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An expatriate suffering from a rare cardiac disorder was saved by a timely surgery by surgeons of Zulekha Hospital, Sharjah.

Babul Rana Jalil Molla, a 46-year-old expatriate, got admitted to the hospital with a hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy, a condition he has been suffering for several years.

“Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a genetic disorder leading to the thickening of the cardiac muscles. This causes obstruction in the outflow of blood from the heart, causing breathing difficulties,” said specialist interventional cardiologist Dr Rupesh Singh.

Medicine can only play a limited role in a mechanical obstruction. “There are two ways to correct this obstruction — one is to surgically remove excessive thickening of the muscle via open heart surgery, which is a complex procedure and not readily available. The second is to burn excessive muscle by selectively injecting chemicals into the arteries. It is a demanding and complex procedure but once completed, the patient is able to regain their normal life percutaneously after 48 hours. In this process, doctors introduce a small cannula into the arteries supplying blood to excessively thickened muscles, and then inject chemicals to induce necrosis to reduce muscle thickness.”

Dr Singh added: “Molla’s case is one of the many reasons behind establishing a state-of-the-art cardiac treatment facility at Zulekha Hospital Sharjah. Our cath lab is equipped with the latest technology and equipment to perform complex cardiac cases and improve the lives of cardiac patients. We’re very proud to successfully treat such a rare cardiac case, and the patient was discharged without any complications.”

Molla was monitored in the hospital for five days for any complications and was discharged with improved symptoms.

Source : Gulf news

French pharmaceutical firm Sanofi said Monday it had reached an agreement to purchase US biotech company Bioverativ, which specialises in treatments for haemophilia and rare blood disorders, for $11.6 billion.

Sanofi's chief executive Olivier Brandicourt said the acquisition "enhances its presence in specialty care and leadership in rare diseases... and creates a platform for growth in other rare blood disorders."

The purchase should also translate into a boost in profits per share beginning this year, rising to a gain of up to 5 percent in 2019, Sanofi said in a statement.

Bioverativ has latest-generation treatments for haemophilia, a disorder where blood does not clot properly to stop bleeding.

The haemophilia drugs market is "the largest market in rare diseases", worth around $10 billion per year and projected to grow by seven percent annually over the next five years, Brandicourt said in an audio conference with analysts.

He said he harboured a "strong admiration" for Bioverativ, which is a leader in the field with two drugs, Eloctate and Alprolix, already in the market and estimated overall sales of $1.2 billion in 2017.

Sanofi said it would be able to help Bioverativ with the research it has underway on the development of other haemophilia treatments, as well as for other rare diseases.

The agreement to purchase all of Bioverativ's outstanding shares for $105 each in cash represents a premium of 64 percent from the closing price on Friday, Sanofi said.

The operation is to start in February and close three months later, Brandicourt said.

But investors were not convinced, sending Sanofi's shares sharply lower on the Paris stock exchange as they wondered about the wisdom of putting so much money on the table.

The deal "looks logical, but expensive", with only modest potential to drive growth in the medium term, judged analysts at the Jefferies firm.

Furthermore, Sanofi may run into competition concerns from regulators with the takeover, they said.

The French firm said it would use funds on hand and borrow to finance the acquisition of Bioverativ.

But although pricey, the acquisition will still leave Sanofi with enough financial firepower to go after other acquisition targets, Jefferies said. One such target could be Pfizer's consumer healthcare business, they said.

The purchase of Bioverativ is the largest Sanofi has made since it acquired US biotech firm Genzyme for $20 billion in April 2011.

The French group failed in its 2016 bid to take over US cancer drugmaker Medivation which instead went to Pfizer.

Sanofi shares were 4.2 percent lower at 69.89 euros in late afternoon trading Monday, vastly underperforming the benchmark CAC 40 index in Paris which was up 0.2 percent.

French pharmaceutical firm Sanofi said Monday it had reached an agreement to purchase US biotech company Bioverativ, which specialises in treatments for haemophilia and rare blood disorders, for $11.6 billion.

Sanofi's chief executive Olivier Brandicourt said the acquisition "enhances its presence in specialty care and leadership in rare diseases... and creates a platform for growth in other rare blood disorders."

The purchase should also translate into a boost in profits per share beginning this year, rising to a gain of up to 5 percent in 2019, Sanofi said in a statement.

Bioverativ has latest-generation treatments for haemophilia, a disorder where blood does not clot properly to stop bleeding.

The haemophilia drugs market is "the largest market in rare diseases", worth around $10 billion per year and projected to grow by seven percent annually over the next five years, Brandicourt said in an audio conference with analysts.

He said he harboured a "strong admiration" for Bioverativ, which is a leader in the field with two drugs, Eloctate and Alprolix, already in the market and estimated overall sales of $1.2 billion in 2017.

Sanofi said it would be able to help Bioverativ with the research it has underway on the development of other haemophilia treatments, as well as for other rare diseases.

The agreement to purchase all of Bioverativ's outstanding shares for $105 each in cash represents a premium of 64 percent from the closing price on Friday, Sanofi said.

The operation is to start in February and close three months later, Brandicourt said.

But investors were not convinced, sending Sanofi's shares sharply lower on the Paris stock exchange as they wondered about the wisdom of putting so much money on the table.

The deal "looks logical, but expensive", with only modest potential to drive growth in the medium term, judged analysts at the Jefferies firm.

Furthermore, Sanofi may run into competition concerns from regulators with the takeover, they said.

The French firm said it would use funds on hand and borrow to finance the acquisition of Bioverativ.

But although pricey, the acquisition will still leave Sanofi with enough financial firepower to go after other acquisition targets, Jefferies said. One such target could be Pfizer's consumer healthcare business, they said.

The purchase of Bioverativ is the largest Sanofi has made since it acquired US biotech firm Genzyme for $20 billion in April 2011.

The French group failed in its 2016 bid to take over US cancer drugmaker Medivation which instead went to Pfizer.

Sanofi shares were 4.2 percent lower at 69.89 euros in late afternoon trading Monday, vastly underperforming the benchmark CAC 40 index in Paris which was up 0.2 percent.

The Saudi-led military coalition, which is currently fighting Houthi militias in Yemen, on Monday announced a $1.5 billion aid package for Yemen, Al Arabia News reported.

"The coalition will provide $1.5 billion in humanitarian assistance," said the coalition in a statement.

