Up to 23 million people could be affected by the massive earthquake that has killed thousands in Turkey and Syria, the WHO warned on Tuesday, promising long-term assistance. “Event overview maps show that potentially 23 million people are exposed, including around five million vulnerable populations,” the World Health Organization’s senior emergencies officer Adelheid Marschang said. “Civilian infrastructure and potentially …

  EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (AP) — Crews released toxic chemicals into the air from five derailed tanker cars that were in danger of exploding Monday and began burning it after warning residents near the Ohio-Pennsylvania state line to leave immediately or face the possibility of death. Flames and black smoke billowed high into the sky from the derailment site late …

  Geneva, Feb 2  (AFP):  All countries remain “dangerously unprepared” for the next pandemic, the Red Cross warned on Monday, saying future health crises could also collide with increasingly likely climate-related disasters. Despite three “brutal” years of the Covid-19 pandemic, strong preparedness systems are “severely lacking”, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said. The world’s …

  ISLAMABAD, Feb 1 (FD): Society for the protection of the Rights of Child (SPARC) shared a press release stressing the importance of pending Tobacco Health Levy Bill to ease Pakistan’s current economic crisis. Malik Imran Ahmed, Country Head, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK), mentioned that the destruction caused by tobacco induced non-communicable diseases to Pakistan’s healthcare system is a …

  KARACHI, Jan 31 (FD): The presence of the Covid-19’s sub-variant BF-7 has been confirmed in Karachi, quoting Sindh health department. Sindh Health Department has said that highly infectious corona sub-variant BF-7 has been confirmed in Karachi. “This sub-variant of Omicron variant of the coronavirus has recently infected people in China on massive scale,” health department said. “It is the …

  GENEVA, Jan 29 (AFP): The World Health Organisation’s emergency committee on COVID-19 was meeting Friday to discuss whether the pandemic still merits the highest level of global alert. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus suggested the emergency phase of the pandemic is not over, pointing to surging numbers of deaths and warning that the global response to the crisis “remains hobbled”. …

  KARACHI, Jan 27 (FD): – Alleged hazardous gas leakage has caused at least 16 fatalities in the Keamari Town of Karachi in one month. The victims were residents of Machhar Colony in Ali Mohammad Goth. The district administration acted after learning about the incident by sealing three factories and detaining four people, according to the Sindh Health Department. The …

  CHINA, Jan 26 (AFP): The number of daily Covid-19 deaths in China has fallen by nearly 80 per cent since the start of the month, authorities have said, in a sign that the country’s unprecedented infection surge may have started to abate. A wave of virus cases has washed over the world’s most populous nation since Beijing abruptly ended …

(Reuters) – The World Health Organization (WHO) is investigating whether there is any connection between manufacturers whose contaminated cough syrups it has linked to the deaths of more than 300 children in three countries, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. Citing “unacceptable levels” of toxins in the products, the WHO is seeking more information about the specific raw …

  BEIJING, Jan 23 (Reuters):  China reported almost 13,000 deaths related to Covid-19 in hospitals between January 13 and 19, adding to the nearly 60,000 in the month-or-so before that, as its experts say the wave of infections across the country has already peaked. The death toll update, from China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, comes amid doubts over …