Health and Higher Education Ministries on Thursday received from the World Health Organization (WHO) a shipment of high-tech medical equipment provided as a grant by the Japanese Government for the public hospitals affiliated to the two ministries with a value of more than USD 12 million.

WHO’s Resident Representative in Syria Elizabeth Hoff said that this shipment of medical equipment, which is provided for supporting the health sector in Syria, is the biggest of its kind regarding the value, seize and quality.

Hoff indicated that the cooperation also includes training engineers on maintaining this equipment and qualifying a number of hospitals and health centers, in addition to supplying the emergency system with a number of ambulances and mobile medical clinics.

She added that during the next week, the rehabilitation of the emergency building at the Children University Hospital in Damascus will be started with a cost of USD 2 million and over a period of 250 days.

Hoff reiterated that the WHO and its partners are committed to supporting the health sector in Syria in a way that would allow the development of the health reality and services for all the Syrians.

For his part, Higher Education Assistant Minister Hassan Jibaji hailed the continued cooperation between the WHO and the Japanese Government and the efforts they exert for providing humanitarian aid on all levels, particularly in the health domain, in addition to the logistic support through holding workshops and training courses with the aim of developing health and medical sector in Syria.

In turn, Foreign Ministry Representative Rabi Jawhara affirmed that this grant will have an important role in supporting the health sector in Syria.

Jawhara expressed appreciation for the Japanese Government and people for standing by the Syrian people   .

Head of Lattakia Health Directorate Dr. Ammar Ghannam said that the grant enhances the humanitarian solidarity among the peoples and contributes to supporting health care and alleviating the suffering of patients.

No cholera case was reported in Morocco, said Tuesday the Ministry of Health, adding that several proactive and preventive measures were taken to prevent a possible outbreak of the epidemic in the Kingdom.

French pharmaceutical firm Sanofi said Monday it had reached an agreement to purchase US biotech company Bioverativ, which specialises in treatments for haemophilia and rare blood disorders, for $11.6 billion.

Sanofi's chief executive Olivier Brandicourt said the acquisition "enhances its presence in specialty care and leadership in rare diseases... and creates a platform for growth in other rare blood disorders."

The purchase should also translate into a boost in profits per share beginning this year, rising to a gain of up to 5 percent in 2019, Sanofi said in a statement.

Bioverativ has latest-generation treatments for haemophilia, a disorder where blood does not clot properly to stop bleeding.

The haemophilia drugs market is "the largest market in rare diseases", worth around $10 billion per year and projected to grow by seven percent annually over the next five years, Brandicourt said in an audio conference with analysts.

He said he harboured a "strong admiration" for Bioverativ, which is a leader in the field with two drugs, Eloctate and Alprolix, already in the market and estimated overall sales of $1.2 billion in 2017.

Sanofi said it would be able to help Bioverativ with the research it has underway on the development of other haemophilia treatments, as well as for other rare diseases.

The agreement to purchase all of Bioverativ's outstanding shares for $105 each in cash represents a premium of 64 percent from the closing price on Friday, Sanofi said.

The operation is to start in February and close three months later, Brandicourt said.

But investors were not convinced, sending Sanofi's shares sharply lower on the Paris stock exchange as they wondered about the wisdom of putting so much money on the table.

The deal "looks logical, but expensive", with only modest potential to drive growth in the medium term, judged analysts at the Jefferies firm.

Furthermore, Sanofi may run into competition concerns from regulators with the takeover, they said.

The French firm said it would use funds on hand and borrow to finance the acquisition of Bioverativ.

But although pricey, the acquisition will still leave Sanofi with enough financial firepower to go after other acquisition targets, Jefferies said. One such target could be Pfizer's consumer healthcare business, they said.

The purchase of Bioverativ is the largest Sanofi has made since it acquired US biotech firm Genzyme for $20 billion in April 2011.

The French group failed in its 2016 bid to take over US cancer drugmaker Medivation which instead went to Pfizer.

Sanofi shares were 4.2 percent lower at 69.89 euros in late afternoon trading Monday, vastly underperforming the benchmark CAC 40 index in Paris which was up 0.2 percent.

Source: AFP

French pharmaceutical firm Sanofi said Monday it had reached an agreement to purchase US biotech company Bioverativ, which specialises in treatments for haemophilia and rare blood disorders, for $11.6 billion.

Sanofi's chief executive Olivier Brandicourt said the acquisition "enhances its presence in specialty care and leadership in rare diseases... and creates a platform for growth in other rare blood disorders."

The purchase should also translate into a boost in profits per share beginning this year, rising to a gain of up to 5 percent in 2019, Sanofi said in a statement.

Bioverativ has latest-generation treatments for haemophilia, a disorder where blood does not clot properly to stop bleeding.

The haemophilia drugs market is "the largest market in rare diseases", worth around $10 billion per year and projected to grow by seven percent annually over the next five years, Brandicourt said in an audio conference with analysts.

He said he harboured a "strong admiration" for Bioverativ, which is a leader in the field with two drugs, Eloctate and Alprolix, already in the market and estimated overall sales of $1.2 billion in 2017.

Sanofi said it would be able to help Bioverativ with the research it has underway on the development of other haemophilia treatments, as well as for other rare diseases.

The agreement to purchase all of Bioverativ's outstanding shares for $105 each in cash represents a premium of 64 percent from the closing price on Friday, Sanofi said.

The operation is to start in February and close three months later, Brandicourt said.

But investors were not convinced, sending Sanofi's shares sharply lower on the Paris stock exchange as they wondered about the wisdom of putting so much money on the table.

The deal "looks logical, but expensive", with only modest potential to drive growth in the medium term, judged analysts at the Jefferies firm.

Furthermore, Sanofi may run into competition concerns from regulators with the takeover, they said.

The French firm said it would use funds on hand and borrow to finance the acquisition of Bioverativ.

But although pricey, the acquisition will still leave Sanofi with enough financial firepower to go after other acquisition targets, Jefferies said. One such target could be Pfizer's consumer healthcare business, they said.

The purchase of Bioverativ is the largest Sanofi has made since it acquired US biotech firm Genzyme for $20 billion in April 2011.

The French group failed in its 2016 bid to take over US cancer drugmaker Medivation which instead went to Pfizer.

Sanofi shares were 4.2 percent lower at 69.89 euros in late afternoon trading Monday, vastly underperforming the benchmark CAC 40 index in Paris which was up 0.2 percent.

Source: AFP

French pharmaceutical firm Sanofi said Monday it had reached an agreement to purchase US biotech company Bioverativ, which specialises in treatments for haemophilia and rare blood disorders, for $11.6 billion (9.5 billion euros).

Sanofi's chief executive Olivier Brandicourt said the acquisition "enhances its presence in specialty care and leadership in rare diseases ... and creates a platform for growth in other rare blood disorders."