The coalition promised to keep all ports open, including the Hodeidah port, to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Yemenis, considering the blockade of Houthis on ports under their control.

It added that it aimed to increase monthly imports to Yemen from 1.1 million metric tons last year to 1.4 million metric tons and that it seeks to open land, sea and air access to Yemen to ensure the increase in delivery.

The coalition pledged funding of $40 million for the expansion of ports to accommodate additional humanitarian shipments, adding that it would set up an air corridor between Riyadh and the central Yemeni province of Marib to run multiple aid flights of C130 cargo planes.

The coalition said it would set up 17 additional "safe-passage corridors" to facilitate land transport for humanitarian organisations operating in the remote interiors of Yemen.

The announcement came after Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud decided to transfer $2 billion to the Central Bank of Yemen last week, in an attempt to stabilise the collapsing Yemeni currency.

The Saudi-led coalition has intervened in the Yemeni conflict since March 2015 to roll back the Houthi militants and support the internationally recognised President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who was forced into exile by the Houthis.

The war has killed over 10,000 Yemenis, mostly children, and displaced 3 million others, creating one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

A 14-year-old boy, Emanuel Zayas, who underwent a surgery to remove 10-pound tumor from his face has died.

 "Our condolences and prayers for Emanuel's family and the loss of a very brave young man," Dr. Robert E. Marx, a surgeon at Jackson Memorial Hospital was quoted saying by NBC 6.

 Zayas was suffering from polyostotic fibrous dysplacia which causes developmentally certain bones to become soft. The diseases had caused a 10-pound tumour to develop on his face.

He was operated and showed progress initially.

"I am saddened by the fact that we are losing him and that apparently, the physiologic stress of the surgery was too much for his compromised anatomy to overcome," Marx said.

"Our hopes of saving his life and in doing so would allow him a better quality of life have not been realized."

The Dubai Health Authority announced the launch of the first Dubai International Medical Tourism Forum, that will take on February 20-21.

The two-day forum based on the theme 'Reimagining Experience' will bring together prominent leaders and speakers from the public and private health and travel sectors who will discuss the latest trends in health tourism, methodologies to ensure patient protection, patient insurance, and strategies to create an overall environment that fosters medical tourism.

The forum will comprise a conference followed by an exhibition that will see over 30 international and local hospitals and healthcare facilities take part in the exhibition; eight scientific panels; and over 40 international speakers who will engage in thought-provoking and future-focused dialogues that aim to enhance the experience of health travel in Dubai and worldwide.

Humaid Al Qutami, chairman of the board and director-general of the Dubai Health Authority, said: "In line with the vision of our leaders, the DHA is working towards developing a robust medical tourism sector in Dubai. In 2016, Dubai witnessed an overall growth of 9-10 per cent in the number of medical and health tourists in Dubai and the emirate received 326,649 international medical tourists.

"Revenue generated from international patients was worth over Dh1 billion, reinforcing the growing contribution of the sector to the national GDP. Dubai's attractive location along with the availability of high-quality medical professionals and technology has enabled the city to build a strong and favourable platform to build its medical tourism capabilities. We are constantly working on developing this sector keeping in mind patient safety, high-quality health services and excellent patient experience."

Giving good news to medical tourists, Dr Layla Al Marzouqi, director of Health Tourism Council, said: " Now we have made it very easy to get health visa for medical tourists who can obtain this visa in just 48 hours and it can be renewed easily upon presenting your medical report for another three months. This can be done both for the patient as well as his or her accompanying relative. Dubai's efforts are aimed at easing the entire patient journey."

Dr Al Marzouqi, said that with the availability of modern technology and infrastructure, each patient can investigate and arrange healthcare facilities remotely using a trusted website and medical facilitators.

"DXH.ae, the official health tourism website of Dubai, gets average of 10,000 visitors on a monthly basis looking for various types of information to help identify desired medical treatment.The packages clearly outline the cost, inclusions, and exclusions. The comprehensive packages listed on the portal combine both leisure and health including, hotel accommodation, visa and insurance along with the selected medical treatments. The portal also offers options to request an appointment and 24X7 live chat," said Dr Al Marzouqi.

Some of the topics to be covered in the forum include the impact of technological innovation on health tourism such as telemedicine, artificial intelligence; social media influencing the health tourism industry; future of health tourism; and health tourism across borders.

Linda Abdullah, consultant, the Health Tourism Council at DHA, said: "We want health tourists to embrace their wellness journey in the city of Dubai, via our wellness offerings that include preventive health screenings, DNA tests, detox and weight loss programmes, anti-aging treatments, diabetes management and alternative medicines to name few."

Dubai has around 3,000 private health facilities ranging from hospitals, specialised clinics to day-surgery centres with around 35,000 health specialists from more than 110 different nationalities working in the sector. These numbers are expected to grow to 40,000 specialists and 4,000 health centres by 2020.

Robust population growth, lower child mortality, increased life expectancy and changing lifestyle risk factors such as chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have in recent years led to increased pressure on Kuwait’s healthcare system. To their credit, the government and the ministry of health have responded by introducing several measures and reforms aimed at addressing many of the capacity constraints in the sector and improving quality of health services.

Despite relatively low oil revenues, healthcare spending has continued to be a priority for the government, with reforms to the health sector forming a key component of the state's ‘New Kuwait 2035’ development plan. The plan, which outlines the country’s long-term development priorities aimed at transforming Kuwait into a financial, cultural, and institutional leader in the region, is organized around five themes, or desired outcomes, and seven pillars, or areas of focus for investment and development.

Healthcare is one of the seven pillars that support the New Kuwait vision and is centered on several strategic programs and projects designed to have the most impact on achieving the vision. The strategic programs envision improving Kuwait’s relative ranking on the global quality of health care index from 51 percent in 2014 to 54 percent by the end of development plan in 2035.  

The projects planned or being implemented as part of the reforms are expected to improve the quality of medical services and, increase the number of healthcare facilities and hospital beds in the country. The plan also aims to develop a national cadre with the requisite capabilities to offer efficient and effective health services to the public.

Other development goals under the New Kuwait healthcare initiative are in line with the changing demographics and disease patterns in the country. These include augmenting preventive health services to reduce the rate of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCD); developing occupational health services to treat the labor force; enhancing health services aimed at students; increasing the level of exercise and sports among citizens and residents; and creating awareness of the importance of healthy lifestyle choices among all sectors of society.

