NewsBytes
Politics to plastics — what you must know
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney gestures as he celebrates with his supporters during an event at the Liberal Party election night headquarters in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada April 29, 2025. REUTERS
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Canada's Liberals benefit from Trump backlash to
claim poll victory
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberals staged a major political comeback to retain power in parliamentary elections, fuelled by a backlash against US President Donald Trump's tariffs and comments on making Canada the 51st US state. With almost all votes counted, results from Elections Canada showed that the Liberals had won 168 electoral districts, followed by the Conservatives with 144. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who just three months ago had looked certain to sweep the polls, lost his seat in the Ontario district of Carleton to Liberal Bruce Fanjoy. The Liberals, who have been in power for more than nine years, were 20 percentage points behind in surveys in January before the unpopular Justin Trudeau announced he was quitting as prime minister and Trump started threatening tariffs and annexation. Despite the gains, the Liberals will not get the outright majority that Carney had sought, to help him negotiate with Trump on the tariffs threatening Canada's economy. They needed 172 of the House of Commons' 343 seats.
Exposure to phthalates in plastics linked to 13 pc of deaths
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due to heart disease in 2018: Study
A daily exposure to phthalates -- commonly used in making household plastic items -- has been related to over 3.5 lakh, or 13 per cent, deaths in the world due to heart disease in 2018, among those aged 55-64, a new study has found. India had the highest count at 103,587 deaths, followed by China and Indonesia, the study, published in the journal eBioMedicine, found. It also found that about three quarters of the 3.5 lakh deaths were bore by South Asia, along with the Middle East, East Asia, and the Pacific, even as use of phthalates is widespread. Researchers, led by those at the New York University, analysed health and environmental data from population surveys to estimate exposure to phthalates across 200 countries and territories. The study focused on a kind of phthalate called 'di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP)' -- used for making plastics in items, such as food containers, softer and more flexible.
Conclave to elect new pope to start on May 7, cardinals meet
Roman Catholic cardinals will begin their secret conclave to elect the new leader of the global Church on May 7, the Vatican said. The date was decided during a closed-door meeting of cardinals at the Vatican, the first since the funeral of Pope Francis. Some 135 cardinals, all under the age of 80 and from all corners of the world, are eligible to take part in the vote for the next head of the 1.4-billion-member Church, which is beset by concerns over its finances and divisions over doctrine. The 16th-century Sistine Chapel, where conclaves are held beneath the gaze of Michelangelo's masterpiece frescoes, was closed to tourists to ready the space for an election that mixes ancient ritual with modern, anti-spying technologies. The previous two conclaves, held in 2005 and 2013, lasted just two days. But Swedish cardinal Anders Arborelius said the coming ballot may take longer, as many of the cardinals appointed by Pope Francis have never met each other.
Novo Nordisk's obesity drug Wegovy debuts in Thailand
Novo Nordisk has launched its hugely popular weight-loss drug Wegovy in Thailand, an executive of the Danish drugmaker's local subsidiary said, marking the injectable drug's first entry into the Southeast Asian market. First launched in 2021, Wegovy helped make Novo Nordisk Europe's most valuable listed company until recently, worth $615 billion at its peak. Wegovy is available in more than a dozen countries including the United States, Japan and China, with Thailand becoming its latest market. "We actually received the Thai FDA approval already in 2023," said Enrico Canal Bruland, vice president and general manager of Novo's Thai subsidiary. He noted that Novo was making Wegovy available in Thailand ahead of rival Eli Lilly's Zepbound weight loss drug. Bruland declined to provide details on Wegovy's pricing in Thailand, which has a population of around 66 million, or Novo Nordisk's plans for expansion into other Southeast Asian markets. Wegovy is currently available for prescription in private hospitals around the country and will be available soon in public hospitals, Bruland said.
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