The purchase should also translate into a boost in profits per share beginning this year, rising to a gain of up to 5 percent in 2019, Sanofi said in a statement.

But investors were not convinced, sending Sanofi's shares sharply lower in early business on the Paris stock exchange.

Bioverativ has latest-generation treatments for haemophilia, a disorder where blood does not clot properly to stop bleeding.

Sanofi said it would be able to help Bioverativ with the research it has under way on the development of other haemophilia treatments as well as for other rare diseases.

The agreement to purchase all of Bioverativ's outstanding shares for $105 each in cash represents a premium of 64 percent from the closing price on Friday, Sanofi said.

The French firm said it would use funds on hand and borrow to finance the acquisition of Bioverativ.

The purchase is the largest Sanofi has made since it acquired US biotech firm Genzyme for $20 billion in April 2011.

Sanofi shares were three percent lower at 70.74 euros around 40 minutes into Monday's trading, vastly underperforming the benchmark CAC 40 index in Paris which was down 0.1 percent.

Source: AFP

The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen has pledged $1.5bn (£1.1bn) in new humanitarian aid for the country.

It will also increase the capacities of Yemeni ports to receive aid and cargo shipments, and set up 17 "safe-passage corridors" for humanitarian groups.

Three years of conflict and a blockade imposed by the coalition have caused what the UN calls "the worst man-made humanitarian crisis of our time" .

Three quarters of Yemen's population - 22.2 million people - need assistance.

They include 8.4 million people who are considered severely food insecure and at risk of starvation - a 24% increase since April 2017.

At the same time, Yemen is grappling with outbreaks of cholera - with more than 2,244 associated deaths reported in less than a year - and diphtheria.

Fighting between pro-government forces, which are backed by the coalition, and the rebel Houthi movement has also left more than 9,245 dead and 52,800 injured.

Sunday, seeking $2.96bn to provide life-saving assistance to 13.1 million people.

Later, the Saudi-led coalition announced that it would provide $1.5bn in new funding "for distribution across UN agencies and international relief organisations".

A statement said the coalition would also help expand the capacities of Yemeni ports to boost imports of aid and cargo to 1.4m tonnes annually, up from 1.1m last year. However, it did not mention ending the restrictions on access to the rebel-held port of Hudaydah, which handles 70% of Yemen's imports.

The coalition will also set up 17 "safe-passage corridors" to facilitate overland transport for humanitarian organisations, and begin daily flights of cargo planes from Saudi Arabia to the government-controlled province of Marib.

"We are backing a professionally planned and detailed humanitarian mission with military power and precision to guarantee that the humanitarian aid reaches the people who need it to lift their suffering," said spokesman Colonel Turki al-Maliki.

The charity Save the Children said it welcomed any measures to allow more access to humanitarian supplies and support the UN appeal, but warned that "aid can only provide a fraction of what Yemen needs to survive".

"There is a misconception that the Saudi-led coalition has lifted its blockade on Hudaydah port - but fuel is still being blocked, leading to crippling shortages across the country and unsustainable rises in the price of basic goods," it added.

Last week, Saudi Arabia deposited $2bn in Yemen's central bank after the government appealed for help to save the country's currency from collapse and prevent a famine.

The coalition has faced widespread criticism over the number of civilian casualties resulting from its air strikes and the impact of its blockade, which was tightened in November after the Houthis fired a ballistic missile at the Saudi capital Riyadh.

The US, which has provided logistical and intelligence support to the coalition and supplied it with weapons, last month called on Saudi leaders to immediately allow in all humanitarian aid.

Source: AFP

Robust population growth, lower child mortality, increased life expectancy and changing lifestyle risk factors such as chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have in recent years led to increased pressure on Kuwait’s healthcare system. To their credit, the government and the ministry of health have responded by introducing several measures and reforms aimed at addressing many of the capacity constraints in the sector and improving quality of health services.

Despite relatively low oil revenues, healthcare spending has continued to be a priority for the government, with reforms to the health sector forming a key component of the state's ‘New Kuwait 2035’ development plan. The plan, which outlines the country’s long-term development priorities aimed at transforming Kuwait into a financial, cultural, and institutional leader in the region, is organized around five themes, or desired outcomes, and seven pillars, or areas of focus for investment and development.

Healthcare is one of the seven pillars that support the New Kuwait vision and is centered on several strategic programs and projects designed to have the most impact on achieving the vision. The strategic programs envision improving Kuwait’s relative ranking on the global quality of health care index from 51 percent in 2014 to 54 percent by the end of development plan in 2035.  

The projects planned or being implemented as part of the reforms are expected to improve the quality of medical services and, increase the number of healthcare facilities and hospital beds in the country. The plan also aims to develop a national cadre with the requisite capabilities to offer efficient and effective health services to the public.

Other development goals under the New Kuwait healthcare initiative are in line with the changing demographics and disease patterns in the country. These include augmenting preventive health services to reduce the rate of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCD); developing occupational health services to treat the labor force; enhancing health services aimed at students; increasing the level of exercise and sports among citizens and residents; and creating awareness of the importance of healthy lifestyle choices among all sectors of society.

Projects being implemented as part of health sector reforms are expected to bring about a sharp increase in the number of available hospital beds and provide health facilities with cutting-edge capabilities. Some of the new hospitals that form part of the reform initiative include a 780-bed Maternity Hospital, a 792-bed Children’s Hospital, a new Police Hospital with 500 beds and a Physical Medicine Hospital with over 700 beds.

Ongoing expansions to existing hospitals will also see a significant increase to their existing bed-capacities and health service capabilities. In addition, construction of the new 1,166-bed Jaber Al-Ahmad Hospital, one of the largest health facilities in the Middle-East, has been completed and is awaiting handover to the Ministry of Health. There are also three new hospitals, under the expatriate insurance program, with a total of 750 beds slated to open in the near future.

The plan to build more hospitals and expand existing ones in a bid increase the number of available hospital beds and health facilities in the country is a welcome move. But new hospitals and beds are only one part of the healthcare equation; equally important is improving the quality of medical services provided to residents.

Apparently, it is a lack of this quality quotient, or at least confidence in the available quality, which has prompted many Kuwaitis to seek specialized medical services abroad at government expense. Until recently, the government had a policy of liberally funding specialized treatment abroad for Kuwaitis requiring complex medical procedures. The funding covered all medical costs for the patient’s treatment, as well as the expenses of spouses and other family members accompanying them abroad.

But by signing on to this 'medical tourism' policy, the government had inadvertently been questioning the competency of local doctors and medical facilities to handle complicated medical procedures. Besides encouraging a rush of outbound 'medical tourists' this policy led to the government incurring huge overseas health bills that could have been better utilized to improve the quality of local healthcare. In a damning report, the State Audit Bureau pointed out that the government spent in excess of KD440 million in 2014 to fund 11,000 medical trips abroad for citizens.

