President’s announcement latest move in campaign that seeks to valorize the ‘natural’ – often at women’s expense
Donald Trump has, allegedly, found “the answer to autism”: Tylenol.
On Monday, Trump announced that pregnant women should dramatically limit their use of acetaminophen, known by the brand name Tylenol or internationally as paracetamol, because, he claimed, it raises the risk of autism.
Continue reading...Research covering 24 countries finds female and younger staff face worst aggression from patients
Violence and abuse by patients against staff in GP clinics is widespread globally and usually triggered by long waiting times and the refusal to prescribe requested drugs, research shows.
The findings are based on a 24-country study of the threats and aggression that family doctors, receptionists and other practice staff experience at work.
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Low tariffs not dependent on sit-down meeting with Trump, Bowen says
On the potential for a meeting between Anthony Albanese and Donald Trump, Bowen has poured cold water on whether any charm offensive by the Australian PM might have turned the US from its present course.
There are plenty of world leaders who have met with Donald Trump who haven’t had good outcomes, who have got very high tariffs. Who have come over, had meetings, left optimistic and then they’ve got high tariffs. The way Anthony Albanese has managed the relationship, we have the world’s lowest tariff on Australia.
Results matter, David. Of course, the prime minister has made it clear he’s very happy to meet, but results matter. And this prime minister and this foreign minister and this government have delivered pretty good results when it comes to the bilateral relationship.
It’s not my place to announce these things, David. I’m a humble cabinet minister.
Of course a meeting with the president is always a good thing. But I’ll tell you what’s even more important is results. I’d much rather Anthony Albanese get a great result for our economy with the world’s lowest tariff without a meeting, than to have a meeting and get the opposite result, which is what many other world leaders have found themselves in that situation.
Well, we obviously have set Australia’s foreign policy based on our interests and our values. And while everyone is entitled to their views, we will determine Australian foreign policy, not anyone else. And we’ve determined a couple of things – that the time is right, in concert, as you said, with like-minded states.
We have been waiting 80 years for a two-state solution, and that we now see recognising Palestine as a step towards a two-state solution, not the result of negotiations.
Continue reading...Health regulator places conditions on Dr Christopher Webster’s registration over comments made after mushroom lunch murder trial
An Australian doctor who treated triple murderer Erin Patterson and her victims after the deadly mushroom lunch has been slapped with conditions by the health regulator after speaking out about the case.
Dr Christopher Webster, a GP in the Victorian town of Leongatha, south-east of Melbourne, was a witness in Patterson’s trial earlier this year.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Residents of western Sydney and outer suburbs of Melbourne are at particular risk of high temperatures, data shows
As the federal government warns the climate crisis will increase heat-related deaths, with the impact disproportionately borne by the already vulnerable, data obtained exclusively by Guardian Australia shows the parts of Australia’s major cities that are most vulnerable to heat.
The new measure, called the Heat Vulnerability Index and compiled by researchers at RMIT, combines temperature readings from satellites, with data on populations particularly susceptible to heat (such as older Australians and those with disabilities), the built environment and green space, and socioeconomic factors like income and education.
Continue reading...Commons committee finds women’s concerns not taken seriously due to bias, stereotyping and racist assumptions
Black women in England are still facing poorer outcomes in their maternity care due to systemic racism, alongside failures in leadership and data collection, according to a group of MPs.
Across the UK, black women are more than twice as likely to die in childbirth compared with their white counterparts, while babies born to black mothers are at an increased risk of stillbirth.
Continue reading...Data public health experts say is worrisome will reportedly be presented to ACIP later this week before vote on shots
US health officials are reportedly planning to release data on child deaths and serious side effects they would attribute to Covid-19 vaccines, raising alarm among public health experts who say the publicly available data does not support these claims and the report may lead to increased anti-vaccine sentiment.
Independent advisers for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) later this week plan to revisit recommendations for Covid shots as well as vaccines for measles and hepatitis B.
Continue reading...Liberal National party expected to legislate ban this week, putting an end to testing of illicit drugs at festivals
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Queensland’s state government is expected to ban pill testing, including at festivals, by attaching amendments to an unrelated bill in parliament in a move criticised by health advocates.
Under the previous Labor government, Queensland was the first state to establish a fixed pill-testing strategy on an ongoing basis, in 2024. Clinics were opened on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane.
Continue reading...Care and support package, including housing, will help 30-50 young Palestinians for an initial two years
The first group of children from Gaza have arrived in the UK for specialist life-saving treatment on the NHS, the Guardian understands.
Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, informed the parliamentary Labour party on Monday evening about the development. On arrival in the UK, the patients and their families have been granted access to NHS treatment, appropriate housing and comprehensive support services for an initial two-year period.
Continue reading...Medical tribunal rules ‘very low risk’ of Suhail Anjum, who had been dismissed by hospital in Greater Manchester, repeating behaviour
A doctor who left a patient midway through an operation to have sex with a nurse is at “very low risk” of repeating his serious misconduct, a medical tribunal has ruled.
Dr Suhail Anjum, 44, and the unnamed nurse were caught in a “compromising position” by a colleague who walked in on the pair at Tameside hospital. The consultant anaesthetist had asked another nursing colleague to monitor the male patient, who was under general anaesthetic, so he could go to the bathroom.
