China dismisses FBI comments on COVID-19 lab leak theory
For the second day in a row, China on Wednesday dismissed U.S. suggestions that the COVID-19 pandemic may have been triggered by a virus that leaked from a Chinese laboratory.
Health
Matt Hancock denies claims he rejected Covid care home testing advice
Ex-health minister dismisses claims he ignored expert advice as ‘distorted’ and ‘spun to fit anti-lockdown agenda’Matt Hancock has denied claims he rejected advice to give coronavirus tests to all residents going into English care homes, labelling them…
UK education secretary talks of battle to get support for nephew with Down’s syndrome
Exclusive: Gillian Keegan opens up about 16-year-old relative as government prepares to publish Send improvement planThe education secretary, Gillian Keegan, has described her family’s battle to get the right support for her nephew, who has Down’s synd…
AI could help NHS surgeons perform 300 more transplants every year, say UK surgeons
Researchers have secured £1m to refine method of scoring potential organs by comparing imagesArtificial intelligence could help NHS surgeons perform 300 more transplant operations every year, according to British researchers who have designed a new too…
Canadian government urged to test sick patients for herbicide
Patients in New Brunswick with array of symptoms ‘show signs of exposure to glyphosate’, says neurologistA neurologist who believes his patients are suffering from a suspicious illness has pleaded with the Canadian government to carry out environmental…
£14bn plan to reduce NHS cancer backlogs in England is failing, MPs say
Treatment waiting times at worst-ever levels as post-Covid recovery programme ‘falling short’A £14bn plan to reduce NHS backlogs caused by Covid is failing to meet targets, with cancer waiting times at their worst-ever levels, parliament’s spending wat…
US justice department sues two companies over pollution in Louisiana’s ‘Cancer Alley’
Japanese company Denka, along with US chemicals giant DuPont, have operated the plant that produces cancer-causing chloropreneThe US justice department has sued the two petrochemical giants behind a facility in Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley” responsible fo…
German minister calls for ban on advertising junk food to children
Cem Özdemir said measure would help protect children from obesity and diabetesGermany’s agriculture minister has called for a ban on all advertising accessible by children of unhealthy food including sweets and items with a high salt, fat and sugar con…
Shortfall of £2.3bn a year in England’s care homes ‘putting people at risk’
Exclusive: Funding hole directly affects elderly people whose bills are entirely or partly paid for by councils‘Not shoved miles away’: Cumbrian fight to keep care in the communityA £2.3bn-a-year hole has been exposed in England’s elderly care home sys…
Families go to court after nurse in Spain accused of faking children’s jabs
Vaccine status of more than 400 children near Bilbao investigated amid concerns about anti-vaxxer nurseDozens of families in Spain’s Basque Country have taken legal action after a nurse was accused of faking the administration of routine child vaccinat…