AFP - LONDON (AFP) - British and Italian doctors have carried out groundbreaking surgery to rebuild the windpipe of a 10-year-old boy using stem cells developed within his own body, they said.

The Canadian Press - FAIRFAX, Va. - President Barack Obama delivered a closing argument for the goal to which he has devoted much of his presidency, urging lawmakers on Friday to pass a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. health care system in a long-awaited vote this weekend.

AFP - SAO PAULO (AFP) - Brazilian surgeons used a multi-armed robot to repair a hole in a woman's heart in the first operation of its kind in Latin America, they told AFP Friday.

AFP - BEIJING (AFP) - China's food safety watchdog has ordered inspections of cooking oil nationwide as reports Friday said up to one-tenth of Chinese supplies were illegally made and contained cancer-causing agents.

AFP - SYDNEY (AFP) - Alcohol abuse is a bigger problem for Pacific communities than drugs, according to an Australian report, which links drinking to domestic violence and wide-ranging health problems.

AFP - PARIS (AFP) - Pregnant women may be far more at risk from swine flu than thought, according to a survey published on Friday that was carried out in Australia and New Zealand.

AFP - WASHINGTON (AFP) - More US children are becoming extremely obese at a younger age, putting them at risk of dying decades younger than normal-weight children and of suffering old-age illnesses in their 20s, a study warned Thursday.

AFP - GENEVA (AFP) - The World Health Organisation warned Thursday that lethal multidrug resistant tuberculosis is becoming a serious threat to global health with just a small proportion of cases diagnosed.

AFP - GENEVA (AFP) - The GAVI vaccine alliance, which is backed by software billionaire Bill Gates, said Thursday that it needed an extra 4.3 billion dollars to save millions of lives in poor countries over the next five years.

AFP - WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US House of Representatives will vote Sunday on President Barack Obama's historic health overhaul and he is expected to be in Washington despite plans to leave for Asia, a top ally said Thursday.

AFP - WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President Barack Obama's historic health overhaul legislation would cut 130 billion dollars from the budget deficit through 2019, according to figures provided by Democratic lawmakers.

AFP - GENEVA (AFP) - The World Health Organisation said Thursday it was suspending the use of the Indian-developed Shan5 combination vaccine, which is used against infections such as diphtheria, tetanus and hepatitis B.

AFP - KHEWRA, Pakistan (AFP) - A centuries-old salt mine in Pakistan is offering experimental asthma therapy, attracting patients from all over the world.

AFP - BEIJING (AFP) - China has ordered an investigation after a report that unsafe vaccines led to the deaths of four children and sickened 74 others in the country's latest product-quality scare.

AFP - NEW DELHI (AFP) - While having a scan, a pregnant woman in India is not allowed to learn the gender of her unborn child. But her bill might be presented in a file coloured blue or pink -- and the meaning is clear.

AFP - PARIS (AFP) - A purified form of omega 3, the so-called "good fat" found naturally in certain fish and nut oils, reduced dangerous polyps among people prone to bowel cancer, a study published on Thursday says.

The Canadian Press - OTTAWA - Prime Minister Stephen Harper's decision to champion maternal and child health on the international stage has turned into a political fracas at home over the right of the world's poorest women to use contraceptives and have safe abortions.

AFP - WASHINGTON (AFP) - Researchers launched a clinical study Wednesday to test new treatments for aggressive breast cancer in a rare alliance between the US government and five major drug companies.

The Canadian Press - BEIJING - Chinese officials said Wednesday they are investigating heightened lead levels among hundreds of children in Hunan province thought to be linked to local smelters - one of many cases underscoring the toll pollution is taking on the health of rural Chinese.

AFP - PARIS (AFP) - Scientists report that women living in countries with worse rates of disease and ill health are far likelier to plump for "masculine"-looking men than "feminine"-looking rivals.