Saturday, March 14

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Younger people increasingly prescribed antibiotics without proper assessment
Health

Younger people increasingly prescribed antibiotics without proper assessment

Younger people are being increasingly prescribed antibiotics without proper assessment of complication risk, finds a study, warning that this may potentially lead to resistance.  The study, led by epidemiologists at the University of Manchester, UK, showed that doctors are prescribing antibiotics for tens of thousands of patients with infections, with little or no consideration of prognosis and the risk of the infection worsening. The study based on an analysis of 15.7 million patient records, revealed that the most elderly patients in the sample were 31 per cent less likely than the youngest patients to receive an antibiotic for upper respiratory infections. This means “many younger people are being prescribed antibiotics, even though they are often fit enough to recover without them, ...
South Korea’s Yoon removed as president over martial law turmoil – National
Politics

South Korea’s Yoon removed as president over martial law turmoil – National

South Korea’s Constitutional Court unanimously removed Yoon Suk Yeol from office Friday, ending his tumultuous presidency and setting up a new election, four months after he threw the nation into turmoil with an ill-fated declaration of martial law. The verdict capped a dramatic fall for Yoon, a former star prosecutor who became president in 2022, just a year after he entered politics.In a nationally televised hearing, the court’s acting chief Moon Hyung-bae said the eight-member bench found Yoon’s actions were unconstitutional and had a grave impact.“By declaring martial law in breach of the constitution and other laws, the defendant brought back the history of abusing state emergency decrees, shocked the people and caused confusion in the society, economy, politics, diplomacy and all oth...
China hits back at U.S. with 34% tariff on all products – National
Politics

China hits back at U.S. with 34% tariff on all products – National

China announced Friday that it will impose a 34 per cent tariff on imports of all U.S. products beginning April 10, part of a flurry of retaliatory measures following U.S. President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” slate of double-digit tariffs. The new tariff matches the rate of the U.S. “reciprocal” tariff of 34 per cent on Chinese exports Trump ordered this week.The Commerce Ministry in Beijing also said in a notice that it will impose more export controls on rare earths, which are materials used in high-tech products such as computer chips and electric vehicle batteries.Included in the list of minerals subject to controls was samarium and its compounds, which are used in aerospace manufacturing and the defense sector. Another element called gadolinium is used in MRI scans. ...
Amol Parashar: ‘I have been wanting to hold a gun and shout expletives’
Entertainment, Movies

Amol Parashar: ‘I have been wanting to hold a gun and shout expletives’

Amol Parashar was harbouring a wish for long. He wanted to wield a gun in front of the camera. Oddly, directors could not imagine the actor, who has shown his prowess in comedy with Tripling, Cash (2021) and Sweet Dreams, in such roles—until now. Parashar will soon be seen in an inheritance drama, which co-stars Nimrat Kaur and is directed by Sahir Raza, who previously helmed Illegal—Justice Out of Order. Naturally, the actor is excited to portray an intense role after starring in a slew of feel-good stories. “It is an inheritance drama, a genre I haven’t done yet. I have been wanting to hold a gun, shout some expletives, kill someone or get killed. I was not getting any of those roles for some reason, until this,” he says of the yet-untitled series. The show, shot over three months, was ...
‘Fighting for my life’: Teddi Mellencamp shares devastating cancer update – National
Entertainment, Movies

‘Fighting for my life’: Teddi Mellencamp shares devastating cancer update – National

Teddi Mellencamp, daughter of singer-songwriter John Mellencamp, has revealed that her skin cancer has reached Stage 4 after doctors found four new tumours on her lungs and brain. “I’m fighting for my life,” Mellencamp told Us Weekly in an interview published on April 2. “But also for my family’s life and all the people I love.”In February, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum revealed she had been diagnosed with multiple brain tumours. Mellencamp said she underwent brain surgery to remove some masses and began radiation and immunotherapy to shrink other tumours.“I find out for sure exactly where we stand on June 1,” the 43-year-old reality star told the outlet. “If you need to do another round, if there’s any other surgery, if it’s the end. It’s a hard pill to swallow.” Story...
How to Play Original Switch Games on the Switch 2
Life Style