Projects being implemented as part of health sector reforms are expected to bring about a sharp increase in the number of available hospital beds and provide health facilities with cutting-edge capabilities. Some of the new hospitals that form part of the reform initiative include a 780-bed Maternity Hospital, a 792-bed Children’s Hospital, a new Police Hospital with 500 beds and a Physical Medicine Hospital with over 700 beds.

Ongoing expansions to existing hospitals will also see a significant increase to their existing bed-capacities and health service capabilities. In addition, construction of the new 1,166-bed Jaber Al-Ahmad Hospital, one of the largest health facilities in the Middle-East, has been completed and is awaiting handover to the Ministry of Health. There are also three new hospitals, under the expatriate insurance program, with a total of 750 beds slated to open in the near future.

The plan to build more hospitals and expand existing ones in a bid increase the number of available hospital beds and health facilities in the country is a welcome move. But new hospitals and beds are only one part of the healthcare equation; equally important is improving the quality of medical services provided to residents.

Apparently, it is a lack of this quality quotient, or at least confidence in the available quality, which has prompted many Kuwaitis to seek specialized medical services abroad at government expense. Until recently, the government had a policy of liberally funding specialized treatment abroad for Kuwaitis requiring complex medical procedures. The funding covered all medical costs for the patient’s treatment, as well as the expenses of spouses and other family members accompanying them abroad.

But by signing on to this 'medical tourism' policy, the government had inadvertently been questioning the competency of local doctors and medical facilities to handle complicated medical procedures. Besides encouraging a rush of outbound 'medical tourists' this policy led to the government incurring huge overseas health bills that could have been better utilized to improve the quality of local healthcare. In a damning report, the State Audit Bureau pointed out that the government spent in excess of KD440 million in 2014 to fund 11,000 medical trips abroad for citizens.

Repeated annual expenditure overruns and an avalanche of citizens seeking medical treatment abroad led the government to begin reining-in this unsustainable practice. In 2015, the authorities slashed the daily allowance granted to patients and their spouses during their stay abroad. Simultaneously, the authorities made the approval process for treatment overseas more arduous, so that politicians could no longer easily peddle medical tourism jaunts abroad in exchange for votes from their electorates.

The government also initiated the opening of several specialized medical treatment facilities at local hospitals and enhanced the quality of services provided. To maintain the quality of medical services, the Ministry of Health also signed a number of agreements with prestigious global institutions to regularly train medical staff and periodically evaluate the quality of healthcare being delivered. By the end of 2016, these actions on their own had resulted in a drop by half the number of people seeking treatment abroad at government expense.

Initiatives aimed at improving quality of medical services and facilities, and policies designed to enhance the healthcare system in the country are undoubtedly necessary and welcome moves, but these policies should not come at the expense of one section of society. Segregating people on the basis of citizens and non-citizens, and apportioning the morning hours of the day for Kuwaitis and evening hours for expatriates at hospitals and clinics, is clearly a policy that the authorities have not thought through.

While this strategy might help alleviate rush during morning hours and relieve Kuwaitis from having to wait for services at public healthcare facilities, it will definitely increase the rush of expatriate patients in the evenings. The huge influx of patients and the limited work hours will in turn increase workload on doctors, nurses and other medical staff in the evening shift. The pressure is bound to add up and eventually impact negatively on the quality of services provided, besides further straining the country's healthcare system.

Similarly, the recent move to increase fees for healthcare services provided to foreigners will certainly help increase health ministry revenues, but it will also prevent many non-citizens from availing of needed health services. Most Western expatriates and others having health coverage as part of their work contract generally do not seek medical attention at government-run facilities, but there are those in the weakest sections of society who rely entirely on public healthcare to meet their health needs. The high fees now being imposed by the government will deter this group of people from seeking the medical services that they might urgently need, but can no longer afford.

The authorities may feel that segregation of patients and selective fee hike for healthcare services are necessary steps, but for a country that takes pride in its generosity and humanitarian credentials these are definitely steps in the wrong direction.

Brown butter is one of those shortcut ingredients to great cooking. It takes any kind of cake to a whole new level of complex, nutty deliciousness, and adds toasted flavors to cornbread, or even savory dishes like pasta and risotto. Every self-respecting home baker should know how to brown butter, especially considering there's nothing to it. If you have butter, a pan, and a rubber spatula, you're good to go.

Step one: heat butter in a light-colored pot

Butter consists of clear yellowish butterfat, water, and milk proteins. When browning butter, those proteins are what is actually browning.  Start by plopping the desired amount of butter in a heavy-bottomed and preferably light-colored saucepan. The heavy bottom ensures the butter heats evenly while the light color allows you to monitor the butter's color as it browns. Heat the butter gently over low heat till it has melted completely. Stir the butter with a rubber spatula all through the browning process, which also helps it melt evenly.

Step Two: cook off water

Butter contains a good 13 to 17% water, which has to go before the fat's temperature can rise enough to brown the milk proteins. Once the butter reaches a temperature of 100°C, the water in the butter starts to evaporate much more quickly. As a result, the butter will start to bubble and splatter.

Step three: brown the butter

After about five minutes the butter will start to foam. This is when you want to watch the butter like a hawk, stirring it around with your spatula to prevent the milk solids from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

You can tell the butter is browning because dark golden flecks (browned milk solids) will appear in the melted butter, which will start to smell nutty and toasty.

Once you're happy with the level of browning, pour the butter—browned milk solids and all—into a heatproof bowl and stir it for one or two minutes to cool it down. If you were to leave the butter in the pan, the residual heat would continue to cook it, and the butter might scorch from a perfect brown to a burnt-tasting black.

Also, keep in mind that only the milk solids turn a dark golden brown, not the butter itself. The fat will be darker as well, but not as dramatically as the milk solids.

Now is the time to embrace brown butter in all of its glory, for dishes that are simple to prepare yet extraordinary in taste. Here are some ideas for using brown butter in savory cooking.

A finishing act

Use brown butter just as it is—a sauce. Spoon it over meat, fish, shellfish, baked cheese, pasta, gnocchi, and more as a final, flavorful flourish. Glaze Brussels sprouts in brown butter, or fluff it into still-hot wild rice, quinoa, or couscous. Drizzle it over smooth, silky soups for a welcome pop of flavor and texture. Or toss spaghetti with nothing more than brown butter, parmesan, and lots of black pepper for one of the best late-night meals ever.