Repeated annual expenditure overruns and an avalanche of citizens seeking medical treatment abroad led the government to begin reining-in this unsustainable practice. In 2015, the authorities slashed the daily allowance granted to patients and their spouses during their stay abroad. Simultaneously, the authorities made the approval process for treatment overseas more arduous, so that politicians could no longer easily peddle medical tourism jaunts abroad in exchange for votes from their electorates.

The government also initiated the opening of several specialized medical treatment facilities at local hospitals and enhanced the quality of services provided. To maintain the quality of medical services, the Ministry of Health also signed a number of agreements with prestigious global institutions to regularly train medical staff and periodically evaluate the quality of healthcare being delivered. By the end of 2016, these actions on their own had resulted in a drop by half the number of people seeking treatment abroad at government expense.

Initiatives aimed at improving quality of medical services and facilities, and policies designed to enhance the healthcare system in the country are undoubtedly necessary and welcome moves, but these policies should not come at the expense of one section of society. Segregating people on the basis of citizens and non-citizens, and apportioning the morning hours of the day for Kuwaitis and evening hours for expatriates at hospitals and clinics, is clearly a policy that the authorities have not thought through.

While this strategy might help alleviate rush during morning hours and relieve Kuwaitis from having to wait for services at public healthcare facilities, it will definitely increase the rush of expatriate patients in the evenings. The huge influx of patients and the limited work hours will in turn increase workload on doctors, nurses and other medical staff in the evening shift. The pressure is bound to add up and eventually impact negatively on the quality of services provided, besides further straining the country's healthcare system.

Similarly, the recent move to increase fees for healthcare services provided to foreigners will certainly help increase health ministry revenues, but it will also prevent many non-citizens from availing of needed health services. Most Western expatriates and others having health coverage as part of their work contract generally do not seek medical attention at government-run facilities, but there are those in the weakest sections of society who rely entirely on public healthcare to meet their health needs. The high fees now being imposed by the government will deter this group of people from seeking the medical services that they might urgently need, but can no longer afford.

The authorities may feel that segregation of patients and selective fee hike for healthcare services are necessary steps, but for a country that takes pride in its generosity and humanitarian credentials these are definitely steps in the wrong direction.

Brown butter is one of those shortcut ingredients to great cooking. It takes any kind of cake to a whole new level of complex, nutty deliciousness, and adds toasted flavors to cornbread, or even savory dishes like pasta and risotto. Every self-respecting home baker should know how to brown butter, especially considering there's nothing to it. If you have butter, a pan, and a rubber spatula, you're good to go.

Step one: heat butter in a light-colored pot

Butter consists of clear yellowish butterfat, water, and milk proteins. When browning butter, those proteins are what is actually browning.  Start by plopping the desired amount of butter in a heavy-bottomed and preferably light-colored saucepan. The heavy bottom ensures the butter heats evenly while the light color allows you to monitor the butter's color as it browns. Heat the butter gently over low heat till it has melted completely. Stir the butter with a rubber spatula all through the browning process, which also helps it melt evenly.

Step Two: cook off water

Butter contains a good 13 to 17% water, which has to go before the fat's temperature can rise enough to brown the milk proteins. Once the butter reaches a temperature of 100°C, the water in the butter starts to evaporate much more quickly. As a result, the butter will start to bubble and splatter.

Step three: brown the butter

After about five minutes the butter will start to foam. This is when you want to watch the butter like a hawk, stirring it around with your spatula to prevent the milk solids from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

You can tell the butter is browning because dark golden flecks (browned milk solids) will appear in the melted butter, which will start to smell nutty and toasty.

Once you're happy with the level of browning, pour the butter—browned milk solids and all—into a heatproof bowl and stir it for one or two minutes to cool it down. If you were to leave the butter in the pan, the residual heat would continue to cook it, and the butter might scorch from a perfect brown to a burnt-tasting black.

Also, keep in mind that only the milk solids turn a dark golden brown, not the butter itself. The fat will be darker as well, but not as dramatically as the milk solids.

Now is the time to embrace brown butter in all of its glory, for dishes that are simple to prepare yet extraordinary in taste. Here are some ideas for using brown butter in savory cooking.

A finishing act

Use brown butter just as it is—a sauce. Spoon it over meat, fish, shellfish, baked cheese, pasta, gnocchi, and more as a final, flavorful flourish. Glaze Brussels sprouts in brown butter, or fluff it into still-hot wild rice, quinoa, or couscous. Drizzle it over smooth, silky soups for a welcome pop of flavor and texture. Or toss spaghetti with nothing more than brown butter, parmesan, and lots of black pepper for one of the best late-night meals ever.

Brown butter can also be incorporated into sauces and dressings, such as a brown butter mayonnaise, brown butter vinaigrette, and brown butter hollandaise. Or mix brown butter with fresh herbs, chill it, and make compound butter, which is a very good thing to have on hand. A knob of herby brown butter stirred into still-warm polenta, risotto, or mashed potatoes? Yes, please.

Savory baking

Use brown butter in your savory baked goods to add an extra dimension of nutty, toasty flavors. Start with cornbread, dinner rolls, granola, and clafoutis. But don’t stop there: you can slip browned butter into virtually any recipe that calls for melted butter.

Roasting and sautéing

Give that bottle of extra-virgin olive oil a break this fall: reach for brown butter instead when roasting and sautéing. Rub it on a chicken or turkey before roasting, or sauté scallops, and crab cakes in it. Use brown butter for breakfast too: slow cook scrambled eggs or fried eggs in brown butter as a rich, indulgent way to start the day.

Cooking ingredients in brown butter is the best because it’s where the most transformation happens: whatever ingredients are roasted or sautéed in brown butter take on its nuttiness and depth of flavor.

Jazz it up

Get creative by combining brown butter with other ingredients before saucing, baking, roasting or sautéing with it. Suddenly, the possibilities for using browned butter in your savory cooking are virtually limitless. When jazzing up brown butter, let it cool for about a minute, then stir in any add-ins such as herbs, other aromatics, spices, citrus and more.

To help you get started, here is a recipe for the best brown butter dish:

Brown Butter Mushrooms, Greens, and Soba Noodles

Ingredients

4 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon fish sauce

½  teaspoon chile-garlic sauce, or to taste

8 ounces mushrooms, sliced  (cremini, shiitake, or a combination)

Finely grated zest of one large lime (juice reserved)

2 to 3 cups roughly torn kale, chard, or spinach leaves (about half a small bunch)

6 ounces soba noodles

Kosher salt, to taste

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and cook until it turns brown and smells nutty, about 4 to 6 minutes. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom so they don't burn.

 Add the fish sauce, chile-garlic sauce, and lime zest to the brown butter, stirring to integrate. The fish sauce will smell strong at this point, but it’ll mellow as the dish comes together. Add mushrooms and sauté until tender, about 4 to 6 minutes, over medium heat, then add the greens and sauté a few minutes longer.  If using young, tender greens, skip this step and add them at the end with the soba noodles.

