The Canadian Pediatric Society is reviewing its position on lindane-based anti-lice products and its current recommendation that they not be used on infants and children under 17.

This as environmentalists urge parents of children battling head lice to avoid over-the-counter treatments that contain the pesticide outlawed for agricultural use in dozen of countries - including Canada - because of its adverse effects on humans and the water supply

The beef recall is turning out to be the largest ever in the history of U.S. agriculture, with the total amount of recalled meat topping 143 million pounds. Although there is no official estimate of the total value of destroyed beef, an official of the Grocery Manufacturers of America confirmed it runs into hundred of millions of dollars.

The items taken from shelves goes beyond meat. It includes beef-based soups, sauces, burritos and cubes. Craig Henry, senior vice president of the GMA, said it will take the association several weeks to estimate the volume of recalled beef products

Leading health experts in the United Kingdom are debunking what they claim is the misleading idea that organic foods are healthier than ordinary foods. In fact, they say, organic foods may just be a waste of money.

A comment by food expert Professor Lesley Regan in a BBC Horizon program that will be shown next week, sparked debates in the country on whether organic foods indeed offer extra health and nutrition benefits

A five-fold hike in penalties will be imposed by China's State Environmental Protection Administration on individuals and firms that pollute drinking water resources by discharging toxic substances. The drastic hike in fines will place the maximum fine at $67,600 (500,000 yuan).

For those who dump solid waste and other types of pollutants, the penalty will be $27,000 (200,000 yuan), a 20-fold increase from present levels. The draft policy lifts the $135,000 (1 million yuan) ceiling on fines for water polluters. Once the policy is approved, polluters will have to pay from 20 percent to 30 percent of the direct economic loss that was caused by their dumping activity

Democratic Presidential contender Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) unveiled a plan Friday for universal, single-payer health care, similar Britain's. His proposal would wipe out private insurance companies and put health care under the purview of the federal government.

Kucinich said that the administrative costs of private health insurance companies cost Americans $350 billion a year