Brown butter can also be incorporated into sauces and dressings, such as a brown butter mayonnaise, brown butter vinaigrette, and brown butter hollandaise. Or mix brown butter with fresh herbs, chill it, and make compound butter, which is a very good thing to have on hand. A knob of herby brown butter stirred into still-warm polenta, risotto, or mashed potatoes? Yes, please.Use brown butter in your savory baked goods to add an extra dimension of nutty, toasty flavors. Start with cornbread, dinner rolls, granola, and clafoutis. But don’t stop there: you can slip browned butter into virtually any recipe that calls for melted butter.Give that bottle of extra-virgin olive oil a break this fall: reach for brown butter instead when roasting and sautéing. Rub it on a chicken or turkey before roasting, or sauté scallops, and crab cakes in it. Use brown butter for breakfast too: slow cook scrambled eggs or fried eggs in brown butter as a rich, indulgent way to start the day.

Cooking ingredients in brown butter is the best because it’s where the most transformation happens: whatever ingredients are roasted or sautéed in brown butter take on its nuttiness and depth of flavor.

Jazz it up

Get creative by combining brown butter with other ingredients before saucing, baking, roasting or sautéing with it. Suddenly, the possibilities for using browned butter in your savory cooking are virtually limitless. When jazzing up brown butter, let it cool for about a minute, then stir in any add-ins such as herbs, other aromatics, spices, citrus and more.

To help you get started, here is a recipe for the best brown butter dish:Brown Butter Mushrooms, Greens, and Soba Noodles

Ingredients

4 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon fish sauce

½  teaspoon chile-garlic sauce, or to taste

8 ounces mushrooms, sliced  (cremini, shiitake, or a combination)

Finely grated zest of one large lime (juice reserved)

2 to 3 cups roughly torn kale, chard, or spinach leaves (about half a small bunch)

6 ounces soba noodles

Kosher salt, to taste

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and cook until it turns brown and smells nutty, about 4 to 6 minutes. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom so they don't burn.

 Add the fish sauce, chile-garlic sauce, and lime zest to the brown butter, stirring to integrate. The fish sauce will smell strong at this point, but it’ll mellow as the dish comes together. Add mushrooms and sauté until tender, about 4 to 6 minutes, over medium heat, then add the greens and sauté a few minutes longer.  If using young, tender greens, skip this step and add them at the end with the soba noodles.

 Meanwhile, cook the soba noodles according to package directions. When the soba noodles are done, drain and immediately add them to the skillet. Add 1 teaspoon sesame oil and 1 tablespoon of lime juice, and toss together until the noodles are evenly coated with the brown butter sauce. Taste for seasoning and balance, adding kosher salt, more lime juice, or sesame oil if needed. 

Traditional cheese balls are a mixture of cream cheese, grated semi-soft or semi-firm cheese whipped smooth with a few added flavorings, which are then shaped into a ball of about four inches in diameter and rolled in nuts. With crackers, carrot sticks, and celery, they serve the same function as the crudité platters of cut veggies with dip that have commanded parties since the early '80s.

In many ways, a cheese ball isn't even a recipe; it's a concept with four directions. What makes a cheese ball so versatile is that you can quite literally change almost every element and still be good to go.When it comes to the creamy component, cream cheese is the classic foundation, and it works incredibly well. As in any dish with a few ingredients, the quality of what you use becomes vital, so pick the best cheese you can afford. You will be stretching any pricey cheese or flavorings with inexpensive cream cheese, which helps keeps this dish both special and doable on most budgets.

The single trick to getting a cheese ball to work well is that every ingredient must be at room temperature. Soft, warm cheeses become integrated into a single flavor, with a new texture and aroma that simply cannot occur if you start with cold ingredients. Set the cream cheese and cheeses out on the counter for about an hour before you start and you will be problem-free.For the base cheese: Cream cheese is our first choice for its firm texture and mild creaminess. It creates a base so handy that it is easy to make the mixture into whatever you want. With the addition of one or two ingredients, the base is made firmer and shaped into a sculpture (think football or snowman, not three-foot swan) or softer (think dip). It's easy to make, easy to modify, and easy to fix.

If you feel adventuresome, try mascarpone, quark, neufchatel, creamy feta, soft goat cheese, or fromage blanc as an alternative base to the cream cheese.The second cheese: Once you have the base set, you can get crazy with the second cheese. As long as it's not a grating cheese or crumbly, like Parmesan or cotija, it'll work.

How long to leave cheese out

Don't leave cream cheese out more than about two hours unrefrigerated, but the second cheese can sit out for about four hours; just keep them all covered and away from a hot stove or running dishwasher.

Topping Your Cheese Ball

A good cheese ball is a study in texture. You want to create contrast between the smooth, creamy interior and the chewy add-ins. Things like crunchy bacon, crackers, and roasted nuts are all ideal toppings. Mince your toppings — they should be pretty small so they are easily incorporated into the cheese as it spreads.

Cheese balls keep extraordinarily well as long as you do not roll them in the outer topping until just before serving. Wrapped in plastic and then foil, a cheese ball will keep for up to a week, making it a great nibble to have on hand during party season or any random get-together.Your cheese ball is too runny: Once you have added all the extras, and it's all mixed in well, if the texture is more salad dressing-like than something you might spread on a bagel, you can tighten it up easily by adding unsalted butter, one tablespoon at a time, mixing before you add more. You could also add more cream cheese, but it will not solidify the ball once it's chilled as well as the butter.

You added too many ingredients: If you add too many things like fruits and meat, add 3 tablespoons of cream cheese plus 1 teaspoon butter at a time and mix very well and taste. Still not quite right? Go one more round and add a teaspoon of the liquid flavoring, 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire along with 3 tablespoons of cream cheese and mix very well. This will help you retain the backbone flavors.

Process the cream cheese: Place the cream cheese in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Alternatively, use a handheld electric mixer and large bowl. Process or beat until light and fluffy in texture, 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Process the cream cheese: Place the cream cheese in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. (Alternatively, use a handheld electric mixer and large bowl.) Process or beat until light and fluffy in texture, 30 second to 1 minute.

Mix in the second cheese: Add the grated cheese and process or beat for 30 to 45 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the side of the bowl. It should be very smooth and completely combined. If it is not, process or mix another 30 seconds.

