town three times. The Michigan student ran afoul of a new community effort to tamp down on the debauchery that comes with being a leading collegiate spring break destination, without breaking up a lucrative party. He was arrested for smashing a window at a Subway store and for underage drinking, which he considered “beyond ridiculous.” Like previous Florida spring break hot spots Fort Lauderdale and Daytona Beach, this Panhandle town is facing a crisis of conscience over the trade-offs involved in hosting a binge for some 300,000 students who arrive through mid-April with coolers, beer funnels and credit cards. Unwilling to evict spring break, a crucial season in a community where tourism brings in more than $1 billion annually, the city has passed new rules to counter the worst excesses.

Pfizer, Novartis say meningitis vaccine scope too narrow

A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory committee on Thursday recommended meningitis B vaccines for people at high risk aged 10 to 25, a population that Pfizer Inc and Novartis criticized as too narrow. Pfizer’s Trumenba, like Novartis’ new vaccine Bexsero, recently won U.S. marketing approval to treat the “B” strain of the deadly bacterium in that age group.

U.N. investigators to publish Syria war crimes suspect names

By Tom Miles GENEVA (Reuters) – United Nations war crimes investigators plan to publish names of suspects involved in Syria’s four-year war and push for new ways to bring them to justice, in a radical change of strategy announced on Friday. Diplomatic sources said the independent Commission of Inquiry, led by Brazilian investigator Paulo Pinheiro, may publish some or all of hundreds of names on secret lists of suspects at the U.N. Human Rights Council on March 17. Pinheiro, speaking to reporters after informally briefing the U.N. Security Council, refused to be drawn, saying any release of names would need to “be of some use” and have some “follow-up”. The investigators have already drawn up four lists including military and security commanders, the heads of detention facilities, and commanders of non-state armed groups, including the so-called “emirs” of radical groups, they said.

Pfizer in $5 billion accelerated buyback deal with Goldman, Sachs & Co

(Reuters) – Drugmaker Pfizer Inc said it entered into an agreement with Goldman, Sachs & Co to buy back $5 billion of its stock. Pfizer said the accelerated share repurchase was assumed in the forecast for the full year it provided last month. Under the agreement, which forms a part of Pfizer's existing buyback authorization, about 150 million shares will be bought. The settlement is expected during or prior to the third quarter. Shares of the New York-based company closed at $33.06 on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday. …

Europe’s tuberculosis hub Britain seeks to wipe out the disease

By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) – Health authorities launched an 11.5 million pounds plan on Monday to tackle Britain's persistent tuberculosis (TB) problem, seeking to wipe the contagious lung disease out altogether. Britain has one of the highest TB rates in western Europe and London is known as the continent's “TB capital”. If current trends continue, England alone will have more TB cases than the whole of the U.S. in two years. “TB should be consigned to the past, and yet it is occurring in England at higher rates than most of Western Europe,” said Paul Cosford, a director at the government's health agency, Public Health England (PHE).

Ebola volunteers should be praised, not stigmatized: UK charities

By Liisa Tuhkanen LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Volunteer medics returning to Britain after fighting the Ebola outbreak in West Africa face unfounded stigma that can be made worse by official safety guidelines, charities said on Tuesday. “These people are putting their lives at risk and instead of being appreciated many of them are facing unfounded stigma on their return,” said Sarah Wilson, communication manager for Ebola response at World Vision. “They should be lauded when they come back home… not discouraged from volunteering. …