Explainer-What is aspartame and what do the new WHO rulings on cancer and consumption mean?

(Reuters) – Aspartame, a popular artificial sweetener found in Diet Coke, chewing gum, yoghurt and other food products, is a “possible carcinogen” but it remains safe to consume at the existing daily intake guidelines, according to new rulings from two different World Health Organization-linked groups. WHAT IS ASPARTAME? Discovered in 1965 by American chemist James…

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Factbox-Agents and substances categorized as carcinogenic to humans

(Reuters) – Aspartame, the artificial sweetener used in products from Coca-Cola’s diet sodas to Mars’ Extra chewing gum, is the latest substance to be declared a possible carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Carcinogens are substances that have the potential to cause cancer to humans. According to the IARC, there are…

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Strong U.S. demand eases pressure on Novo to show weight-loss drug’s health benefits

By Maggie Fick LONDON (Reuters) – Soaring U.S. demand for Novo Nordisk’s weight-loss drug has reduced the pressure from investors on the company to deliver strong results in its trial to test whether the drug also has medical benefits, eight investors and analysts say. Novo is expected to publish in August the results of a…

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UN agency calls for debt pause option as poverty rates rise

By Emma Farge and Marc Jones GENEVA/LONDON (Reuters) – A United Nations agency urged global finance ministers to give poor countries debt repayment breaks, estimating the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent surge in inflation and borrowing costs had pushed an extra 165 million people into poverty. The U.N. Development Programme said the jump meant more than…

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ASEAN foreign ministers repeat condemnation of Myanmar violence

By Kate Lamb and Stanley Widianto JAKARTA (Reuters) -Southeast Asian foreign ministers on Thursday reiterated condemnation of ongoing violence in Myanmar, as an intensifying conflict there tests the unity of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Myanmar, one of the bloc’s 10 members, has been beset by fighting since the military seized power in early…

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Smuggler jailed for 15 years for California crash that killed 13 migrants

(Reuters) – A Mexican national who coordinated a human-smuggling operation that led to the deaths of 13 migrants in a 2021 highway crash near the Mexico-California border was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Thursday by a U.S. federal judge. Jose Cruz Noguez, 49, a permanent U.S. resident from Mexicali, Mexico, received the sentence…

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G7 finance chiefs to meet July 16, will discuss Ukraine, global taxation – Suzuki

By Tetsushi Kajimoto TOKYO (Reuters) -Financial leaders from the Group of Seven (G7) advanced countries will hold talks on July 16 on the sidelines of the broader G20 meeting in India, Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Friday. The G7 groups Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States. “Support for Ukraine,…

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US House backs ‘culture war’ amendments in threat to must-pass defense bill

By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives added restrictions on abortion and transgender health services to its version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on Thursday, threatening the defense policy bill’s chances of becoming law. Voting largely along party lines, the House backed several measures pushed by the Republican party’s…

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