Mix in the liquid flavoring: Add the garlic, lemon juice, and Worcestershire. Process or beat until the mixture is completely smooth, there no lumps or bits, and the mixture is a thick and fluffy, 1 full minute or more. Stop the machine and scrape down the side of the bowl.

Mix in any optional ingredients: Add any combination of add-in flavorings and process or beat until the mixture reaches the desired texture.

Correct the texture if necessary: If the mixture has become runny, like salad dressing or yogurt, add 1 tablespoon room temperature butter at a time and process or beat until completely incorporated, fully processing or beating between each addition.

Scoop the mixture into a mound: Place a large piece of plastic wrap about 12 by 16 inches on a work surface. Using an ice cream scoop or a large spoon, transfer the mixture into a mound in the center of the plastic wrap.

Shape it into ball using plastic wrap: Lift up 2 opposite sides of the plastic wrap and cover the sides of the cheese mixture. Place your cupped hands against the plastic wrap, and gently press the mixture into a round. Lift up the remaining plastic, one piece at a time, and cover all sides of the cheese round. Shape it into a ball. Collect all the plastic pieces at the top and twist them together, creating a bundle that looks like a tied sack or pouch.

Wrap in foil and refrigerate: Wrap the plastic-wrapped cheeseball completely in aluminum foil and shape again with your hands. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 6 days.

Coat the outside: Before serving, pour the coating into a rimmed baking sheet, roasting pan, or 9 by 13-inch baking dish and spread into an even layer. Remove the cheeseball from the refrigerator, unwrap completely, and place on the topping. Gently roll to coat, or using a spoon, scoop the coating over the top. Pat the sides and top well to ensure a full coating.

Serve the cheeseball: Place the cheeseball on a serving tray or platter, with a selection of sturdy, cut vegetables, thick crackers or pita chips, clusters of grapes, and a few dried figs (cut open). You can opt for a mid-century style side dish, toast points, which are simply pieces of great-quality toast slices with the crust cut off. Set out 2 or 3 small cheese knives or butter knives for spreading, plenty of napkins, and serve.

After a season of indulgences it is now time to return to the gym. However, while workouts at the gym are important to getting back in shape, equally important is eating the right foods to fuel your body after the exercises.

We list below some of the places that serve healthy and nutritious eating options post-workout based on your specific exercise preference. Rather than drive over to these places, you could also go online to food delivery sites such as Talabat, or use their app on your mobile, to order foods designed to boost your health regime.Yoga Bunnies: Your body is your temple, and natural food and eating mindfully is an essential part of maintaining a ‘Zen’ lifestyle. Refresh after your workouts with a deliciously organic and wholefood meal from the Calorie Counter.Body Builders: A heavy weights session will leave your body depleted of glycogen. Opt for a meal full of fast digesting proteins and moderate to high GM carbs to help build muscle and slow protein breakdown. Check out for Healthylicious for its range of high protein health conscious meals.Spin Queens (or Kings!): After an energetic and sweaty spinning class it is essential that you replenish fluids and feed your body protein. Packed with colorful veggies, healthy carbs and good protein, salads are the perfect post spin option – try out one of the huge range of options available at Salad Boutique.CrossFit Champions: CrossFit’s concept of functional training achieves great results but is very taxing to the body — meaning that choosing the optimum post-workout recovery meal is essential. Order a meal full of easily digestible protein and carbs; with its wide selection of healthy fish and rice-based dishes Sushi Minto is a great option.Armchair Enthusiasts: For those who prefer a more sedate approach to health, Talabat has other solutions with restaurants such as Alpha Healthy offering tasty and nutritionally balanced meals.

The United Nations on Sunday made what it said was a record appeal for aid to Yemen, calling for nearly $3 billion in humanitarian relief for the war-torn country.

The $2.96 billion will be used to respond to an ever-broadening crisis in Yemen, where war, looming famine and cholera have killed thousands and put millions of lives at risk.

The appeal, made on behalf of UN agencies and humanitarian partners, came as 11.3 million people "urgently require assistance to survive", UN aid agency OCHA said in a statement.

"A generation of children is growing up in suffering and deprivation," OCHA said.

"Nearly two million children are out of school, 1.8 million children under the age of five are acutely malnourished, including 400,000 who suffer from severe acute malnutrition and are 10 times more likely to die if they do not receive medical treatment."

More than 9,200 people have been killed in Yemen since 2015, when a Saudi-led military coalition intervened to back the country's internationally-recognised government against Iran-backed rebels.

Another nearly 2,200 Yemenis have died of cholera amid deteriorating hygiene and sanitation conditions, the World Health Organisation says.

Over the past year, the United Nations' efforts to address what it has described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis have been hampered by a crippling blockade of rebel-held ports by the Saudi-led coalition.

More than three-quarters of Yemen's population -- 22.2 million people -- are now dependent on some form of assistance in Yemen, the United Nations says.

Some 8.4 million Yemenis are also at risk of famine, according to OCHA.

In 2017, international donors provided $1.65 billion of the $2.34 billion requested by the United Nations and humanitarian partners in Yemen.

A man whose body rejected a face transplant he received seven years ago has been given a second donor face after living nearly two months without one, French medical agencies said Friday.

It is the first time in transplant history that doctors have replaced one donor face with another, according to Olivier Bastien of France's biomedicine agency.

More than 12 years since the first-ever face graft was done, in France, it remains a high-risk procedure.A transplant can help recipients -- often victims of accidents, violence, or rare genetic disorders -- to resume basic tasks such as breathing, eating and speaking, and restores non-verbal communication through smiles and frowns.

But it also means a life-long reliance on immunosuppressant medicines, to stop the body rejecting the "foreign" organ. These drugs can leave a person vulnerable to infections and cancers.

It is a rare procedure with fewer than 40 operations performed to date, and at least six patients have died.

The latest recipient, in his 40s, went under the knife at a Paris hospital on Monday, for a procedure that lasted nearly a full day, according to a joint press statement issued by the biomedicine agency and the AP-HP public hospital system.

The man's original graft had been removed in an operation on November 30, and he was kept on life support in an induced coma until the follow-up procedure.

"This graft shows for the first time... that re-transplantation is possible in the case of chronic rejection" of a donor face, said the statement.

It will be weeks before doctors can say whether the second graft has taken.

