French diet guru urges students be graded on weight

PARIS, FRANCE: France's top diet guru Pierre Dukan is urging the government to grade students on their weight in a bid to curb growing obesity. 5 Jan 2012 12:33

Three new eczema genes discovered

Researchers from Children of the 90s at the University of Bristol, in collaboration with 22 other studies from across the world, have discovered three new genetic variants associated with the skin condition eczema, a chronic inflammatory disease that afflicts millions of patients around the world. 30 Dec 2011 09:08

Brands to change marketing to under-12s on websites

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM: A group of major food brands[1] have committed to changing how they communicate to children under 12 on their company websites. The EU pledge group (www.eu-pledge.eu) committed in 2007 to only advertise "better for you" products or to move out of children's airtime altogether on TV, print and third party Internet advertising. 29 Nov 2011 08:07

Non-communicable diseases: Africa must 'spend a lot more'

BERLIN, GERMANY: According to scidev.net, Olive Shisana, CEO of the South African Human Sciences Research Council, said at the World Health Summit in Berlin, Germany that infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, are expected to decline while non-communicable diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes, will increase in Africa over the coming decades. 4 Nov 2011 11:47

WTC Africa Initiative and Italy join hands in trade

Following a trade agreement reached between the World Trade Center Africa Initiative and Italy, business between Africa and Europe is set to receive a significant boost. The agreement will see business leaders from 12 African countries meet their Italian counterparts in on-site deal rooms next year, at the inaugural Afritalia Commerce Exchange. 12 Oct 2011 13:52

Entries open: The Framepool/ LBB/ FireFlies Challenge

LONDON, UK / MUNICH, GERMANY / PARIS, FRANCE / LOS ANGELES, US: Framepool, the footage collection run by filmmakers, has opened its call for entries for the 2011 Framepool / LBB / FireFlies Challenge. This short-film competition is aimed at the world's directors who want to present their films to a highly prominent jury - while supporting a good cause. 30 Mar 2011 08:46

Asian contact lenses markets perform well

SINGAPORE: The contact lens industry continues to perform well in 2010, registering a healthy 12% growth across the five combined markets monitored by GfK Asia - Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan. According to GfK's full year retail audit findings, all these markets expanded in value within the range of 9 to 12%. 29 Mar 2011 07:53