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☆ Cocaine use has risen across Europe, study shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LISBON, March 22 (Reuters) - Cocaine use has increased across Europe, an EU-wide wastewater study showed on Wednesday, with the highest levels of residues found in Belgium, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands. The study, the largest to date by the Lisbon-based European drugs monitoring agency EMCDDA, analysed daily wastewater in the catchment areas of treatment plants serving some 54 million people in 104 European cities. More than half of the 66 European cities with data for 2021 and 2022 recorded increases in cocaine residues. Ketamine was included for the first time in the 2022 analysis due to "signs of increased availability of ketamine in Europe". The highest amount of residues were found in wastewater in cities in Denmark, Italy, Portugal and Spain.

☆ Vaccine-derived poliovirus detected in Burundi, Congo
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JOHANNESBURG/LONDON, March 17 (Reuters) - Health officials in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have detected cases of vaccine-derived poliovirus, the World Health Organization and Global Polio Eradication Initiative said. Five other samples from environmental surveillance of waste water confirmed the presence of circulating poliovirus type 2 in Burundi, the WHO added in a statement. Circulating poliovirus type 2 is different to wild poliovirus, with infections occurring when a weakened strain of poliovirus contained in the oral polio vaccine circulates among under-immunized populations for long periods. The detections are significant as they are the first linked with the use of a new vaccine, the novel oral poliomyelitis vaccine type 2 (nOPV2), which was developed specifically to reduce this risk. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) said in a statement that circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 was found in six children in the DRC's eastern Tanganyika and South Kivu provinces.

☆ China's pig farms battle new surge in African swine fever
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Dominique Patton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"Data from swine fever virus testing companies show that the number of positive detections exploded after the new year holiday. "We guess that the current swine fever infection area in northern production areas may be reaching 50%," it added. We feel it hasn't ended yet, that's the problem," he said, declining to be identified due to the sensitivity of disease outbreaks in China. HARD TO ASSESSChinese farms typically do not report disease outbreaks to the government, making it challenging to get an accurate picture of the extent of the infections. Though not as serious as in 2019, the disease could reduce production by more than 10%, Huachuang analyst Xiao Lin told Reuters.

☆ 'Phishing-as-a-service' kits are driving an uptick in theft: What you can learn from one business owner's story
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Dawn Giel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

While Christmas shopping for his young daughter, he received a call from a person claiming to be from the Chase fraud department and asking to verify a suspicious transaction. Unfortunately, for victim of these schemes, the bank isn't always required to repay the stolen funds. CNBC has reviewed Mullenaux's cellular records, bank account information, as well as images of the text message and link he was sent. He immediately drove to his local Chase bank branch where he was told he had likely been the victim of fraud. Legally, banks do not have to reimburse stolen funds when a customer is tricked into sending money to a cybercriminal.

☆ Here's why egg prices surged in 2022. Those elevated costs could last into the first quarter of 2023, expert says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

D3sign | Moment | Getty ImagesThe surge in egg prices has stood out in a year when Americans saw their bills balloon across the grocery store. Bird flu is largely to blame for rising egg pricesAbout 40 million egg-laying hens — "layers," in industry shorthand — have died this year due to avian flu, Moscogiuri said. Egg prices jumped 2.3% just in the month of November, and by 10.1% in October, according to the CPI. watch nowElevated egg prices "could last into the first quarter of 2023," Lapp said. It's also due to record egg prices somewhat dampening demand, he said.

☆ Why you've been getting so much Gmail spam about Yeti coolers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Over the past few months, Americans have been receiving emails promising them a free Yeti backpack cooler from Dick's Sporting Goods — a $325 value. These emails have gotten a lot of attention because they are sometimes able to evade sophisticated spam filters, like those built into Google 's Gmail, but they are spam emails. The spam campaign is an example of how scammers are getting increasingly sophisticated at targeting consumers to give up their private information, said Or Katz, principal security researcher at Akamai , which recently published a look into how the recent spam campaign works. A Google representative called the phishing campaign "widespread" and "particularly aggressive." The spam campaign hitting user inboxes is another reminder that online fraud is a major industry, driven by money, that continues to evolve.

