The Canadian Press - ATLANTA - Four North Carolina patients at a single hospital tested positive for a type of swine flu that is resistant to the medication Tamiflu, health officials said Friday.

AFP - WASHINGTON (AFP) - US officials Friday said infections from A(H1N1) virus had slowed in the United States this week, raising hopes the early roll-out of vaccines may be bringing the disease under control.

AFP - GENEVA (AFP) - The World Health Organisation said Friday that a mutation had been found in samples of the swine flu virus taken following the first two deaths from the pandemic in Norway.

AFP - WASHINGTON (AFP) - President Barack Obama's Democratic allies in the Senate strove Friday to lock down support to prevail in a landmark first test vote on his top domestic priority, remaking the US health care system.

AFP - PARIS (AFP) - Beaten or sexually abused children are more likely to show accelerated ageing of cells later in life, a condition linked to higher rates of cancer and heart disease, according to a study released Friday.

AFP - BEIJING (AFP) - China has ordered more accurate reporting of swine flu fatalities after a doctor renowned for helping expose the scale of the 2003 SARS outbreak said deaths were being deliberately underplayed.

AFP - GENEVA (AFP) - Around 6,750 people have died from the swine flu pandemic, World Health Organisation data showed Friday, about 500 more than a week ago.

AFP - WASHINGTON (AFP) - Days after controversy erupted over new breast cancer screening guidelines, a US health group has said women should wait longer to get their first cervical cancer test.

AFP - WASHINGTON (AFP) - Women should not get their first cervical cancer screening before age 21, the leading US group of women's health care professionals said Friday, also recommending less frequent subsequent tests.

AFP - MELBOURNE (AFP) - A second Bangladeshi twin began returning to consciousness on Friday, three days after being separated from her conjoined sister in a landmark operation in Australia, the hospital said.

The Canadian Press - HANOI, Vietnam - Diarrhea doesn't make headlines. Nor does pneumonia. AIDS and malaria tend to get most of the attention.

AFP - BETHESDA, Maryland (AFP) - A US company said it would make its flu vaccine abroad after a panel of experts Thursday gave the innovative product poor marks and failed to recommend it for approval by the US drug regulator.

The Canadian Press - MELBOURNE, Australia - Formerly conjoined Bangladeshi twins separated this week in a marathon surgery will remain in the care of a humanitarian group for at least two years, the organization's CEO said Friday.

The Canadian Press - TORONTO - Ontario may have new rules before the end of the year to restrict how the highly addictive painkiller OxyContin is prescribed and dispensed, as well as other narcotics and controlled substances, government officials said.

AFP - PARIS (AFP) - French doctors on Friday said they had used human embryonic stem cells to grow skin that one day may be used as potentially life-saving temporary patches for patients suffering bad burns.

The Canadian Press - MIAMI - It's like "The Apprentice" meets Amway.

AFP - WASHINGTON (AFP) - Obesity begone! Americans are lacing up athletic shoes and signing up to run in 5Ks, 10-milers and even marathons in record numbers.

The Canadian Press - WASHINGTON - Many have tried, and almost all have failed - but Barack Obama stands on the brink of becoming only the second U.S. president in history to achieve a sweeping overhaul of the country's troubled health-care system.

AFP - LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Forget Freddy Krueger or flesh-eating zombies: the real villain of a night at the movies could be lurking in a bag of popcorn or drinks carton, according to a new US study.

AFP - CHICAGO (AFP) - Embryonic stem cell therapy got a step closer to the clinic Thursday after US researchers said they filed a request for government approval of human trials.

AFP - GENEVA (AFP) - Switzerland lifted on Thursday some of the restrictions imposed earlier on the use of swine flu vaccine Pandemrix, allowing it now to be used also by people over the age of 60.

The Canadian Press - WASHINGTON - Children's toys carrying the Barbie and Disney logos have turned up with high levels of lead in them, according to a California-based advocacy group - a finding that may give consumers pause as they shop for the holiday season.

AFP - GENEVA (AFP) - The World Health Organisation said on Thursday that checks on many of the 30 deaths recorded following mass pandemic flu vaccinations had so far ruled out a direct link to the vaccines.

AFP - WASHINGTON (AFP) - US Senate Democrats unveiled a historic plan to extend health coverage to more than 30 million Americans who lack it now and set the stage for a key test vote as early as this weekend.

AFP - MELBOURNE (AFP) - Two Bangladeshi twins look set to make a full recovery from surgery to part their conjoined heads, doctors said Thursday, as one woke up and started talking just two days after the operation.

AFP - PARIS (AFP) - Men who drink alcohol every day see a nearly one-third average reduction in the risk of coronary heart disease, according to a long-term study among Spanish men published on Thursday.

AFP - MELBOURNE (AFP) - Both Bangladeshi twins whose conjoined heads and brains were separated this week are expected to make a full recovery, Australian doctors said on Thursday.