 Meanwhile, cook the soba noodles according to package directions. When the soba noodles are done, drain and immediately add them to the skillet. Add 1 teaspoon sesame oil and 1 tablespoon of lime juice, and toss together until the noodles are evenly coated with the brown butter sauce. Taste for seasoning and balance, adding kosher salt, more lime juice, or sesame oil if needed. 

Traditional cheese balls are a mixture of cream cheese, grated semi-soft or semi-firm cheese whipped smooth with a few added flavorings, which are then shaped into a ball of about four inches in diameter and rolled in nuts. With crackers, carrot sticks, and celery, they serve the same function as the crudité platters of cut veggies with dip that have commanded parties since the early '80s.

In many ways, a cheese ball isn't even a recipe; it's a concept with four directions. What makes a cheese ball so versatile is that you can quite literally change almost every element and still be good to go.

What cheese to use for a cheese ball

When it comes to the creamy component, cream cheese is the classic foundation, and it works incredibly well. As in any dish with a few ingredients, the quality of what you use becomes vital, so pick the best cheese you can afford. You will be stretching any pricey cheese or flavorings with inexpensive cream cheese, which helps keeps this dish both special and doable on most budgets.

The single trick to getting a cheese ball to work well is that every ingredient must be at room temperature. Soft, warm cheeses become integrated into a single flavor, with a new texture and aroma that simply cannot occur if you start with cold ingredients. Set the cream cheese and cheeses out on the counter for about an hour before you start and you will be problem-free.

For the base cheese: Cream cheese is our first choice for its firm texture and mild creaminess. It creates a base so handy that it is easy to make the mixture into whatever you want. With the addition of one or two ingredients, the base is made firmer and shaped into a sculpture (think football or snowman, not three-foot swan) or softer (think dip). It's easy to make, easy to modify, and easy to fix.

If you feel adventuresome, try mascarpone, quark, neufchatel, creamy feta, soft goat cheese, or fromage blanc as an alternative base to the cream cheese.

The second cheese: Once you have the base set, you can get crazy with the second cheese. As long as it's not a grating cheese or crumbly, like Parmesan or cotija, it'll work.

How long to leave cheese out

Don't leave cream cheese out more than about two hours unrefrigerated, but the second cheese can sit out for about four hours; just keep them all covered and away from a hot stove or running dishwasher.

Topping Your Cheese Ball

A good cheese ball is a study in texture. You want to create contrast between the smooth, creamy interior and the chewy add-ins. Things like crunchy bacon, crackers, and roasted nuts are all ideal toppings. Mince your toppings — they should be pretty small so they are easily incorporated into the cheese as it spreads.

Cheese balls keep extraordinarily well as long as you do not roll them in the outer topping until just before serving. Wrapped in plastic and then foil, a cheese ball will keep for up to a week, making it a great nibble to have on hand during party season or any random get-together.

Troubleshooting

Your cheese ball is too runny: Once you have added all the extras, and it's all mixed in well, if the texture is more salad dressing-like than something you might spread on a bagel, you can tighten it up easily by adding unsalted butter, one tablespoon at a time, mixing before you add more. You could also add more cream cheese, but it will not solidify the ball once it's chilled as well as the butter.

You added too many ingredients: If you add too many things like fruits and meat, add 3 tablespoons of cream cheese plus 1 teaspoon butter at a time and mix very well and taste. Still not quite right? Go one more round and add a teaspoon of the liquid flavoring, 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire along with 3 tablespoons of cream cheese and mix very well. This will help you retain the backbone flavors.

Process the cream cheese: Place the cream cheese in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Alternatively, use a handheld electric mixer and large bowl. Process or beat until light and fluffy in texture, 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Process the cream cheese: Place the cream cheese in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. (Alternatively, use a handheld electric mixer and large bowl.) Process or beat until light and fluffy in texture, 30 second to 1 minute.

Mix in the second cheese: Add the grated cheese and process or beat for 30 to 45 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the side of the bowl. It should be very smooth and completely combined. If it is not, process or mix another 30 seconds.

Mix in the liquid flavoring: Add the garlic, lemon juice, and Worcestershire. Process or beat until the mixture is completely smooth, there no lumps or bits, and the mixture is a thick and fluffy, 1 full minute or more. Stop the machine and scrape down the side of the bowl.

Mix in any optional ingredients: Add any combination of add-in flavorings and process or beat until the mixture reaches the desired texture.

Correct the texture if necessary: If the mixture has become runny, like salad dressing or yogurt, add 1 tablespoon room temperature butter at a time and process or beat until completely incorporated, fully processing or beating between each addition.

Scoop the mixture into a mound: Place a large piece of plastic wrap about 12 by 16 inches on a work surface. Using an ice cream scoop or a large spoon, transfer the mixture into a mound in the center of the plastic wrap.

Shape it into ball using plastic wrap: Lift up 2 opposite sides of the plastic wrap and cover the sides of the cheese mixture. Place your cupped hands against the plastic wrap, and gently press the mixture into a round. Lift up the remaining plastic, one piece at a time, and cover all sides of the cheese round. Shape it into a ball. Collect all the plastic pieces at the top and twist them together, creating a bundle that looks like a tied sack or pouch.

Wrap in foil and refrigerate: Wrap the plastic-wrapped cheeseball completely in aluminum foil and shape again with your hands. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 6 days.

Coat the outside: Before serving, pour the coating into a rimmed baking sheet, roasting pan, or 9 by 13-inch baking dish and spread into an even layer. Remove the cheeseball from the refrigerator, unwrap completely, and place on the topping. Gently roll to coat, or using a spoon, scoop the coating over the top. Pat the sides and top well to ensure a full coating.

Serve the cheeseball: Place the cheeseball on a serving tray or platter, with a selection of sturdy, cut vegetables, thick crackers or pita chips, clusters of grapes, and a few dried figs (cut open). You can opt for a mid-century style side dish, toast points, which are simply pieces of great-quality toast slices with the crust cut off. Set out 2 or 3 small cheese knives or butter knives for spreading, plenty of napkins, and serve.

After a season of indulgences it is now time to return to the gym. However, while workouts at the gym are important to getting back in shape, equally important is eating the right foods to fuel your body after the exercises.

We list below some of the places that serve healthy and nutritious eating options post-workout based on your specific exercise preference. Rather than drive over to these places, you could also go online to food delivery sites such as Talabat, or use their app on your mobile, to order foods designed to boost your health regime.

Yoga Bunnies: Your body is your temple, and natural food and eating mindfully is an essential part of maintaining a ‘Zen’ lifestyle. Refresh after your workouts with a deliciously organic and wholefood meal from the Calorie Counter

Body Builders: A heavy weights session will leave your body depleted of glycogen. Opt for a meal full of fast digesting proteins and moderate to high GM carbs to help build muscle and slow protein breakdown. Check out for Healthylicious for its range of high protein health conscious meals.

