AFP - WASHINGTON (AFP) - President Barack Obama's health reform faces a landmark first test in the US Senate Saturday as Democratic leaders strive to lock down support for a vote that would allow them to launch a formal floor debate on the proposal.

The Canadian Press - DHAKA, Bangladesh - The mother who gave up conjoined Bangladeshi newborn twins for adoption said Saturday she is overjoyed the toddlers have been successfully separated and wants them to grow up in Australia.

AFP - MELBOURNE (AFP) - The weaker of two Bangladeshi twins separated from her conjoined sister in landmark surgery in Australia woke fully from a coma Saturday -- and blew her guardian a raspberry.

The Canadian Press - MELBOURNE, Australia - The mother of recently separated conjoined Bangladeshi twins does not want custody of the daughters she gave up for adoption and wants them to have new lives in Australia, newspapers reported Saturday.

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 - A Bangladeshi toddler separated this week from her conjoined twin sister was talking and behaving normally Thursday after waking from a medically induced coma, the head of the surgery team said.

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.