Continue reading...Deputy prime minister also said security arrangements between PNG and Australia were due for a ‘refresh’. Follow today’s news live
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‘We’ve got an eye to recruiting out of PNG into the defence force’ – Marles
Marles is asked about statements from his PNG counterpart about what may or may not be in the agreement, including more integration between PNG and Australian defences forces, and specifically whether there has been any confusion.
I’m very pleased to see the excitement that [the PNG defence minister] Billy [Joseph] is bringing to this and it does, to be honest, reflect the way in which we have been going about this agreement since the moment that he and I first met to do this refresh back in January this year and it has turned into something much more than a refresh.
It is a really significant agreement that we will be signing, but it does reflect the fact that we are doing so many more exercises together, so many more operations together. We are really working hand in glove as two defence forces and I think this is profoundly important.
I think what you can take, though, is that this is a really important statement from Papua New Guinea and indeed from Australia, to each other, and I think this is Papua New Guinea making it really clear that traditional partners, and they’ve talked about this a lot, the traditional partners is where they look to in terms of their security, and from an Australian point of view, PNG is obviously on our northern flank.
It really matters that we have the very best relationship that we can have with PNG in a security sense, and I’m really excited about the fact that this agreement is going to give expression to that.
We’re doing so much more with PNG now. I think it is fair to say that as we’ve walked down that path over the course of the last few months, and we’ve been doing it with a view to signing this agreement in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of PNG’s independence, it is fair to say a lot more ambition has been brought to this agreement and we are really excited about the agreement that we will be signing in the next few days.
It certainly will transform the defence relationship between Australia and PNG, but beyond that, if you look at the various defence agreements we have with countries around the world, actually, it is hugely significant in that context.
The prime minister will be signing this in the next few days, so I will let the prime minister make those announcements and you will see them shortly enough.
Continue reading...Need something brilliant to read this weekend? Here are six of our favourite pieces from the past seven days
Continue reading...As House of Lords prepares to debate bill, Hospice UK says sector needs adequate funding for end-of-life care
Hospices are “on the brink” and two in five are making cuts this year despite the importance of end-of-life care if assisted dying becomes legal, the sector has warned before the first House of Lords debate on the legislation.
Hospice UK, which represents the sector, said many were financially struggling and still “in the dark” about how funding for end-of-life care will be improved when assisted dying legislation is passed.
Continue reading...Despite being repeatedly asked, No 10 declines to say the PM was ‘misled’ by Mandelson
Stephen Doughty, a Foreign Office minister, is responding to the UQ about Peter Mandelson.
He starts by making the point that it is the anniversary of the “despicable” 9/11 terrorism attacks.
Keir Starmer must sack Peter Mandelson without further delay - and come clean about what he knew when, and whether he sanctioned blocking the publication of damaging material.
UK government documents shouldn’t be hidden from the public just because they are damaging to the Labour party - and by backing Peter Mandelson to the hilt, the prime minister’s own reputation is now on the line.
Jamie Pearson killed himself in toilet at Blackpool Victoria hospital after being admitted over painkiller overdose
The death of a 27-year-old man who killed himself in a hospital toilet after waiting 22 hours to be seen by the mental health team was “contributed to by neglect”, a coroner has ruled.
Jamie Pearson was admitted to Blackpool Victoria hospital’s A&E department after taking an overdose of high-strength painkillers on 17 August 2024.
Continue reading...Queensland woman says its time for clinic to destroy 30-year-old samples as state and federal health ministers meet to push for reform
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Queensland woman Jessica Hamilton has 77 half-brothers and sisters. But this week she learned that number could grow even further – swelled by new births.
In 1995, the year she was born, Queensland Fertility Group told Hamilton’s mother that she could expect to have between three and five siblings to other families.
Continue reading...Caesareans drive rise in assisted deliveries as experts warn of complex pregnancies linked to age, obesity and other conditions
More than half of women having a baby in Britain now do so with the help of medical intervention, an audit of NHS maternity care has revealed.
Of the 592,594 births that took place in 2023, 50.6% involved either a caesarean section or the use of instruments such as forceps or a ventouse suction cup.
Continue reading...New blow to UK’s key life science sector as industry body says country is losing ground on investment and research
The US drugmaker Merck has scrapped a £1bn London research centre and is laying off 125 scientists in the capital this year, in a big blow to the UK’s important life science sector.
Keir Starmer’s government has described life sciences as “one of the crown jewels of the UK economy” and the previous Conservative government had vowed to turn the country into a “global science and technology superpower” by 2030.
Continue reading...More than 1,000 patients to take part in trial to see if the approach leads to faster and more reliable diagnoses
Doctors have launched a clinical trial of a £100 blood test for Alzheimer’s disease in the hope of transforming diagnosis of the devastating condition in the NHS.
More than 1,000 patients with suspected dementia are being recruited from memory clinics across the UK to see whether the test leads to faster and more reliable diagnoses and better care for those found to have the disease.
Continue reading...Report omits limiting pesticides and ultra-processed foods even as RFK Jr pledges to fight against childhood obesity
The Trump administration released its second Make America Healthy Again (Maha) report, this time on chronic illnesses in children, confirming a leaked report from last month that the administration would stop short of proposing direct restrictions on pesticides and ultra-processed foods.
On Tuesday, the Make America Healthy Again commission published a 20-page report that attempts a balance for the priorities of health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr’s supporters with the interests of influential farming corporations. It also urges an overhaul of the nation’s vaccine injury system and tighter oversight of certain prescriptions.
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