☆ Videos captured a fireball flashing across the Toronto skyline before it struck Earth near Niagara Falls
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The object's impact on Earth was predicted, marking the sixth time in history that has occurred. The European Space Agency said such detection technology for small objects is improving. The fireball was captured in several videos, including one that showed it appearing to pass by the city's CN Tower. The European Space Agency said the event marked only the sixth time in history the impact of a space object with Earth was successfully predicted. Mike Hankey of the American Meteor Society told The New York Times its possible meteorites — debris from a space object — from Saturday's event could be discovered near Niagara Falls.

☆ Why egg prices are surging — but chicken prices are falling: It's an 'act of God' event, says trade strategist
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Yet chicken prices fell in October. It may seem counterintuitive that egg and chicken prices moved in opposite directions. The last bout was in 2015, when a record 50.5 million birds were impacted, the CDC said. Elevated egg prices "could last into the first quarter of 2023," Lapp said. 'Broilers' are less affected by flu than 'layers'Meanwhile, chicken prices retreated in October, falling by 1.3% during the month.

☆ Lacework: 2022 Top Startups for the Enterprise
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Cnbc.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Lacework is a cybersecurity company that relies on a patented form of machine learning built specifically within the cloud to protect an organization from the inside out. This approach provides insights internally to automatically learn patterns, flag deviations and provide alerts at the right time, without wasted time investigating false positives. Lacework prides itself on a comprehensive cybersecurity service that can be accessed from a single platform across Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and other cloud platforms, and it has a recent integration with Snowflake. Its investors include Altimeter Capital, Tiger Global Management, Morgan Stanley's Counterpoint Global, Franklin Templeton, General Catalyst and Snowflake's venture arm. The 2022 Top Startups for the Enterprise list is powered and inspired by the members of CNBC's Technology Executive Council (TEC).

☆ Weapons in Ukraine aren't flooding Europe's black markets, but that could change
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

The volume of weapons sent to and in Ukraine has raised concern that some could end up on the black market. The United Kingdom has sent Ukraine more than 4,200 such weapons since Russia invaded. Similarly, the UK has sent more than 5,000 point-and-shoot NLAW anti-tank missiles to Ukraine, weapons that can readily target and destroy most moving vehicles. However, "At the moment," he said, "there is no evidence of increased arms trafficking from Ukraine to other countries." In September, the Moldovan Ministry of Internal Affairs announced the creation of a new unit dedicated to combating illicit arms trafficking.

☆ CDC is discussing using oral polio vaccine for first time in 20 years to stop New York outbreak
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

"There will be lots of thought and discussion about the reintroduction of an oral polio vaccine into the United States," she said. The oral polio vaccine is much more effective at stopping transmission of the virus and is normally used to quash outbreaks. The novel oral polio vaccine was developed to stop poliovirus outbreaks caused by the less stable older version of the vaccine, according to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Any decision to use the novel oral polio vaccine would require either an approval or emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration. The World Health Organization recommends that countries using the inactivated vaccine, such as the U.S., consider deploying the novel oral polio vaccine if the inactivated shots don't stop the outbreak.

☆ Fact Check-Guillain-Barré syndrome, Bell’s palsy, acute flaccid myelitis and transverse myelitis are not polio ‘renamed’
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

Guillain-Barré syndrome, Bell’s palsy, acute flaccid myelitis and transverse myelitis are not polio “renamed”, despite claims posted online. It was NEVER eradicated, it's been renamed several times, Guillian Barre, Bells Palsy, Acute Flaccid Myelitis, Transverse Myelitis... Any neurological disorder has been renamed polio.”A similar post can be found here. Though primarily seen following an acute infection, GBS can also be a rare side effect of vaccination (here). Four medical syndromes with symptoms that can include muscle weakness and paralysis are not “polio renamed”, as claimed on social media. Poliovirus infection, while extremely rare, can lead to some of these syndromes, but the syndromes themselves also have other, more common causes and distinct symptoms.

☆ WHO: Global leaders commit $2.6 bln to end polio
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Nancy Lapid | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BERLIN, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Global leaders committed $2.6 billion in funding at the World Health Summit on Thursday to end polio, the World Health Organization said. The funding will support global efforts to overcome the final hurdles to polio eradication, vaccinate 370 million children annually over the next five years and continue disease surveillance across 50 countries, the organisation said. "The new detections of polio this year in previously polio-free countries are a stark reminder that if we do not deliver our goal of ending polio everywhere, it may resurge globally,” said WHO Director General Tedros Ghebreyesus in a statement. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Kirsti Knolle; editing by Matthias WilliamsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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