Spin Queens (or Kings!): After an energetic and sweaty spinning class it is essential that you replenish fluids and feed your body protein. Packed with colorful veggies, healthy carbs and good protein, salads are the perfect post spin option – try out one of the huge range of options available at Salad Boutique.

CrossFit Champions: CrossFit’s concept of functional training achieves great results but is very taxing to the body — meaning that choosing the optimum post-workout recovery meal is essential. Order a meal full of easily digestible protein and carbs; with its wide selection of healthy fish and rice-based dishes Sushi Minto is a great option.

Armchair Enthusiasts: For those who prefer a more sedate approach to health, Talabat has other solutions with restaurants such as Alpha Healthy offering tasty and nutritionally balanced meals.

 The United Nations on Sunday made what it said was a record appeal for aid to Yemen, calling for nearly $3 billion in humanitarian relief for the war-torn country.

The $2.96 billion will be used to respond to an ever-broadening crisis in Yemen, where war, looming famine and cholera have killed thousands and put millions of lives at risk.

The appeal, made on behalf of UN agencies and humanitarian partners, came as 11.3 million people "urgently require assistance to survive", UN aid agency OCHA said in a statement.

"A generation of children is growing up in suffering and deprivation," OCHA said.

"Nearly two million children are out of school, 1.8 million children under the age of five are acutely malnourished, including 400,000 who suffer from severe acute malnutrition and are 10 times more likely to die if they do not receive medical treatment."

More than 9,200 people have been killed in Yemen since 2015, when a Saudi-led military coalition intervened to back the country's internationally-recognised government against Iran-backed rebels.

Another nearly 2,200 Yemenis have died of cholera amid deteriorating hygiene and sanitation conditions, the World Health Organisation says.

Over the past year, the United Nations' efforts to address what it has described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis have been hampered by a crippling blockade of rebel-held ports by the Saudi-led coalition.

More than three-quarters of Yemen's population -- 22.2 million people -- are now dependent on some form of assistance in Yemen, the United Nations says.

Some 8.4 million Yemenis are also at risk of famine, according to OCHA.

In 2017, international donors provided $1.65 billion of the $2.34 billion requested by the United Nations and humanitarian partners in Yemen.

Source: AFP

A man whose body rejected a face transplant he received seven years ago has been given a second donor face after living nearly two months without one, French medical agencies said Friday.

It is the first time in transplant history that doctors have replaced one donor face with another, according to Olivier Bastien of France's biomedicine agency.

More than 12 years since the first-ever face graft was done, in France, it remains a high-risk procedure.

A transplant can help recipients -- often victims of accidents, violence, or rare genetic disorders -- to resume basic tasks such as breathing, eating and speaking, and restores non-verbal communication through smiles and frowns.

But it also means a life-long reliance on immunosuppressant medicines, to stop the body rejecting the "foreign" organ. These drugs can leave a person vulnerable to infections and cancers.

It is a rare procedure with fewer than 40 operations performed to date, and at least six patients have died.

The latest recipient, in his 40s, went under the knife at a Paris hospital on Monday, for a procedure that lasted nearly a full day, according to a joint press statement issued by the biomedicine agency and the AP-HP public hospital system.

The man's original graft had been removed in an operation on November 30, and he was kept on life support in an induced coma until the follow-up procedure.

"This graft shows for the first time... that re-transplantation is possible in the case of chronic rejection" of a donor face, said the statement.

It will be weeks before doctors can say whether the second graft has taken.

The recipient of the world's first face transplant, Isabelle Dinoire, died of cancer in April 2016, 11 years after her groundbreaking operation.

Doctors said her body had rejected the transplant, and she had lost partial use of her lips by the time she died.

Source: AFP

A Canadian jury on Friday cleared three railway workers of criminal negligence in one of the nation's worst train disasters, which killed 47 people in Lac-Megantic, Quebec in 2013.

Former Montreal, Maine & Atlantic (MM&A) train conductor Thomas Harding, operations manager Jean Demaitre, and railway traffic controller Richard Labrie, faced 47 counts of criminal negligence -- one for each death.

After an almost four-month trial, the jury struggled over nine days to reach a verdict, asking the presiding judge on several occasions for clarifications on matters of law, raising concerns they might have become deadlocked.

The three accused could have faced life in prison, if convicted.

"Mr Harding is too emotional to give a coherent account of how he feels," his lawyer Thomas Walsh told reporters after the verdicts were handed down.

"But I think he feels relieved," he said. "It's been four and a half years that he's carried this on his shoulders, so he's happy to finally turn the page."

Demaitre echoed the sentiment upon exiting the courtroom, while Labrie burst into tears as he tried to read a brief statement.

He said he hoped the trial had provided some answers to the friends and families of the victims about what really happened the night of the crash and why.

This had been "a long, hard process, but now it's over," Labrie said.

In addition to the casualties, more than 30 buildings in Lac-Megantic were completely destroyed on July 9, 2013 when a 72-car train derailed and exploded.

It was carrying 7.7 million liters (2.0 million gallons) of shale oil from the US state of North Dakota to a refinery in easternmost Canada when it came loose in the middle of the night and rolled downhill, unmanned.

More than 2,000 people -- or a third of the residents -- had to be evacuated from the picturesque lakeside town about 250 kilometers (155 miles) east of Montreal. Firefighters needed two days to put out the inferno.

After the crash, US-headquartered Montreal, Maine & Atlantic declared bankruptcy. Charges against the company are still pending.

- Poor safety standards -

Transportation Safety Board investigators blamed poor safety standards and a lack of regulatory oversight for the crash.

In a 191-page report they listed contributing factors including improper brake tests, a highly flammable cargo in substandard tanker cars and a curve in the tracks at the bottom of a slope.

"Take any one of them out of the equation and this accident may not have happened," TSB chair Wendy Tadros said at the time.

Harding, who was not at the train's helm at the time of the accident, was accused of failing to apply enough brakes on the cars.

Firefighters responding to a small locomotive fire later that night shut off power to the locomotive, inadvertently causing the air brakes to gradually lose pressure.

Left unattended overnight, the train started to roll downhill, reaching a top speed of 105 kilometers (65 miles) per hour.

Many Canadians looked to the criminal trial for closure, but others felt the three accused should never have been charged and that the shortline MM&A railway was at fault for cutting corners on maintenance and employee training, and on the government for ignoring safety concerns.

The TSB agreed, citing the company's "weak safety culture" and a "largely unchecked" boom in rail shipments of oil from 500 in 2009 to 160,000 in 2013.

"We can't hold people criminally responsible for not being perfect," defense lawyer Charles Shearson told the court during the trial.