The recipient of the world's first face transplant, Isabelle Dinoire, died of cancer in April 2016, 11 years after her groundbreaking operation.

Doctors said her body had rejected the transplant, and she had lost partial use of her lips by the time she died.

A man whose body rejected a face transplant he received seven years ago has been given a second donor face after living nearly two months without one, French medical agencies said Friday.

It is the first time in transplant history that doctors have replaced one donor face with another, according to Olivier Bastien of France's biomedicine agency.

More than 12 years since the first-ever face graft was done, in France, it remains a high-risk procedure.A transplant can help recipients -- often victims of accidents, violence, or rare genetic disorders -- to resume basic tasks such as breathing, eating and speaking, and restores non-verbal communication through smiles and frowns.

But it also means a life-long reliance on immunosuppressant medicines, to stop the body rejecting the "foreign" organ. These drugs can leave a person vulnerable to infections and cancers.

It is a rare procedure with fewer than 40 operations performed to date, and at least six patients have died.

The latest recipient, in his 40s, went under the knife at a Paris hospital on Monday, for a procedure that lasted nearly a full day, according to a joint press statement issued by the biomedicine agency and the AP-HP public hospital system.

The man's original graft had been removed in an operation on November 30, and he was kept on life support in an induced coma until the follow-up procedure.

"This graft shows for the first time... that re-transplantation is possible in the case of chronic rejection" of a donor face, said the statement.

It will be weeks before doctors can say whether the second graft has taken.

The recipient of the world's first face transplant, Isabelle Dinoire, died of cancer in April 2016, 11 years after her groundbreaking operation.

Doctors said her body had rejected the transplant, and she had lost partial use of her lips by the time she died.

A Canadian jury on Friday cleared three railway workers of criminal negligence in one of the nation's worst train disasters, which killed 47 people in Lac-Megantic, Quebec in 2013.

Former Montreal, Maine & Atlantic (MM&A) train conductor Thomas Harding, operations manager Jean Demaitre, and railway traffic controller Richard Labrie, faced 47 counts of criminal negligence -- one for each death.

After an almost four-month trial, the jury struggled over nine days to reach a verdict, asking the presiding judge on several occasions for clarifications on matters of law, raising concerns they might have become deadlocked.

The three accused could have faced life in prison, if convicted.

"Mr Harding is too emotional to give a coherent account of how he feels," his lawyer Thomas Walsh told reporters after the verdicts were handed down.

"But I think he feels relieved," he said. "It's been four and a half years that he's carried this on his shoulders, so he's happy to finally turn the page."

Demaitre echoed the sentiment upon exiting the courtroom, while Labrie burst into tears as he tried to read a brief statement.

He said he hoped the trial had provided some answers to the friends and families of the victims about what really happened the night of the crash and why.

This had been "a long, hard process, but now it's over," Labrie said.

In addition to the casualties, more than 30 buildings in Lac-Megantic were completely destroyed on July 9, 2013 when a 72-car train derailed and exploded.

It was carrying 7.7 million liters (2.0 million gallons) of shale oil from the US state of North Dakota to a refinery in easternmost Canada when it came loose in the middle of the night and rolled downhill, unmanned.

More than 2,000 people -- or a third of the residents -- had to be evacuated from the picturesque lakeside town about 250 kilometers (155 miles) east of Montreal. Firefighters needed two days to put out the inferno.

After the crash, US-headquartered Montreal, Maine & Atlantic declared bankruptcy. Charges against the company are still pending.

- Poor safety standards -

Transportation Safety Board investigators blamed poor safety standards and a lack of regulatory oversight for the crash.

In a 191-page report they listed contributing factors including improper brake tests, a highly flammable cargo in substandard tanker cars and a curve in the tracks at the bottom of a slope.

"Take any one of them out of the equation and this accident may not have happened," TSB chair Wendy Tadros said at the time.

Harding, who was not at the train's helm at the time of the accident, was accused of failing to apply enough brakes on the cars.

Firefighters responding to a small locomotive fire later that night shut off power to the locomotive, inadvertently causing the air brakes to gradually lose pressure.

Left unattended overnight, the train started to roll downhill, reaching a top speed of 105 kilometers (65 miles) per hour.

Many Canadians looked to the criminal trial for closure, but others felt the three accused should never have been charged and that the shortline MM&A railway was at fault for cutting corners on maintenance and employee training, and on the government for ignoring safety concerns.

The TSB agreed, citing the company's "weak safety culture" and a "largely unchecked" boom in rail shipments of oil from 500 in 2009 to 160,000 in 2013.

"We can't hold people criminally responsible for not being perfect," defense lawyer Charles Shearson told the court during the trial.

In the aftermath of the disaster, authorities announced tougher rail safety rules, including the phasing out or retrofitting of substandard tanker cars used to transport flammable liquids.

The number of births in China fell last year even though the world's most populous country has relaxed its one-child policy to allow all couples to have two children.

The country saw 17.23 million births in 2017, compared to 17.86 million in the previous year, the head of the National Bureau of Statistics, Ning Jizhe, said on Thursday.

The nation of some 1.4 billion people began to phase out its one-child policy in 2015 in response to concerns about an ageing population and shrinking workforce, prompting the number of births to rise the following year.

While last year marked a decline, an unnamed official from the National Health and Family Planning Commission said in a statement the number of births remained "at a relatively high level".

The decrease was due to the declining population of women of child-bearing age and people's decision to get married and have children later in life, the commission said.

"Socioeconomic factors have more obviously influenced people's willingness to give birth and child-bearing behaviour," it said, citing financial costs, lack of childcare services and women's career development pressure as three major reasons.

While overall births fell, the proportion of newborns born to parents who already had a first child rose to 51 percent in 2017, five percentage points higher than 2016, commission said.

Since the late 1970s, strict measures restricted most couples to one child, with violators facing fines and even forced abortions.

Around 53 percent of one-child families have no desire for a second, according to a survey of 10,000 families with children under 15 by the All-China Women's Federation.

A sharp rise in the currency of war-torn Yemen Thursday following a $2-billion Saudi bailout sparked hope of relief for millions at risk of famine and reliant on imported food.

The Yemen conflict has claimed more than 9,200 lives since Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened to help the government fight rebels in 2015, pushing its frail economy to the brink of total collapse.

