Afghanistan: The brother of Afghani president Hamid Karzai denied his involvement in drug trafficking on Monday, saying that accusations against him were “baseless” and representative of political pressure on the president. The allegations, which coincide with reports of an American air-strike that killed over 90 people in western Afghanistan, cite as evidence a 2004 incident in which a presidential aide told members of the police to release a truck carrying over 110 pounds of heroin from custody. Both Karzai and his brother have linked the investigation to their criticism of U.S. military policy.
Sweden: Three European scientists will share the Nobel Prize for medicine this year: one for discovering the human papilloma virus, and the other two for discovering the virus that causes AIDS. Harald Zur Hausen, a German virologist, will take half of the award, while French virologists Francoise Barre-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier will split the other half of the $1.4 million prize. The announcement has received criticism for its exclusion of Robert Gallo, an American scientist who many co-credit with Montagnier for the discovery of HIV.
Mexico: A Colombian retailer has begun selling bulletproof clothing in Mexico City. The store—named for its owner, Miguel Caballero—sells everything from polo shirts and windbreakers to leather jackets, all of which have been tested for effectiveness on a nearby firing range. Asked as to why they would shop at the store, many customers point to an increase in drug-related violence.
Africa: Nearly seven million pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa are infected with hookworm, a study released last week suggests. A quarter to a third of all pregnant women on the subcontinent are suspected of having the parasite, which causes anemia and heightens the risk of death in childbirth. Drugs that treat hookworm have remained largely out of the hands of the public, however, over widespread concerns that they might affect the fetus.
China: Health inspectors in Hong Kong have found two Cadbury chocolate products containing considerably high levels of melamine. The discovery comes as part of a string of melamine-related scandals, among them an incident with baby formula that killed four infants and sickened 54,000, raising concerns over the safety of China’s food industry. A report from Iranian state radio reveals that the country has banned all Chinese dairy products in response.
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