Thursday, March 28, 2024

BIG Wrap

Lebanese banks to remain shut indefinitely amid economic crises

Lebanese banks will remain shut "indefinitely" due to a lack of security protection by authorities, say their association. The announcement by the Association of Lebanese Banks follows a string of raids by customers demanding access to frozen savings last week, the BBC reports. It said their employees faced risks that had not been mitigated. A woman armed with a toy gun reportedly staged a hold-up at a bank on Wednesday to pay for family medical bills. There have...

More than 80% of maternal deaths in U.S. are preventable – CDC study

By Nada Hassanein Medical Xpress A staggering number of maternal deaths in the United States were found to be preventable, according to a federal analysis of maternal death data released Monday. More than 80%, or roughly 4 in 5 maternal deaths in a two-year period, were due to preventable causes, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report found. The analysis of 2017 to 2019 pregnancy-related deaths, which disproportionately occur among women of colour including Black and Indigenous, are...

Molly Russell inquest to put big tech under the microscope

Almost five years after Molly Russell took her life, the inquest into her death is due to begin. Molly, 14, killed herself in 2017 after viewing material about self-harm, suicide and depression, on social media sites such as Instagram and Pinterest. Her father Ian, a campaigner for online safety, hopes it is a turning point. "I hope that we will learn lessons and that it will help produce the change that's needed to keep people safe, to...

Hurricane Fiona knocks out Puerto Rico power

Parts of Puerto Rico remained without power on Monday after Hurricane Fiona took out the entire electricity supply. The storm left behind landslides and widespread flooding as it headed west to the Dominican Republic, with conditions too dangerous to make immediate repairs, the BBC reports. Heavy rain is expected to continue to batter Puerto Rico. President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency for the U.S. island, allowing authorities to provide disaster relief. As well as a complete...

Nearly 10% of U.S. individuals age 12 and older report having depression

Increases in depression without commensurate increases in treatment are widespread, reports a study conducted at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and City University of New York. In 2020, past 12‒month depression was prevalent among nearly 1 in 10 Americans and almost 1 in 5 adolescents and young adults. The findings will be published online in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Data were drawn from the 2015−2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health,...

Excess weight (not high blood sugar) associated with increased risk of COVID-19 infection and long COVID

High body mass index (BMI), rather than high blood sugar levels, are associated with excess risks of COVID-19 infection and long COVID, according to a meta-analysis of more than 30,000 U.K. adults from nine large prospective cohort studies. The findings by Dr. Anika Knuppel from the MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing, University College London, U.K., and colleagues are being presented at this year's European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) annual meeting...

Hacker couple deletes hotel chain data for kicks

Hackers have told the BBC they carried out a destructive cyber-attack against Holiday Inn owner Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) "for fun." Describing themselves as a couple from Vietnam, they say they first tried a ransomware attack, then deleted large amounts of data when they were foiled. They accessed the FTSE 100 firm's databases thanks to the easily found and weak password "Qwerty1234". One expert says the case highlights the vindictive side of criminal hackers. U.K.-based IHG operates 6,000...

Ethereum blockchain completes ‘monumental’ overhaul

Leading cryptocurrency figures hailed on Thursday the completion of one of the biggest software upgrades the sector has ever attempted – an overhaul of the Ethereum blockchain aimed at reducing its massive energy consumption. Developers had spent years working on an energy-efficient version of Ethereum, a digital ledger that underpins tens of billions of dollars worth of cryptocurrencies, digital tokens (NFTs), games, and apps, writes Joseph Boyle of Tech Xplore. Ethereum is the second most important blockchain...

Putin cites China’s concern about Ukraine but says Russia ‘will of course explain our position’

Vladimir Putin has acknowledged China's "concern" over Ukraine, in his first face-to-face talks with President Xi Jinping since the Russian invasion. But speaking in Uzbekistan, Putin also thanked China for its "balanced position," and said U.S. "attempts to create a unipolar world" would fail, the BBC reports. Xi said China was willing to work together with Russia as "great powers." China has not endorsed Russia's invasion but has grown trade and other ties with Moscow since it...

Arrest warrant issued in South Korea for ‘cryptocrash’ boss

A South Korean court has issued an arrest warrant for Do Kwon, who co-founded the company behind the Terra Luna and TerraUSD cryptocurrencies. Their spectacular collapse earlier this year spooked investors and saw the values of major tokens plummet. Prosecutors claim that Terraform Labs, which is registered in Singapore, had violated capital market rules. Terra Luna lost 99% of its value in May, and this was aggravated by a fall of its sister token, TerraUSD. Kwon did not...