For more than a year, the government has been unable to pay salaries and the riyal has more than halved in value against the dollar, leaving Yemenis unable to afford food staples and bottled water.

But after Saudi Arabia announced a massive cash injection in the central bank, the Yemeni currency rose 16 percent against the dollar on Thursday.

Riyadh's decision Wednesday to transfer $2 billion to the central bank to boost the riyal followed a desperate plea for help by Yemen's president and prime minister.

"As the value of the riyal goes up, the living conditions of Yemeni citizens will change for the better," the Saudi information ministry said.

Yemen's riyal stood at 215 to the dollar in early 2015.

After Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other Arab allies entered the fight against the Iran-backed Huthi rebels in March of that year, the riyal began to plummet, dropping to 500 against the dollar by 2018.

Money changers across the country -- including in the rebel-held capital Sanaa and the government bastion of Aden -- reported the dollar trading at between 420 and 450 riyals on Thursday.

The Saudi-backed government has now capped the exchange rate against the dollar at 390 riyals, but money changers across the country appeared to have turned a blind eye.

More than one million civil servants lost their jobs in 2016, when President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi transferred the central bank from Sanaa to his hometown of Aden.

The rebels still operate their own central bank from the capital.

Saudi Arabia, which itself faces a hefty budget deficit, on Thursday sent its ambassador Mohammed al-Jaber to Aden, three years after he fled Yemen as the Huthis overran the capital.

Prime Minister Ahmed bin Dagher, receiving the ambassador, thanked the kingdom and asked Riyadh and Abu Dhabi to send experts to audit the funds transfer, the loyalist news agency Saba reported.

The Yemen conflict has left more than three-quarters of the population in need of humanitarian aid and 8.4 million at risk of famine, according to the United Nations.

French police raided the headquarters of dairy giant Lactalis on Wednesday (Jan 17) over a baby milk salmonella scare that has sickened dozens of children and led to a major international recall.

Dozens of policemen were searching the company's offices in Laval, western France, as well as its factory in nearby Craon which was the source of the tainted milk.

Lactalis has recalled baby milk from 83 countries, with anger growing after it emerged that the company's own tests had discovered salmonella at the Craon site in August and November.The company did not report the findings and it says it had no legal obligation to do so because it had not detected salmonella in its products.

The contamination, found in a dehydration tower used to reduce milk, was not revealed to the public until December.

At least 37 babies in France are known to have fallen sick and another in Spain, while Greece has also seen one unconfirmed case.

A source close to the probe said magistrates and 70 policemen were raiding Lactalis sites on Wednesday.

Officers were guarding the factory doors, an AFP photographer said, with dozens of police vehicles on site.At the company headquarters, investigators from public health agency OCLAESP and consumer protection agency DGCCRF were searching the premises alongside police.

The recall affects 12 million boxes of powdered baby milk under brands including Picot, Milumel and Celia.

The raids come after Paris investigators opened a preliminary inquiry on Dec 2 for suspected fraud as well as endangering health by failing to properly execute the recall.

Lactalis CEO Emmanuel Besnier at the weekend offered to compensate the affected families.

But an association of victims' families, which met with government on Monday, has rejected the offer, accusing Lactalis of trying to buy their silence.

Of the babies taken ill in France, 18 were hospitalised. All are now recovering well, according to the public health agency.

Hundreds of families have filed lawsuits against the company.

Mr Besnier on Sunday denied claims that Lactalis had lied about the dates and amount of stock affected by the salmonella outbreak.

"At no point was there any intention of hiding things," he told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper - his first interview in nearly 20 years as head of the family-controlled company.

Government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said on Sunday the company's explanations were insufficient.

"When you have a case of milk on the market which has clearly caused complicated health problems for children, it means at some point there was negligence," he said.

Mothers who breastfeed for six months or more halve their diabetes risk, according to major new research.

The 30-year study found that the longer mothers breastfed, the greater reductions they saw in their risks of developing type 2 diabetes. 

Breastfeeding has been linked to all manner of benefits for both mothers and their babies, including lower risks for ovarian cancer and heart disease for mothers, and better brain development and lower rates of obesity and asthma in their children.

The new research from Kaiser Permanente, however, is one of the largest and longest studies to demonstrate that breastfeeding may protect women against type 2 diabetes. Though men are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes later in live than women are, nearly 12 percent of American women are diagnosed with the disease and many as 27 million are considered prediabetic - numbers driven up by the country's continuing obesity epidemic.

A study conducted between 1971 and 2000 also found that women with diabetes had poorer survival rates than men with the same disease, which shortened life spans for women by 8.2 years, compared to healthy people. 

The new study's findings suggest that breastfeeding could help to close those health gaps.  

As of 2013, the majority of new mothers - about 77 percent - opted to breastfeed, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

Breast milk contains a cocktail of nutrients meant to perfectly meet the needs of a new baby. 

US agencies, including the CDC and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommend that women breastfeed for at least the first six months of their babies' lives. 

It is not clear why the practice seems to have so many health benefits for women.

Scientists suspect that natural feeding's effects on hormones may have protective effects, and that choosing not to breastfeed may upset the balance of a woman's systems. 

The new research, spanning 30 years of data reported not just by the women themselves, but by their doctors, bolstered theories that breastfeeding may have  protective effects for women's metabolic functions.  

Lead study author Dr Erica Gunderson, senior research scientist with the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research said: 'We found a very strong association between breastfeeding duration and lower risk of developing diabetes, even after accounting for all possible confounding risk factors.'

Notably, diabetes risks were reduced for all races. 

In the US, black women are both more likely to develop type 2 diabetes and less likely to breastfeed than white women are, according to recent research.  

The results showed that women who breastfed for six months or more across all births had a 47 percent reduction in their risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to those who did not breastfeed at all.

Women who breastfed for six months or less had a 25 percent reduction in their diabetes risk, according to the findings published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.

Dr Gunderson and her colleagues analyzed figures during the 30 years of follow-up from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, involving around 5,000 American adults who were aged 18 to 30 when they enrolled in the study in 1985.

She said the new findings add to a growing body of evidence that breastfeeding has protective effects for both mothers and their offspring, including lowering a mother's risk of breast and ovarian cancer.

Dr Gunderson said: 'The incidence of diabetes decreased in a graded manner as breastfeeding duration increased, regardless of race, gestational diabetes, lifestyle behaviors, body size, and other metabolic risk factors measured before pregnancy, implying the possibility that the underlying mechanism may be biological.'

