
-
Where Trump's tariffs could hurt Americans' wallets
-
Trump says 'very close to a deal' on TikTok
-
Trump tariffs on Mexico: the good, the bad, the unknown
-
Postecoglou denies taunting Spurs fans in Chelsea defeat
-
Oscar-winning Palestinian director speaks at UN on Israeli settlements
-
With tariff war, Trump also reshapes how US treats allies
-
Fernandez fires Chelsea into fourth as pressure mounts on Postecoglou
-
South Korea court to decide impeached president's fate
-
Penguin memes take flight after Trump tariffs remote island
-
E.T., no home: Original model of movie alien doesn't sell at auction
-
Italy's Brignone has surgery on broken leg with Winter Olympics looming
-
Trump defiant as tariffs send world markets into panic
-
City officials vote to repair roof on home of MLB Rays
-
Rockets forward Brooks gets one-game NBA ban for technicals
-
Pentagon watchdog to probe defense chief over Signal chat row
-
US tariffs could push up inflation, slow growth: Fed official
-
New Bruce Springsteen music set for June 27 release
-
Tom Cruise pays tribute to Val Kilmer
-
Mexico president welcomes being left off Trump's tariffs list
-
Zuckerberg repeats Trump visits in bid to settle antitrust case
-
US fencer disqualified for not facing transgender rival
-
'Everyone worried' by Trump tariffs in France's champagne region
-
Italy's Brignone suffers broken leg with Winter Olympics looming
-
Iyer blitz powers Kolkata to big IPL win over Hyderabad
-
Russian soprano Netrebko to return to London's Royal Opera House
-
French creche worker gets 25 years for killing baby with drain cleaner
-
UK avoids worst US tariffs post-Brexit, but no celebrations
-
Canada imposing 25% tariff on some US auto imports
-
Ruud wants 'fair share' of Grand Slam revenue for players
-
Lesotho, Africa's 'kingdom in the sky' jolted by Trump
-
Trump's trade math baffles economists
-
Gaza heritage and destruction on display in Paris
-
'Unprecedented crisis' in Africa healthcare: report
-
Pogacar gunning for blood and thunder in Tour of Flanders
-
Macron calls for suspension of investment in US until tariffs clarified
-
Wall St leads rout as world reels from Trump tariffs
-
Mullins gets perfect National boost with remarkable four-timer
-
Trump tariffs hammer global stocks, dollar and oil
-
Authors hold London protest against Meta for 'stealing' work to train AI
-
Tate Modern gifted 'extraordinary' work by US artist Joan Mitchell
-
Mexico president welcomes being left off Trump's new tariffs list
-
Tonali eager to lead Newcastle back into Champions League
-
Lesotho hardest hit as new US tariffs rattle Africa
-
Stellantis pausing some Canada, Mexico production over Trump auto tariffs
-
Rising odds asteroid that briefly threatened Earth will hit Moon
-
Italy reels from Brignone broken leg with Winter Olympics looming
-
Is the Switch 2 worth the price? Reviews are mixed
-
Ancelotti’s tax trial wraps up in Spain with prosecutors seeking jail
-
Civilians act to bring aid to Myanmar earthquake victims
-
US trade gap narrows in February ahead of bulk of Trump tariffs

Lead poisoning causes far more death, IQ loss than thought: study
Lead poisoning has a far greater impact on global health than previously thought, potentially contributing to over five million deaths a year and posing a similar threat to air pollution, modelling research suggested Tuesday.
The study, described as "a wake-up call", also estimated that exposure to the toxic metal causes young children in developing countries to lose an average of nearly six IQ points each.
Lead pollution has been shown to cause a range of serious health problems, particularly relating to heart disease and the brain development of small children, resulting in leaded gasoline being banned worldwide.
But people can still be exposed to the potent neurotoxin via food, soil, cookware, fertilisers, cosmetics, lead–acid car batteries and other sources.
The authors of the new study, two economists at the World Bank, was published in the Lancet Planetary Health journal. They said it was the first to assess the impact of lead exposure on heart disease deaths and child IQ loss in wealthy and developing nations.
Lead author Bjorn Larsen told AFP that when the pair first saw the figure their model calculated, "we didn't even dare to whisper the number" because it was so "enormous".
Their model estimates that 5.5 million adults died from heart disease in 2019 because of lead exposure, 90 percent of them in low- and middle-income countries.
That is six times higher than the previous estimate, and represents around 30 percent of all deaths from cardiovascular disease -- the leading cause of death worldwide.
It would mean that lead exposure is a bigger cause of heart disease than smoking or cholesterol, Larsen said.
- $6 trillion cost -
The research also estimated that children under five lost a cumulative 765 million IQ points due to lead poisoning globally in 2019, with 95 percent of those losses coming in developing countries.
That number is nearly 80 percent higher than previously estimated.
The World Bank researchers put the economic cost of lead exposure at $6 trillion in 2019, equivalent to seven percent of global gross domestic product.
For the analysis, the researchers used estimates of blood lead levels in 183 countries taken from the landmark 2019 Global Burden of Disease study.
Previous research had measured only lead's effect on heart disease when it came to raising blood pressure. But the new study looked at numerous other ways lead affects hearts, such as the hardening of arteries that can lead to stroke, resulting in the higher numbers, Larsen said.
Roy Harrison, an expert in air pollution and health at Birmingham University in the UK, who was not involved in the study, told AFP it was "interesting, but subject to many uncertainties".
For example, the relationship between lead in blood and heart disease is based on a survey in the United States, and whether those findings could be applied worldwide "is a huge jump of faith", he said.
Harrison also pointed out that the model used estimations -- not tests -- of lead in blood in many developing countries.
If the results were confirmed, "they would be of major public health significance, but at present, this is simply an interesting hypothesis", he said.
- 'Piece of the puzzle' -
Richard Fuller, president of the NGO Pure Earth, said that when surveys in developing countries did test for lead in blood, they mostly found higher levels than estimated in the new study.
This means "the impact of lead might be worse than the report describes", he told AFP, calling it a "wake-up call".
Larsen said "we're still a little in the dark" when it came to understanding how much different sources of lead contribute to blood contamination.
Fuller said part of this "missing piece of the puzzle" was revealed in a Pure Earth report released on Tuesday, which analysed 5,000 samples of consumer goods and food in 25 developing countries.
It found high rates of lead contamination in metal pots and pans, ceramic cookware, paint, cosmetics and toys.
"This is why poorer countries have so much lead poisoning," Fuller said. "It's items in the kitchen that are poisoning them."
F.Bennett--AMWN