The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday urged governments to treat e-cigarettes similarly to tobacco and ban all flavours, threatening cigarette companies’ bets on smoking alternatives. Some researchers, campaigners and governments see e-cigarettes, or vapes, as a key tool in reducing the death and disease caused by smoking. But the U.N. agency said “urgent measures” … Read more
LONDON – Rebecca Welch will become the first female referee in the Premier League when she takes charge of the match between Fulham and Burnley on Dec. 23, the competition said Thursday. Welch has already worked as the fourth official in the Premier League, for the match between Fulham and Manchester United on … Read more
Some 6.44 million patients were waiting for 7.71 appointments or procedures in October, down from 6.50m waiting for a record 7.77m in September. It was the first time the total had fallen since November 2022, when it stood at 6.93m. The Prime Minister blamed the impact of NHS staff strikes for slower than hoped progress … Read more
Good morning. You’re reading the Up First newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day. Today’s top stories The U.S. Supreme Court says it will review a lower court decision that would make the abortion pill … Read more
Coughs send more people to the doctor’s office than any other specific symptom. And Americans spend billions of dollars every year on over-the-counter medications like suppressants and expectorants to treat them. Clearly we’re concerned about our coughs. Clearly lots of us rely on medications to treat them. What’s unclear is the answer to this core … Read more
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A judge in Wyoming will decide as soon as Thursday whether to strike down, affirm or hold a trial over the state’s abortion bans, including its first-in-the-nation explicit prohibition on the use of medication to end pregnancy. Any decision on the bans during or after a pretrial conference before Teton County District … Read more
The Belgians love their cycling, but the Flemish worship it. The Flanders half of Belgium is laced with dedicated cycle routes carefully delineated and signposted. Whole towns close for road races. Bike sculptures lurk in fields. Posters of famous riders pepper high streets. Cycling runs deep in the culture here: that background hum you can … Read more
Always look on the bright side of life … At any other time, an appearance before the Covid inquiry might have been a bit of an uphill struggle. A nightmare, even. But compared with facing down all factions of an increasingly feral Conservative party over what his own home secretary calls the “batshit” Rwanda policy, … Read more
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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The mother of a transgender girl sobbed in federal court Wednesday as she contemplated having to move away from her Navy officer husband to get health care for her 12-year-old if Florida’s ban on gender dysphoria treatments for minors is allowed to take affect. The woman, who testified as Jane Doe … Read more