She said several plausible biological mechanisms are possible for the protective effects of breastfeeding, including the influence of lactation-associated hormones on the pancreatic cells that control blood insulin levels and thereby impact blood sugar.

Dr Tracy Flanagan, director of women's health for Kaiser Permanente Northern California, said: 'We have known for a long time that breastfeeding has many benefits both for mothers and babies, however, previous evidence showed only weak effects on chronic disease in women.

'Now we see much stronger protection from this new study showing that mothers who breastfeed for months after their delivery, may be reducing their risk of developing type 2 diabetes by up to one half as they get older.

'This is yet another reason that doctors, nurses, and hospitals as well as policymakers should support women and their families to breastfeed as long as possible.'

Dr Gunderson added: 'Unlike previous studies of breastfeeding, which relied on self-reporting of diabetes onset and began to follow older women later in life, we were able to follow women specifically during the childbearing period and screen them regularly for diabetes before and after pregnancies.'

There's nothing covert about Roxy -- a huge market in Abidjan selling counterfeit medicine, the scourge of Africa and the cause of around 100,000 deaths annually on the world's poorest continent.

Located in the bustling Adjame quarter of Ivory Coast's main city and commercial hub, the haven for fake medicine has been targeted time and again by authorities and stockpiles burnt.

But it resurfaces every time.

"The police hassle us but they themselves buy these medicines," said Mariam, one of the many mainly illiterate vendors who hawk everything from painkillers and antibiotics to anti-malaria and anti-retroviral treatments.

"When we are harassed we always come to an arrangement with them to resume our activities," she said.

Fatima, another hawker, said: "Many people come here with their prescriptions to buy medicine, even the owners of private clinics."

She said there was a "syndicate" controlling the sector that held regular meetings to fix prices and supply levels.

Fake medicines bring about some 100,000 deaths a year in the continent, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The illicit sector has a turnover of at least 10 percent of the world pharmaceutical business, meaning that it earns tens of billions of dollars a year, the Switzerland-based World Economic Forum estimates, adding that the figure has nearly tripled in five years.

"To sell fake medicines, you need a clientele. The ailing poor are more numerous in Africa than anywhere in the world," said Marc Gentilini, an expert on infectious and tropical diseases and a former head of the French Red Cross.

- Double-edged crime -

Gentilini said some meningitis vaccines sent a few years ago after an outbreak in arid Niger were fake. The disease kills thousands every year in the arid west African nation.

The WHO estimates that one out of 10 medicines in the world is fake but the figure can be as high as seven out of 10 in certain countries, especially in Africa.

The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene estimated in 2015 that 122,000 children under five died due to taking poor-quality antimalarials in sub-Saharan Africa, which, along with antibiotics as the two most in-demand, are the medicines most likely to be out-of-date or bad copies.

Interpol in August announced the seizure of 420 tonnes of counterfeit medicine in West Africa in a massive operation that involved about 1,000 police, customs and health officials in seven countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Togo.

Geoffroy Bessaud, the head of anti-counterfeit coordination at French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, said fake medicines the were the biggest illicit business in the world.

"This phenomenon is spreading: its financial attractiveness draws criminal organisations of all sizes," he said.

"An investment of $1,000 can bring returns of up to $500,000 while for the same kind of investment in the heroin trade or in counterfeit money the amount will be around $20,000."

Ivorian authorities in May burnt 40 tonnes of fake medicines in Adjame, the biggest street market for fake medicines in West Africa which accounts for 30 percent of medicine sales in Ivory Coast.

- Offenders go unpunished -

Offenders remain largely unpunished worldwide and are mainly targeted for breaching intellectual property rights instead of being responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, the Paris-based International Institute of Research Against Counterfeit Medicine says.

Experts have called for a global fight against the scourge.

Sanofi said it had in 2016 helped dismantle 27 clandestine laboratories, including 22 in China and the rest in Indonesia, Ukraine and Poland.

In countries where medical expenses -- from drugs to hospitalisation -- are not even partly reimbursed by the state, the relatively cheap price of street medication trumps the risk factor for many.

The outstanding exception on the continent in fighting the illicit drug trade is South Africa, which has a strictly-enforced licencing system.

Stifling a sneeze can rupture your throat, burst an ear drum, or pop a blood vessel in your brain, researchers warned Tuesday.

Many people -- when they feel a sneeze coming on -- block all the exits, essentially swallowing the sneeze's explosive force.

Just how dangerous this can be was illustrated when a 34-year-old man showed up at the emergency service of a hospital in Leicester, England recently, with a swollen neck and in extreme pain.

"The patient described a popping sensation in his neck after he tried to halt a sneeze by pinching the nose and holding his mouth closed," doctors detailed in a study published in the medical journal BMJ Case Reports.

A CAT scan confirmed what they suspected: the force of the suppressed sneeze had ruptured and torn open the back of the throat.

The man -- who could barely swallow or talk -- was admitted to hospital, where he was tube-fed and given intravenous antibiotics until the swelling and pain subsided.

He was discharged after a week.

"Halting sneezing via blocking the nostrils and mouth is a dangerous manoeuvre, and should be avoided," the doctors concluded.

In rare cases, stifling a sneeze has led to a condition in which air gets trapped between the lungs, "and even rupture of a cerebral aneurysm," which is a ballooning blood vessel in the brain, they explained.

Nestle said Tuesday it has agreed to sell its US candy business to Italy's Ferrero for a whopping $2.8 billion in cash as the Swiss food giant shakes up its product portfolio.

Ferrero, known for its Tic Tac, Nutella and Ferrero Rocher brands but which has traditionally preferred organic growth to acquisitions, will now be picking up Crunch, Butterfinger and Baby Ruth from Nestle.

The sale will make Ferrero the third-largest confectionary company in the US market.According to media reports, Ferrero competed with major chocolate manufacturer Hershey and private funds, including Rhone Capital, to secure the deal.

Executive chairman Giovanni Ferrero said that after the acquisition the Ferrero Group 'will have substantially greater scale, a broader offering of high-quality products to customers...' in the United States, the world's largest confectionary market.

Nestle's chief executive Mark Schneider said the deal 'allows Nestle to invest and innovate across a range of categories where we see strong future growth and hold leadership positions, such as pet care, bottled water, coffee, frozen meals and infant nutrition.