In the aftermath of the disaster, authorities announced tougher rail safety rules, including the phasing out or retrofitting of substandard tanker cars used to transport flammable liquids.

Source: AFP

 The number of births in China fell last year even though the world's most populous country has relaxed its one-child policy to allow all couples to have two children.

The country saw 17.23 million births in 2017, compared to 17.86 million in the previous year, the head of the National Bureau of Statistics, Ning Jizhe, said on Thursday.

The nation of some 1.4 billion people began to phase out its one-child policy in 2015 in response to concerns about an ageing population and shrinking workforce, prompting the number of births to rise the following year.

While last year marked a decline, an unnamed official from the National Health and Family Planning Commission said in a statement the number of births remained "at a relatively high level".

The decrease was due to the declining population of women of child-bearing age and people's decision to get married and have children later in life, the commission said.

"Socioeconomic factors have more obviously influenced people's willingness to give birth and child-bearing behaviour," it said, citing financial costs, lack of childcare services and women's career development pressure as three major reasons.

While overall births fell, the proportion of newborns born to parents who already had a first child rose to 51 percent in 2017, five percentage points higher than 2016, commission said.

Since the late 1970s, strict measures restricted most couples to one child, with violators facing fines and even forced abortions.

Around 53 percent of one-child families have no desire for a second, according to a survey of 10,000 families with children under 15 by the All-China Women's Federation.

Source: AFP

A sharp rise in the currency of war-torn Yemen Thursday following a $2-billion Saudi bailout sparked hope of relief for millions at risk of famine and reliant on imported food.

The Yemen conflict has claimed more than 9,200 lives since Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened to help the government fight rebels in 2015, pushing its frail economy to the brink of total collapse.

For more than a year, the government has been unable to pay salaries and the riyal has more than halved in value against the dollar, leaving Yemenis unable to afford food staples and bottled water.

But after Saudi Arabia announced a massive cash injection in the central bank, the Yemeni currency rose 16 percent against the dollar on Thursday.

Riyadh's decision Wednesday to transfer $2 billion to the central bank to boost the riyal followed a desperate plea for help by Yemen's president and prime minister.

"As the value of the riyal goes up, the living conditions of Yemeni citizens will change for the better," the Saudi information ministry said.

Yemen's riyal stood at 215 to the dollar in early 2015.

After Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other Arab allies entered the fight against the Iran-backed Huthi rebels in March of that year, the riyal began to plummet, dropping to 500 against the dollar by 2018.

Money changers across the country -- including in the rebel-held capital Sanaa and the government bastion of Aden -- reported the dollar trading at between 420 and 450 riyals on Thursday.

The Saudi-backed government has now capped the exchange rate against the dollar at 390 riyals, but money changers across the country appeared to have turned a blind eye.

More than one million civil servants lost their jobs in 2016, when President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi transferred the central bank from Sanaa to his hometown of Aden.

The rebels still operate their own central bank from the capital.

Saudi Arabia, which itself faces a hefty budget deficit, on Thursday sent its ambassador Mohammed al-Jaber to Aden, three years after he fled Yemen as the Huthis overran the capital.

Prime Minister Ahmed bin Dagher, receiving the ambassador, thanked the kingdom and asked Riyadh and Abu Dhabi to send experts to audit the funds transfer, the loyalist news agency Saba reported.

The Yemen conflict has left more than three-quarters of the population in need of humanitarian aid and 8.4 million at risk of famine, according to the United Nations.

French police raided the headquarters of dairy giant Lactalis on Wednesday over a baby milk salmonella scare that has sickened dozens of children and led to a major international recall.

Dozens of police were searching the company's offices in Laval, western France, as well as its factory in nearby Craon which was the source of the tainted milk.

Lactalis has recalled baby milk from 83 countries, with anger growing after it emerged that the company's own tests had discovered salmonella at the Craon site in August and November.

The company did not report the findings and it says it had no legal obligation to do so because it had not detected salmonella in its products.

The contamination, found in a dehydration tower used to reduce milk, was not revealed to the public until December.

At least 37 babies in France are known to have fallen sick and another in Spain, while Greece has also seen one unconfirmed case.

A source close to the probe said magistrates and 70 police were raiding Lactalis sites on Wednesday.

Officers were guarding the factory doors, an AFP photographer said, with dozens of police vehicles on site.

At the company headquarters, investigators from public health agency OCLAESP and consumer protection agency DGCCRF were searching the premises alongside police.

The recall affects 12 million boxes of powdered baby milk under brands including Picot, Milumel and Celia.

The raids come after Paris investigators opened a preliminary inquiry on December 2 for suspected fraud as well as endangering health by failing to properly execute the recall.

Lactalis CEO Emmanuel Besnier at the weekend offered to compensate the affected families.

But an association of victims' families, which met with the government on Monday, has rejected the offer, accusing Lactalis of trying to buy their silence.

Of the babies taken ill in France, 18 were hospitalised. All are now recovering well, according to the public health agency.

Hundreds of families have filed lawsuits against the company.

Besnier on Sunday denied claims that Lactalis had lied about the dates and amount of stock affected by the salmonella outbreak.

"At no point was there any intention of hiding things," he told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper -- his first interview in nearly 20 years as head of the family-controlled company.

Government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said Sunday the company's explanations were insufficient.

"When you have a case of milk on the market which has clearly caused complicated health problems for children, it means at some point there was negligence," Griveaux said.

Women who breastfeed their babies for six months or more may be able to cut their risk of developing diabetes in the future by nearly half, according to a study Tuesday.

The findings from a three-decade US study of more than 1,200 white and African-American women were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Internal Medicine.

"We found a very strong association between breastfeeding duration and lower risk of developing diabetes, even after accounting for all possible confounding risk factors," said lead author Erica Gunderson, senior research scientist with Kaiser Permanente.

The study showed that women who breastfed for six months or more across had a 47 percent reduction in their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, when compared to those who did not breastfeed at all.

For women who breastfed for six months or less, there was a 25 percent reduction in diabetes risk.

Researchers suggested that breastfeeding may unleash protective effects via hormones that act in the pancreas, controlling blood insulin levels and blood sugar.

"The incidence of diabetes decreased in a graded manner as breastfeeding duration increased, regardless of race, gestational diabetes, lifestyle behaviors, body size, and other metabolic risk factors measured before pregnancy, implying the possibility that the underlying mechanism may be biological," Gunderson said.

Previous research has shown that breastfeeding has other long-term benefits for mothers, including a lower a risk of breast and ovarian cancer.

Source: AFP

There's nothing covert about Roxy -- a huge market in Abidjan selling counterfeit medicine, the scourge of Africa and the cause of around 100,000 deaths annually on the world's poorest continent.

Located in the bustling Adjame quarter of Ivory Coast's main city and commercial hub, the haven for fake medicine has been targeted time and again by authorities and stockpiles burnt.

