Mississippi soon could become the only U.S. state without an abortion clinic as a new law takes effect this weekend. Critics say it would force women in one of the country's poorest states to drive hours to obtain a constitutionally protected procedure or carry unwanted pregnancies to term.

Top officials say limiting abortions is exactly what they have in mind.

The foreign minister is offering assurances that Germany protects religious traditions after a court ruled that circumcising young boys on religious grounds amounts to bodily harm even if parents consent.

Last week, a state court in Cologne ruled that the child's right to physical integrity trumps freedom of religion and parents' rights. The ruling was strongly criticized by the head of Germany's Central Council of Jews, Dieter Graumann, who urged Parliament to clarify the legal situation to protect religious freedom. Muslim leaders also expressed concern.

Government figures show that life expectancy in Brazil has risen more than 25 years since 1960.

The government's IBGE statistics agency says Friday that data compiled in the 2010 census shows that life expectancy for the average Brazilian went from 48 to 73.4 years between 1960 and 2010.

Government health experts said Thursday there are few reasons to continue using metal-on-metal hip implants, amid growing evidence that the devices can break down early and expose patients to dangerous metallic particles.

The Food and Drug Administration asked its 18-member panel to recommend guidelines for monitoring more than a half-million U.S. patients with metal hip replacements. The devices were originally marketed as a longer-lasting alternative to older ceramic and plastic models. But recent data from the U.K. and other foreign countries suggests they are more likely to deteriorate, exposing patients to higher levels of cobalt, chromium and other metals.

An experimental once-daily pill that combines four drugs to fight HIV is as safe and effective as commonly-prescribed treatments against the AIDS virus, researchers reported in The Lancet Friday.

Doctors tested the new drug, called Quad, for the third and final phase in which new pharmaceutical products are vetted for safety and effectiveness.

Groups supporting people with Down's syndrome on Thursday called on the European Court of Human Rights not to recognize the right to tests that would detect the condition before birth.

The Strasbourg-based court must "recognize the human condition and protect the right to life of people with Down's syndrome and those handicapped", said the 30 associations from 16 countries.

After Wang Lan delivered, she brought home a baby girl and her placenta, which she plans to eat in a soup -- adopting an age-old practice in Chinese traditional medicine.

The health-giving qualities of placenta are currently creating a buzz in Western countries, where some believe it can help ward off postnatal depression, improve breast milk supply and boost energy levels.

U.S. regulators on Wednesday approved the first drug to treat obesity in 13 years, a drug called lorcaserin, marketed as Belviq and made by Arena Pharmaceuticals.

The drug works to control the appetite through receptors in the brain and was approved as additional therapy for certain overweight and obese patients, combined with diet and exercise.

Minister of Public Works and Transportation Ghazi Aridi launched on Wednesday the last phase of a law banning smoking in public transportation vehicles, warning that violators will face a LL135,000 fine.

Lebanese Parliament adopted a draft law in August 2011 to "limit smoking and regulate the manufacture, packaging, and advertising of tobacco products in Lebanon". The law became effective in public institutions and public places September 2011 and will be applied in restaurants and cafes by September 2012.

Some 27 million people worldwide are problem drug users, with almost one percent every year dying from narcotics abuse, while cannabis remains the most popular drug, a U.N. report showed Tuesday.

"Heroin, cocaine and other drugs continue to kill around 200,000 people a year, shattering families and bringing misery to thousands of other people, insecurity and the spread of HIV," director Yury Fedotov said as he presented the 2012 World Drug Report of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).