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said-on-monday

China approves use of GSK vaccine Cervarix for cervical cancer

Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline Plc said on Monday the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) has approved its human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, Cervarix, for use in the country to help women fight cervical cancer. GSK's China unit said in a statement Cervarix will be the first HPV vaccine licensed for use in the country and is expected to be launched there in early 2017. Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women aged between 15 to 44 years in China, with an estimated 130,000 new cases each year, it said.

Google Glass-based startup raises $17 million in funding

(Reuters) – Augmedix Inc, a startup that uses Alphabet Inc's Google Glass to provide documentation services to doctors and other healthcare workers, said on Monday it had closed a $17 million funding round led by investment firm Redmile Group. Augmedix's employees transcribe doctors' notes and update patients' electronic medical record through Google Glass. The San Francisco company, which has raised $40 million so far, also said it had received investments from five U.S. healthcare networks, including Sutter Health and Dignity Health, which together have more than 100,000 healthcare workers.

Council of Europe raps Italy over difficulty in obtaining abortions

Women’s rights are being violated in Italy by the serious difficulties they face in trying to obtain safe abortions due to many doctors refusing to carry out the procedure, the Council of Europe said on Monday. Terminating pregnancies has been legal in Italy since 1978, but the council’s social rights committee found that the situation in Italy violated both the women’s right to protection of health and the doctors’ right to dignity at work. Women seeking an abortion are sometimes forced to go elsewhere in Italy or abroad, or bypass the authorities to get a termination.

U.S. soldier Bergdahl to face court-martial for deserting in Afghanistan

By Jon Herskovitz AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who walked away from his post in Afghanistan and became a prisoner of the Taliban for five years, will face court-martial on charges of desertion and endangering U.S. troops, the Army said on Monday. Bergdahl, 29, was charged earlier this year and faces up to life in prison if convicted of the more serious offense of endangering troops who searched for him in lawless areas of Afghanistan after his disappearance in 2009. The date of the arraignment hearing at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, will be announced later, the U.S. Army Forces Command said in a statement.

U.S. investigative panel to look into drug pricing next year

By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. House of Representatives investigative panel said it plans to hold a 2016 hearing on skyrocketing drug costs, a move that comes at a time when Valeant Pharmaceuticals International is facing increased scrutiny into its pricing practices. A spokeswoman for the U.S. House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform said on Monday the panel is conducting a thorough investigation into drug pricing and has reached out to drug companies to gather information. Earlier this month, the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging launched a new probe into drug pricing at Valeant and Turing, signaling growing bipartisan agreement on the need to review the rising cost of prescription drugs in the United States.

Soccer-Jimmy Greaves in hospital after suffering stroke

Former England, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea striker Jimmy Greaves is in intensive care in hospital after suffering a stroke, according to the BBC. The 75-year-old, who scored a club record 266 goals in 379 appearances for Tottenham in the 1960s, was taken ill on Sunday. “His wife Irene and four children have asked for privacy during what is a worrying time for the family,” a statement on the BBC’s website said on Monday. Greaves, who established himself as a prolific goal-scorer at Chelsea, scored 44 goals in 57 appearances for England.

North Korea, running scared from Ebola, bans foreigners from marathon

By James Pearson SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea has banned foreign runners from participating in an international marathon scheduled to be held in the capital in April, citing fears about the spread of the deadly Ebola virus, a Beijing-based travel agency said on Monday. North Korea is thousands of miles from the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and has reported no cases of the virus, which has killed more than 9,000 people. Nonetheless, its borders have remained closed to foreign tourists since last October, for fear the virus might spread, and it imposes a strict 21-day quarantine for foreign aid workers and diplomats, who have been told to stay in embassy compounds. “Our North Korean partners in Pyongyang contacted us this morning with news that the 2015 Pyongyang Marathon has – as of today – been closed to amateur and professional foreign runners,” Nick Bonner, director of Koryo Tours, told Reuters in an emailed statement.

At least 25 migrants die after being picked up by Italian coast guard

By Steve Scherer ROME (Reuters) – At least 25 migrants died of hypothermia aboard Italian coast guard vessels after being picked up from an inflatable boat adrift near Libya, the chief health official on the Italian island of Lampedusa said on Monday. Two patrol boats picked up 105 migrants late on Sunday from the boat drifting in extreme sea conditions, with waves as high as 8 metres (26 feet) and temperatures just a few degrees above zero, the coast guard said in a statement. The migrants then spent around 18 hours on the decks of the small patrol boats taking them to Lampedusa, buffeted by high winds and spray, and at least 25 died en route of hypothermia, Pietro Bartolo, the chief healthcare official on the island, told Reuters.

Six more measles cases reported in California after Disneyland outbreak

By Dan Whitcomb LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Six more cases of measles have been confirmed in California following an outbreak at Disneyland that began in December, public health officials said on Monday, raising to 74 the total number of people in the state who have been infected. Previously, 68 people in California had been confirmed to have the measles, along with 14 others elsewhere: five in Arizona, three in Utah, two in Washington state, one each in Oregon, Colorado and Nevada, and one in Mexico. The latest tally includes 73 cases documented by the California Department of Public Health and one additional patient reported by the Ventura County Health Care Agency.