■UNITED STATES
Vaginal gel offers AIDS hope
An experimental vaginal gel has yielded promising results in preventing HIV infection in women, according to clinical trials conducted in Africa and the US, the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) said on Monday. The microbicide PRO 2000 made by Indevus Pharmaceuticals Inc proved safe and 30 percent effective in preventing AIDS infection, the NIH said. Thirty-three percent effectiveness would have been considered statistically significant, it said. The involved more than 3,099 women in six African cities and one in the US.
■CANADA
Bankruptcy figures soar
The number of consumers and businesses going bankrupt soared nearly 47 percent in December. The Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy said on Monday that 8,299 individuals and businesses went bankrupt in December, up from 5,659 for December 2007, a jump of 46.7 percent. The latest numbers are a staggering sign of how quickly the Canadian economy has slowed. The financial crisis and the global sell-off of commodities have hit the country hard.
■UNITED STATES
Smoking curbs clear hurdle
Lawmakers in Virginia — where the world’s largest cigarette factory churns out Marlboros — passed curbs on smoking in restaurants. Monday’s 59-39 vote in the House of Delegates approved a watered-down bill that allows smoking only in private clubs, outdoor cafes, designated smoking rooms and establishments that are off-limits to minors. The bill already exempted private clubs and outdoor patios. On Monday, it was further diluted by Republican amendments that would allow smoking in any establishment off-limits to minors and in any restaurant rented for a private, invitation-only event.
■CANADA
Duck death firm charged
Environmental authorities on Monday charged Syncrude in the death of 500 ducks that landed in its oil sands sewage ponds in Alberta. The waterfowl died last April after being coated with toxic oil residue from a mine left behind in the ponds by Syncrude Canada Limited, the world’s largest producer of synthetic crude oil from oil sands. Officials allege Syncrude did not use noise makers designed to scare birds from the contaminated ponds and did not immediately report the ducks’ demise, as required by law. “This was the single largest reported incident of oiled birds in the oilsands region,” Environment Canada said in a statement. The Alberta government called it “an environmental tragedy.”
RSS