But it resurfaces every time.

"The police hassle us but they themselves buy these medicines," said Mariam, one of the many mainly illiterate vendors who hawk everything from painkillers and antibiotics to anti-malaria and anti-retroviral treatments.

"When we are harassed we always come to an arrangement with them to resume our activities," she said.

Fatima, another hawker, said: "Many people come here with their prescriptions to buy medicine, even the owners of private clinics."

She said there was a "syndicate" controlling the sector that held regular meetings to fix prices and supply levels.

Fake medicines bring about some 100,000 deaths a year in the continent, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The illicit sector has a turnover of at least 10 percent of the world pharmaceutical business, meaning that it earns tens of billions of dollars a year, the Switzerland-based World Economic Forum estimates, adding that the figure has nearly tripled in five years.

"To sell fake medicines, you need a clientele. The ailing poor are more numerous in Africa than anywhere in the world," said Marc Gentilini, an expert on infectious and tropical diseases and a former head of the French Red Cross.

- Double-edged crime -

Gentilini said some meningitis vaccines sent a few years ago after an outbreak in arid Niger were fake. The disease kills thousands every year in the arid west African nation.

The WHO estimates that one out of 10 medicines in the world is fake but the figure can be as high as seven out of 10 in certain countries, especially in Africa.

The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene estimated in 2015 that 122,000 children under five died due to taking poor-quality antimalarials in sub-Saharan Africa, which, along with antibiotics as the two most in-demand, are the medicines most likely to be out-of-date or bad copies.

Interpol in August announced the seizure of 420 tonnes of counterfeit medicine in West Africa in a massive operation that involved about 1,000 police, customs and health officials in seven countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Togo.

Geoffroy Bessaud, the head of anti-counterfeit coordination at French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, said fake medicines the were the biggest illicit business in the world.

"This phenomenon is spreading: its financial attractiveness draws criminal organisations of all sizes," he said.

"An investment of $1,000 can bring returns of up to $500,000 while for the same kind of investment in the heroin trade or in counterfeit money the amount will be around $20,000."

Ivorian authorities in May burnt 40 tonnes of fake medicines in Adjame, the biggest street market for fake medicines in West Africa which accounts for 30 percent of medicine sales in Ivory Coast.

- Offenders go unpunished -

Offenders remain largely unpunished worldwide and are mainly targeted for breaching intellectual property rights instead of being responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, the Paris-based International Institute of Research Against Counterfeit Medicine says.

Experts have called for a global fight against the scourge.

Sanofi said it had in 2016 helped dismantle 27 clandestine laboratories, including 22 in China and the rest in Indonesia, Ukraine and Poland.

In countries where medical expenses -- from drugs to hospitalisation -- are not even partly reimbursed by the state, the relatively cheap price of street medication trumps the risk factor for many.

The outstanding exception on the continent in fighting the illicit drug trade is South Africa, which has a strictly-enforced licencing system.

Source: AFP

Stifling a sneeze can rupture your throat, burst an ear drum, or pop a blood vessel in your brain, researchers warned Tuesday.

Many people -- when they feel a sneeze coming on -- block all the exits, essentially swallowing the sneeze's explosive force.

Just how dangerous this can be was illustrated when a 34-year-old man showed up at the emergency service of a hospital in Leicester, England recently, with a swollen neck and in extreme pain.

"The patient described a popping sensation in his neck after he tried to halt a sneeze by pinching the nose and holding his mouth closed," doctors detailed in a study published in the medical journal BMJ Case Reports.

A CAT scan confirmed what they suspected: the force of the suppressed sneeze had ruptured and torn open the back of the throat.

The man -- who could barely swallow or talk -- was admitted to hospital, where he was tube-fed and given intravenous antibiotics until the swelling and pain subsided.

He was discharged after a week.

"Halting sneezing via blocking the nostrils and mouth is a dangerous manoeuvre, and should be avoided," the doctors concluded.

In rare cases, stifling a sneeze has led to a condition in which air gets trapped between the lungs, "and even rupture of a cerebral aneurysm," which is a ballooning blood vessel in the brain, they explained.

Source: AFP

Greece's parliament is expected to approve the medical use of cannabis in the coming weeks, a deputy minister said Sunday, adding that the change would attract investment to the country.

"In a few weeks' time, an amendment will be brought to parliament to define the legislative framework for the cultivation and manufacturing of pharmaceutical products based on medical cannabis, which will open the way for Greek and foreign investments," deputy agricultural development minister Yannis Tsironis told AFP.

Tsironis said the legalisation of medical cannabis could attract investments of 1.5 to 2 billion euros ( $1.8 t0 2.4 billion), with Greek, Israeli and Canadian companies already expressing interest.

The deputy minister, along with other government officials, attended Greece's first medical cannabis trade fair this weekend.

Over 100 local and foreign businesses took part in the event, which was held near Athens.

The government last year authorised the import of several pharmaceutical products based on medical marijuana, as well as hemp cultivation for industrial purposes.

Hemp can be used to make construction materials, paper, textiles and food.

Over a dozen EU countries have authorised the use of medical cannabis.

Source: AFP

Two Italian populist parties running in March elections are promising to scrap a compulsory vaccination law, a hot-button issue after a measles outbreak claimed four lives last year.

Under the decree, which sparked heated public debate when it took effect six months ago, children cannot enrol in a creche or kindergarten unless they have been vaccinated against measles as well as nine other diseases.

Parents of unvaccinated children aged between six and 16 face fines of up to 500 euros ($610).

Previously only four vaccines not including measles were mandatory.

Now the far-right Northern League and the populist Five Star Movement (M5S) are proposing to scrap the decree ahead of the March 4 elections in which the two parties and a divided left will go up against a strong centre-right coalition.

M5S leader Luigi Di Maio says the law should revert to the previous four compulsory vaccines while adding measles after last year’s outbreak sickened nearly 5,000 people and killed four.

He notes that Italy’s measles immunisation rate of 87 percent is far below the 95 percent threshold recommended by the World Health Organization.

Northern League leader Matteo Salvini opposed the decree from the start, saying that while he had his children vaccinated he believed the shots should be optional.

The stance is at odds with the party’s ally, the conservative Forza Italia movement of former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, which voted in favour of the measure last year.

Meanwhile, ruling Democratic Party leader and former premier Matteo Renzi said he backs the law.

“You don’t mess around with vaccines. The health of our children is at stake, not an extra (percentage) point at the polls. We are on the side of science, research and medicine and won’t turn back.”

Source: AFP

Pressure rose on French dairy giant Lactalis on Monday as the parents of babies who became sick after drinking salmonella-laced milk demanded answers over a scare affecting dozens of countries.

Lactalis CEO Emmanuel Besnier said at the weekend that more than 12 million packages of Picot, Milumel, Celia and other brands of powdered baby milk had been recalled in 83 countries and offered to compensate all the affected families.