How to Play Original Switch Games on the Switch 2

Around November of last year, when readers were certainly not paying attention to anything else, Nintendo briefly shared that the Nintendo Switch 2 would be backwards compatible with games for the original Nintendo Switch. Fast forward to this year, and it turns out that’s not so clear cut. According to Nintendo, the Switch 2 can play the vast majority of Nintendo Switch 1 games, but there are some caveats to keep in mind.The Switch 2 uses emulation to play Switch 1 gamesAs Nintendo posted to its site yesterday and confirmed in a developer roundtable I attended, the Switch 2 does not have any Switch 1 hardware inside. This means that, unlike the Nintendo DS did with the Game Boy Advance, it can’t play Switch games “natively,” meaning it’s not able to run them exactly as they might work on ...
Kolkata-born Jay Bhattacharya takes office as head of US medical research body
Health

Kolkata-born Jay Bhattacharya takes office as head of US medical research body

Jayanta `Jay` Bhattacharya on Tuesday took over as the 18th Director of the US National Institutes of Health, which is the country’s premier medical research agency.  Dr Bhattacharya is one of the senior-most Indian-Americans in the Donald Trump administration. He was nominated to the position in November and was confirmed by the US Senate on March 25. The top Indian-American in this administration is Second Lady Usha Vance. He will "play an instrumental role in shaping the agency’s activities and outlook and ensuring they align with the President’s Make America Healthy Again agenda", the NIH said. "Under Dr Bhattacharya’s leadership, NIH will restore its commitment to gold-standard science," Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, said. "I`m excited to work with Dr. ...
Ford says closed Ontario Stellantis plant must get ‘up and running’ soon
Politics

Ford says closed Ontario Stellantis plant must get ‘up and running’ soon

Premier Doug Ford says a major auto assembly plant in western Ontario must quickly reopen after it announced a two-week shutdown in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariffs. Stellantis confirmed it would introduce a temporary shutdown of its auto assembly plant in Windsor, Ont., between April 7 and April 21 after Trump put 25 per cent tariffs on non-U.S. vehicles.The Windsor Assembly Plant produces the Chrysler Pacifica, Chrysler Grand Caravan, Chrysler Voyager and Dodge Charger Daytona.Ford said he remained hopeful the shutdown would only last the scheduled two weeks and not lead to job losses.“I hope it doesn’t come to retraining because hopefully this plant’s going to reopen — it’s a temporary shutdown,” he said. “I’ve mentioned my concerns to the CEO of Stellantis and h...
These are the 4 Conservative candidates dropped in 2 days
Politics

These are the 4 Conservative candidates dropped in 2 days

With less than two weeks into the federal election campaign, the Conservative Party of Canada has already ousted four candidates from the race. Three candidates in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia were removed on Tuesday, while a fourth was booted late Wednesday.Conservative party Leader Pierre Poilievre was asked about the removals on Thursday, and said that their “vetting process is stronger than all the other parties.”“That’s why we have a zero tolerance for anyone who acts unacceptably,” he said during a campaign stop in Kingston, Ont.The removal of candidates comes as some veteran Tory campaigners and strategists have said that the Conservative campaign needs a reset.Here is what we know so far about the ousted candidates and the reasons behind their dismissal. Story conti...
John Oliver sued by health-care exec for ‘out of context’ toilet hygiene segment – National
Entertainment, Movies

John Oliver sued by health-care exec for ‘out of context’ toilet hygiene segment – National

A health-care executive has slapped Last Week Tonight host John Oliver with a lawsuit, alleging the comedian-turned-talk-show-host defamed him in a 2024 episode by twisting his words and making “false accusations.” The episode in question, which aired in April of last year, linked Dr. Brian Morley, a hospital administrator and former medical director for AmeriHealth Caritas in Iowa, to a drastic decrease in Medicaid services and accused him of thinking “it’s OK if people have s–t on them for days.”The complaint, filed late last week in the New York Southern District Court, claims that Oliver and his team “entirely snipped out of context and manipulated two sentences of Morley’s testimony” during an administrative proceeding so that they could “accomplish their defamation,” reports Entertai...