New York  - The United Nations on Friday said the number of deaths in Zimbabwe had increased as new outbreaks of cholera were reported in the capital Harare and other cities.

More than 20,800 people were infected and more than 1,100 deaths were reported since September, the UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs in New York said.

Washington, Dec 15 : A new study has shown that regular, moderate exercise may help relieve the symptoms of peripheral artery disease (PAD), via some unexpected mechanisms.

PAD is characterised by dangerous deposits of fatty plaques in arteries resulting from poor diet and lack of exercise. However, the disease not only affects the heart, but also blocks the blood flow to the legs, leading to pain when walking, immobility and even in extreme cases, amputation.

Washington, Dec 15 : A new study has shown that there''s an independent relationship between the intensity of snoring sounds and sleepiness.

The study showed that objectively measured snoring intensity is directly linked to subjective sleepiness independent of the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) in patients with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

The study is the first to use polysomnography and sound measurements to demonstrate the relationship between snoring sounds and sleepiness.

It has revealed that the sound intensity of objectively measured snoring in patients with OSA is independently correlated with subjective sleepiness as measured by the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS).

Hanoi - Accidental injury is a leading cause of death among children in underdeveloped countries, killing some 2,000 children every day, according to a UN report released Wednesday.

But the report says efforts to reduce injuries among children are underfunded and have been too often ignored.

The report, released by the World Health Organization and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) at a press conference in Hanoi, uses Vietnam as an example of how efforts to prevent injuries in children can be unexpectedly complex.

Geneva  - Measles deaths fell by 74 per cent globally between 2000 and 2007, with countries in the eastern Mediterranean region cutting the death rate by 90 per cent, the United Nations reported Thursday.

The Arab states and other countries in the bloc, such as Afghanistan, Pakistan and Somalia, made the "remarkable" progress thanks to immunization programmes.

Margaret Chan, the head of the World Health Organization, called on all states affected by the disease to step up efforts to immunize children in order to meet the UN's goal of cutting measles deaths by 90 percent by 2010.

Abuja  - The number of babies who died after being administered a locally made teething mixture in Nigeria has risen from 25 to 34, the state-run food and drugs regulatory agency said Wednesday.

Dora Akunyili, Director-General of the National Food and Drugs Administration and Control, said the additional deaths were recorded at one of Nigeria's oldest medicine training institutes, the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital in Zaria, where eight had died earlier.