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News, Page 14

Antibiotic combination marketed by Abbott in India on list of banned drugs

By Zeba Siddiqui and Aditya Kalra MUMBAI (Reuters) – A powerful antibiotic combination that is marketed in India by U.S. pharmaceutical giant Abbott Laboratories is among 344 drug combinations that have been banned by the Indian health authorities. A Reuters investigation revealed in December that a unit of Abbott in India was selling a combination of the antibiotics cefixime and azithromycin without approval from the central government. A notice issued by the Indian Health Ministry at the weekend said that a government-appointed committee of experts had found that the banned combinations were “likely to involve risk to human beings, whereas safer alternatives to the said drug are available.” The government notice said the ban would take effect immediately.

Flint families file lawsuits over children poisoned by water

By David Bailey (Reuters) – A group of Flint families with children has filed new lawsuits in the Michigan city's water crisis, accusing private companies of professional negligence and government employees of misconduct that led to the contamination of the water supply. The lawsuits filed on Thursday in Genesee County court, along with nine filed earlier in March, cover 50 children allegedly suffering from lead poisoning from drinking Flint water. The cases were all brought by Corey Stern, a New York attorney who specializes in child lead poisoning cases. …

Sharapova’s peers stunned, but support doping system

By Mark Lamport-Stokes INDIAN WELLS, California (Reuters) – While Maria Sharapova's fellow players were shocked by the Russian's announcement that she failed a drug test at the Australian Open, most of them felt the “huge mistake” could have been avoided. World number three Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland described it as “a very sad day for tennis” but expressed the views of many by saying it was down to every player, via their doctor, to check whether prescribed medications were legal. Five-times grand slam champion Sharapova tested positive for meldonium, which some researchers have linked to increased athletic performance and endurance, after failing by her own admission to realize that it had been outlawed since Jan. 1.

Hillary Clinton to attend Nancy Reagan funeral services

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will depart from the campaign trail on Friday to attend the funeral services of former First Lady Nancy Reagan. The campaign on Tuesday reported that Clinton, former first lady under President Bill Clinton and secretary of state under President Barack Obama, would attend the planned services in California for Reagan, who died on Sunday of congestive heart failure. (This version of the story corrects the day of Reagan's death from Monday to Sunday in the paragraph two.) (Reporting by Alana Wise)

Clinton, Sanders both say they can beat Trump during feisty Michigan debate

By John Whitesides FLINT, Mich. (Reuters) – Democratic presidential contenders Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton sparred in a debate on Sunday over who had the best chance to beat Republican front-runner Donald Trump, and mocked the level of discourse in the Republican White House race. Near the end of a Michigan debate that featured sharp clashes over trade and the auto industry bailout, as well as a lengthy discussion of religion, Clinton and Sanders both said they could not wait to face the brash billionaire in the Nov. 8 election to succeed Democratic President Barack Obama. “I think Donald Trump's bigotry, his bullying, his bluster, are not going to wear well on the American people,” Clinton said.

Colombia reports more than 47,700 Zika cases

Colombia has seen more than 47,700 cases of Zika, including thousands of pregnant women infected with the mosquito-borne virus, the country's National Health Institute reported Saturday. A total of 8,890 pregnant women have come down with the disease, which has been tentatively linked to a serious birth defect known as microcephaly affecting babies born to women who became infected while pregnant. Among those, 1,237 cases were pregnant women.

S.Sudan oil production pollution threatens thousands: monitors

Dangerous heavy metals used in oil production in war-torn South Sudan have leaked into drinking water sources used by 180,000 people with life-threatening health risks, a rights group said Friday. Toxicological tests carried out on hair samples from 96 volunteers living around the Thar Jath oil processing plant in South Sudan's northern Unity region revealed they were “highly intoxicated with pollutants such as lead and barium,” said Klaus Stieglitz, from the German-based Sign of Hope organisation. “The total toxic stress — as found in the hair samples — of the human population of the area is life-threatening,” said Klaus-Dietrich Runow, from Germany's Institute for Functional Medicine and Environmental Health, one of two separate independent toxicologists who assessed the samples.

Type 1 diabetes tied to risk for a wide range of cancers

By Kathryn Doyle (Reuters Health) – People with type 1 diabetes are more likely than the general population to develop cancers of gastric organs and the kidneys, as well as endometrium and ovaries for women, according to a large new analysis. Diabetes has been tied generally to increased cancer risk in the past, but studies have relied mostly on data from people with type 2 diabetes, which develops slowly, usually in adults who are overweight or obese, and affects about 28 million Americans. Type 1 diabetes, typically diagnosed in children and young adults, affects about 1.25 million Americans, according to the American Diabetes Association.

U.N. plans aid for 154,000 besieged Syrians in next five days

The United Nations and partner aid organizations plan to deliver life-saving aid to 154,000 Syrians in besieged areas in the next five days, the U.N. Resident Coordinator in Damascus Yacoub El Hillo said in a statement on Sunday. Pending approval from parties to the conflict, the U.N. is ready to deliver aid to about 1.7 million people in hard-to-reach areas in the first quarter of 2016, he said. The U.N. estimates there are almost 500,000 people living under siege, out of a total 4.6 million who are hard to reach with aid, but it hopes that a cessation of hostilities that began on Friday night will bring an end to the 15 sieges.