An association of victim's families, which met with the government on Monday, has rejected the offer, accusing Lactalis of trying to buy their silence.

The association's president Quentin Guillemain said Monday the explanations given by Besnier in an interview Sunday -- his first since the outbreak in December -- fell far short of expectations.

"We still don't know where they are, we don't know if they have been destroyed or if they've been drunk," he said.

He said it also remained unclear when the salmonella outbreak at Lactalis's Craon plant in western France first occurred, suggesting it could have been before 2017, the period initially covered by the recall announced in December.

"It's a question we asked once again, and as of now we have not had any response," said Guillemain, who has demanded an apology from Lactalis.

His group has disputed health authorities' tally of 37 children sickened by the salmonella outbreak in France, saying that without systematic testing of babies brought to doctors, the true figure remains unknown.

Hundreds of families have filed lawsuits against the company.

Anger has been growing since it emerged that Lactalis's own tests had discovered salmonella at the Craon site in August and November, but did not report the findings because it had no legal obligation to do so.

Besnier denied claims that Lactalis had lied about the dates and number of stocks affected by the salmonella outbreak.

"At no point was there any intention of hiding things," he said.

Government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said Sunday the company's explanations were insufficient.

"When you have a case of milk on the market which has clearly caused complicated health problems for children, it means at some point there was negligence," Griveaux said.

Source: AFP

The 14th Emirates International Conference on Obstetrics and Gynecology and Infertility will be held in Dubai tomorrow (Thursday) Under the theme "The Role of Genes in Gynecology", and that is under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Dubai Health Authority, Supported by Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences.
The conference will be held at Al Bustan Garden Hotel from 18 to 20 January 2018, with participation more than 1,000 doctors and 28 senior lecturers from Europe, the Middle East and GCC.
"The Emirates International Conference on Gynecology and Infertility is one of the most important medical forums in the world, Where a distinguished group of lecturers, senior professors and doctors from will meet for three days, to review the latest sciences and techniques and developments that will improve the practice of field of Gynecology and obstetrics and modern methods of treatment for infertility problems". Dr. Awatif Al Bahar, Consultant Gynecology and Infertility, Head of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Emirates Medical Association and President of the Conference, said.
Dr.Al Bahar pointed out that  the scientific program of the conference, which has been compared by the Ministry of Health for more than 45 hours of continuous medical education , will include 38 scientific sessions in addition to holding a number of specialized training workshops and a medical exhibition involving more than 22 medical companies displaying the latest products Therapeutic supplies and specialized medical devices in obstetrics, women's surgery and infertility treatments.
The worksheets and scientific sessions will include a number of important topics in the field of obstetrics and gynecology, such as the effect of estrogen deficiency on the internal organs of women except for the reproductive system, and the most variable role in the ultrasound of the first trimester of pregnancy, in addition of how to increase the rate of pregnancy in patients with ovarian multi-sac, For urinary incontinence and its complications.
The scientific sessions also address the changing trends in the management of menopausal sexual disorder and the role of hormonal therapy in the treatment of ovarian and uterine cancer, as well as the improvement of the number of Ovulation of the uterus for the success of assisted fertilization, and the new concepts in recurrent projections.
Abdullah Bin Suqat, member of the Board of Trustees of the Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences stressed that the hosting of the 14th Emirates International Conference on Obstetrics, Gynecology and Infertility provides an ideal opportunity to share experiences and develop medical performance for those providing preventive and curative services, especially in gynecological and obstetrical diseases programs. 

BrandBru has been appointed to handle the press and publicity for protein brand, FIT DELIS. Featuring a range of clean and natural supplements which are free from artificial sweeteners, flavours and thickeners, the nutritionally complete high protein superfood shakes are lauded for detox and wellbeing benefits. FIT DELIS products are available from fitdelis.com with prices starting from £8.99.

The chief executive of France's Lactalis group on Sunday vowed compensation for victims of salmonella-tainted baby milk as he revealed that recalls were now under way in 83 countries.Lactalis has recalled over 12 million packages of baby formula in 83 countries over salmonella fears

Giving his first interview in nearly 20 years, Emmanuel Besnier who heads the family-controlled company, told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper that the recall involved more than 12 million packages of Picot, Milumel, Celia and other brands of powdered baby milk.

"We are going to draw the lessons from this crisis and set out an even stricter hygiene framework, in collaboration with the authorities," he said.

Asked why he had not publicly addressed parents' concerns as worries about the outbreak intensified, Besnier said: "It's true, by nature I'm not very forthcoming."

"In a crisis like this, we act first, and perhaps I didn't take the necessary time to explain things."

A total of 37 babies have fallen ill in France, health authorities said late Friday, along with a case in Spain and a suspected case in Greece, but Besnier said no new cases had been reported since December 8, a week after the recall was announced.

"The case in Spain goes back to October," he added, referring to the two cases outside France reported Friday by the Eurosurveillance medical journal.

Besnier's interview included two of the first public photographs of the secretive leader in years, at the Lactalis headquarters in Laval, western France.So far, a total of 37 babies have fallen ill in France after consuming Lactalis baby formula or other infant products

It came after finance minister Bruno Le Maire summoned Besnier to a meeting over the crisis Friday, in which the chief executive agreed to pull from store and pharmacy shelves all products from the Craon factory where the outbreak was found, instead of those dating back to February.

But Besnier did not appear with Le Maire at a press conference after the meeting, despite calls by several government officials for him to face the public.

'Not hiding things'

Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed against the group by families who say their children got salmonella poisoning after drinking powdered milk made by the company.

But Besnier, 47, denied claims by an association of victims' families that Lactalis had lied about the dates and number of stocks affected by the salmonella outbreak.

"This is false. I don't know what this claim is based on," he said.

"At no point was there any intention of hiding things."The French government said there had been a "major malfunction" in the way Lactalis handled the recall

Besnier defended, however, not informing the authorities that internal tests had discovered salmonella on a broom and on the tiles of a dehydration tower at the Craon factory in August and November last year.

"For us, these 'environment' tests are an alert to make sure we keep the bacteria far from the product," he said, adding that authorities would have been alerted only if bacteria were found in the powdered milk.

Created in 1933 by Besnier's grandfather, Lactalis has become an industry behemoth with annual sales of some 17 billion euros ($20.6 billion), making it the world's third-largest dairy group, behind Danone and Nestle.

The salmonella scare has cast a harsh spotlight on an executive and a company little known to the public, despite employing 15,000 people in France, where milk and cheese are proudly considered part of the country's heritage.

Analysts say the crisis could dent the company's reputation among anxious parents worldwide.

"This recall may undermine consumer trust in milk formula brands produced using milk from French farms in the emerging markets affected by the recall, which includes China," said Raphael Moreau, a senior analyst at Euromonitor.

Source: AFP