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AMSTERDAM, July 24, 2018 (AFP) - Scientists reported several setbacks in the quest for a cure to AIDS on Tuesday, highlighting concerns about inconclusive evidence that links a promising new drug to birth defects.

According to research presented at the 22nd International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam, four cases of "neural tube" defects were recorded among the pregnancies of 426 HIV-positive women in Botswana who took the drug dolutegravir before conception.

Neural tube defects cause severe brain and spinal deformities in the first weeks after conception, and often lead to stillbirth.

The cases amount to a ratio of nearly one defect per 100 pregnancies, compared to the average population rate of about one per 1,000, researcher Rebecca Zash of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health explained.

The defects were observed between August 2014 and May this year.

There have been no new reports among the 170 dolutegravir pregnancies monitored since, but "I don't think we can take much reassurance" from that, Zash said.

Four birth defects in 596 pregnancies was "still seven times higher than other groups, and statistically significant", she added.

Dolutegravir is a relatively new HIV-suppressor with fewer side-effects and believed to be less likely to spark drug resistance in patients.

Countries targeted by the US PEPFAR AIDS relief fund were on the cusp of rolling it out as the leading antiretroviral therapy (ART), International AIDS Society president Linda-Gail Bekker told AFP.

- Waiting game -

Botswana was the first country to introduce dolutegravir as a first-line antiretroviral drug for all who need it, including women of child-bearing age.

"This puts a very definite bump in the road," Bekker said, adding that conference organisers "scurried" to organise last-minute sessions to discuss the consequences of the Botswana results.

Pending clarification, global health agencies have advised that HIV-positive women planning a family should use other antiretrovirals instead.

"I wish so badly that this (data) signal would go away" with further research, Zash told AFP.

In the meantime, "it's tough but I think we just have to wait" for more information.

On the cure front, there was some bad news too.

A trial to test a new strategy to "kick" the AIDS-causing HIV virus out of its hiding place in human cells, then "kill" it, yielded a disappointing outcome.

Researchers tested the effects of several medicines on top of standard ART in a trial with 60 men recently diagnosed with HIV.

Volunteers received two vaccines meant to coach the body's immune system to recognise HIV, and another drug to "wake up" the reservoir cells hiding the virus, forcing it to reveal itself and be attacked by the body's own defences.

But trial participants who received these drugs had no different outcome to those on standard ART, said Sarah Fidler, a professor of HIV medicine at Imperial College London who took part in the research.

"Of course the overall effect wasn't what we would hope for, but it was definitive," she told journalists in the Dutch capital.

"All results move the knowledge forward even if they're somewhat disappointing."

For scientists, "cure" means weakening HIV to a point where it poses no harm to the infected person and cannot be transmitted to others -- allowing people to stop lifelong treatment without any risk.

For full story click AFP

Every Friday night till August 31, Daawat Indian Cuisine Restaurant at Amrit Marg, Thamel will be hosting ‘Sea Food BBQ with unlimited Buffet Dinner’. Per person cost for the special seafood barbeque nights comes to around Rs 1,500 and for a couple Rs 2,500. There is also a special pack­age (Sea Food BBQ Dinner +Sauna Steam+ Room with Breakfast) at only Rs 7,999 nett per couple. Discounts available for groups of over five people. For booking: 4416081, 4423847

Applications are now open for Rastriya Model United Nations 2018 taking place on July 28-30 in Kathmandu, Nepal. Independently organized by a group of students, the event is a model stim­ulation of United Nations that aims to bring the youths together to discuss contemporary issues.

Rastriya MUN 2018 is a platform where young and innovative individuals debate global issues representing themselves as a delegate of partic­ular countries, with the ultimate goal of coming up with ideas and solutions that could be effec­tive both at national and international level. The event will be held at Ullens School, Kathmandu.

Date: July 28-30

Entrance fee: Rs. 4000

For Details: [email protected]

Join a month long film acting workshop with Bimal Subedi, a theatre artist, director and teach­er. Also the artistic director and founder of the­atre village, he plans to run classes with Kantipur Film Academy starting August 17. You can even learn some handy techniques of film making!

