JAKARTA, Oct 14, 2008 (AFP) - Taking centre stage in front of a crowd of students, academics and supporters, Indonesia's Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari is in her element.

One neurosurgeon in Africa for every 1.2m people: Tutu

Africa has only one neurosurgeon for every 1.2 million people, a challenge topping the agenda at an international neurosurgery conference held in South Africa, organisers said Monday.

BAGHDAD, Oct 13, 2008 (AFP) - More than 200 Iraqi doctors in the city of Karbala who say they have received death threats after unsuccessful medical procedures have closed their clinics in protest, their leader said on Monday.

CAPE TOWN, Oct 13, 2008 (AFP) - South Africa's new health minister called Monday for renewed global efforts to find an AIDS vaccine, signalling a sharp change from her controversial predecessor in a country with the world's most HIV infections.

PARIS, Oct 14, 2008 (AFP) - The arthritis drug Vioxx nearly doubled the risk of heart attack and stroke compared to no treatment at all, according to a long-term follow-up study released Tuesday.

BLANTYRE, Oct 13, 2008 (AFP) - Malawi, one of Africa's poorest nations, on Monday launched a study to tackle malnutrition in a country where one out of every four children dies before their fifth birthday.

BRUSSELS, Oct 13, 2008 (AFP) - European scientists sounded the alarms on Monday about the dangers of using digital music players, warning that listening to them too long and too loud can cause permanent hearing loss.

Five to 10 percent of the people who listen to a so-called MP3 player for more than one hour per day each week at a high volume risk permanent hearing loss, they found.

PARIS, Oct 12, 2008 (AFP) - Gene detectives on Sunday said they had netted two genetic variants that, together, boost the risk of male baldness sevenfold.

The two variants are located on a stretch of DNA on Chromosome 20, according to a study carried out on 1,125 men of European descent.

PARIS, Oct 12, 2008 (AFP) - Gene detectives on Sunday said they had netted two genetic variants that, together, boost the risk of male baldness sevenfold.

The two variants are located on a stretch of DNA on Chromosome 20, according to a study carried out on 1,125 men of European descent.

JOHANNESBURG, Oct 12, 2008 (AFP) - The cause of a viral haemorrhagic fever which recently killed three people in Johannesburg may be related to the Lassa fever virus of West Africa, health officials said Sunday.