Class Time: 2pm to 6pm;

Course Fee: 20,000; Contact: 01-4414137;

Email: [email protected];

Website: www.kantipurfilmacademy.com

Chelsea's Eden Hazard, Mohamed Salah of Liverpool, Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne and new Juventus signing Cristiano Ronaldo are also included. England full-back Lucy Bronze is on the shortlist for the best women's player. Tottenham forward Kane, 24, won the Golden Boot at the World Cup in Russia with six goals as England achieved their best finish since 1990. He went into the World Cup on the back of registering his first 30-goal haul in a Premier League season. And Kane maintained that form at the finals, becoming the first English player to win the top scorers' prize since Gary Lineker in 1986.

Hazard, 27, won the FA Cup with Chelsea in May and then collected the Silver Ball in Russia after inspiring Belgium to third - their best World Cup finish.

Salah, 26, also enjoyed a prolific campaign. The Egyptian scored 46 times for club and country during 2017-18, helping Liverpool to the Champions League final in his first season at Anfield.

Belgium midfielder De Bruyne, 27, played a prominent role in a record-breaking season for City, who accumulated the most points and wins in a Premier League season.

It was also a landmark year for five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese scored 54 goals in 54 games in all competitions, spearheading Real Madrid's triumph in the Champions League and the Fifa Club World Cup.

Voting for the award closes at midnight on 10 August, while the awards ceremony takes place in London on 24 September.

Full shortlist

• Cristiano Ronaldo - Juventus & Portugal
• Kevin De Bruyne - Manchester City & Belgium
• Antoine Griezmann - Atletico Madrid & France
• Eden Hazard - Chelsea & Belgium
• Harry Kane - Tottenham & England
• Kylian Mbappe - Paris St-Germain & France
• Lionel Messi - Barcelona & Argentina
• Luka Modric - Real Madrid & Croatia
• Mohamed Salah - Liverpool & Egypt
• Raphael Varane - Real Madrid & France

Log on to BBC.COM for more news

KATHMANDU, July 24: Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Sher Bahadur Tamang has resigned following his controversial statement on Nepali female students studying medicine in Bangladesh. He had earlier said that Nepali medical students in Bangladesh were forced to ‘compromise their honor’ in order to get their certificates.

Following the uproar against the statement, the ruling Nepali Communist Party had on Monday evening asked Tamang to tender his resignation. Tamang resigned in a press meet on Tuesday. APEX BUREAU

Hundreds of people are missing and an unknown number dead after a dam collapsed in south-east Laos, state media reported.

The collapse at the hydroelectric dam in Attapeu province late on Monday sent flash floods through six villages, Laos News Agency said.

"Several human lives" were lost and "several hundreds of people [are] missing", it added.

More than 6,600 people have been made homeless by the floods, reports said.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please check BBC.COM

How many restaurants in Kathmandu can boast of a legacy of 50 years of regular operations? A handful, perhaps. One of them is The Ringmo Restaurant at Lazimpat (Opposite City Hotel). The restaurant has been in continuous operation for the past 50 years with the same staff and menu and the same group of regular patrons who swear by its offerings of fast food, Continental, Chinese and Japanese cuisine. Located in one of the oldest buildings in Lazimpat, the white doors and windows of the small eatery are easily missed unless one knows of the restaurant inside or unless someone has recommended it. Inside, the seating arrangement is homely and cozy. The customers get to choose from a fairly priced menu and be served with a smile by “Chyangba dai”, a sexagenarian waiter who has been with the restau­rant since its starting days.

THE MENU

Chef’s Special:

- Syouga Yako

- Grilled Pork Chop

- Cream Caramel

Opening hours

8 am - 9 pm

Location

Lazimpat, Ktm

Cards

Not Accepted

Meal for 2:

Rs 1,000

Reservations:

01-4415327