Features

SAN FRANCISCO — WhatsApp on Tuesday encouraged its users to upgrade the app to plug a security breach that allowed sophisticated attackers to sneak spyware into phones, in the latest trouble for its parent Facebook.

The vulnerability — first reported by The Financial Times (FT), and fixed in the latest WhatsApp update — allowed hackers to insert malicious software on phones by calling the target using the app, which is used by 1.5 billion people around the world.

“WhatsApp encourages people to upgrade to the latest version of our app, as well as keep their mobile operating system up to date, to protect against potential targeted exploits designed to compromise information stored on mobile devices,” a spokesperson said in a statement to AFP.

The FT cited a spyware dealer as saying the tool was developed by a shadowy Israel-based firm called the NSO Group, which has been accused of helping governments from the Middle East to Mexico snoop on activists and journalists.

And security researchers said the malicious code bore similarities to other tech developed by the firm, according to The New York Times.

The latest exploit — which impacts Android devices and Apple’s iPhones, among others — was discovered earlier this month and WhatsApp scrambled to fix it, rolling out an update in less than 10 days.

The firm did not comment on the number of users affected or who targeted them, and said it had reported the matter to US authorities.

It also informed authorities in Ireland about the “serious security vulnerability”, according to a statement by the country’s Data Protection Commission (DPC).

“The DPC is actively engaging with WhatsApp Ireland to determine if and to what extent any WhatsApp EU user data has been affected,” it said.

It echoed WhatsApp in encouraging users to update the app, as “the possibility remains that EU users were affected”.

The breach is the latest in a series of issues troubling WhatsApp’s parent Facebook, which has faced intense criticism for allowing its users’ data to be harvested by research companies and over its slow response to Russia using the platform as a means to spread disinformation during the 2016 US election campaign.

Highly invasive software

The WhatsApp spyware is sophisticated and “would be available to only advanced and highly motivated actors”, the company said, adding that a “select number of users were targeted”.

“This attack has all the hallmarks of a private company that works with a number of governments around the world” according to initial investigations, it added, but did not name the firm.

WhatsApp has briefed human rights organisations on the matter, but did not identify them.

The Citizen Lab, a research group at the University of Toronto, said in a Tweet it believed an attacker tried to target a human rights lawyer as recently as Sunday using this flaw, but was blocked by WhatsApp.

The NSO Group came to prominence in 2016 when researchers accused it of helping spy on an activist in the United Arab Emirates. Its best-known product is Pegasus, a highly invasive tool that can reportedly switch on a target’s phone camera and microphone, and access data on it.

The firm said Tuesday that it only licenses its software to governments for “fighting crime and terror”.

The NSO Group “does not operate the system, and after a rigorous licensing and vetting process, intelligence and law enforcement determine how to use the technology to support their public safety missions”, it said in a statement to AFP.

“We investigate any credible allegations of misuse and if necessary, we take action, including shutting down the system.”

AMMAN — Hollywood heavyweight Will Smith said on Monday his son Jaden inspired him to take the role of the genie in a remake of Disney classic Aladdin, out later this month.

Smith said he had been reading scripts and struggling to decide which role to accept.

“I had three or four movies that I was considering and I was having a hard time making a decision,” he said at a news conference in Jordan, where parts of the film were shot.

His son Jaden, Smith’s co-star in the 2006 film “The Pursuit of Happyness”, had walked into the room and asked about the films.

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star pitched him each of the plotlines and asked for his opinion.

“He looked down at the screenplays and grabbed the other ones and just threw them on the floor and said: ‘duh, the genie? You have the chance to play the genie?’ He was blown away,” Smith said.

The film’s plot is drawn from a centuries-old Middle Eastern folk tale that features in the Arabian Nights and was retold in a 1992 Disney cartoon.

It is the story of a street urchin who finds a magic lantern containing a genie and falls in love with a rebellious princess, Jasmine.

Directed by Guy Ritchie, the 2019 remake stars English actress Naomi Scott as Jasmine and Canadian-Egyptian Mena Massoud as Aladdin.

They held a press conference Monday hosted by Jordan’s Royal Film Commission to mark the Middle East premiere of the film.

Some scenes were shot in 2017 in Wadi Rum, a desert valley in south Jordan that also featured in the 1962 classic Lawrence of Arabia.

“There is such a peace out in the middle of the desert,” Massoud said. “There’s nothing like it.”

By using the right words and repeating the phrases, adults can help young kids get over picky eating behaviours and eat healthier foods, according to a new study. 

Saying: “Lentils will help you run faster,” for instance, encourages preschoolers to understand the benefits and pick the foods they want, the study authors write in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behaviour. 

“Previous studies have shown that adults struggle with how to talk to young children about food,” said lead study author Jane Lanigan of Washington State University in Vancouver. 

Most children between four and eight years old do not meet recommended guidelines for vegetables, grains and fatty acids and they tend to eat too many empty calories. 

“Conversations are sometimes inaccurate or not helpful or even harmful in terms of helping a child learn to eat healthfully,” she told Reuters Health by e-mail. 

Lanigan and colleagues worked with 87 preschoolers from two early childhood education centres, testing whether repeat exposure and the correct phrasing would help preschoolers try four foods that are generally less accepted by little kids: tomatoes, bell peppers, lentils and quinoa. 

The researchers also surveyed parents about their child’s eating history, the meal environment at home and nutrition knowledge, as well as parental income and education. 

In the exposure tests, the study team assessed whether the children liked the foods, which were presented separately in small plastic containers. The tomatoes and green peppers were raw and chopped into bite-sized pieces. The quinoa and lentils were cooked with no added spices. Kids who refused to sample a food were encouraged to smell, touch or lick it and told they could try it and spit it out if they wanted too. 

Then, for the next six weeks, researchers ran a tasting station in the classroom two days a week and offered one food to taste. On the second day, a researcher would include food-specific phrases in the conversation two times during the tasting, such as “Lentils will help you run fast and jump high” or “Fruits and vegetables keep you from getting sick”. 

Lanigan’s team found that after the six-week experiment, children were more willing to try foods, particularly the kids whose parents had higher education levels. The children also rated the foods one point higher on a five-point scale compared to their ratings at the start of the study. 

Importantly, at home one month after the experiment ended, parents reported that children consumed twice as much of the foods introduced in the experiment as they had before. 

“Parents asked for our ‘recipe’ because they couldn’t believe their child would eat lentils or quinoa,” Lanigan said. “The funny part is we prepared the foods with no added spices or flavours to maintain consistency. There are much more appealing recipes.” 

Repetition gave the children multiple experiences to become familiar with the food and explore it without the stress or pressure of being expected to eat the food, the study authors note in their report. This may lead to an increased willingness to try, like and eat the food. At home, meal-time conversations could be a way to encourage food exploration and develop positive eating behaviours, they add. 

 “We all struggle to eat healthily given our current food environment, and developing ways to get children to try healthy foods that may not be as immediately appealing as a sugary treat is important to encourage children to develop healthy eating habits early,” said Alison Miller of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, who was not involved in the study. 

“I think it’s likely helpful for parents to talk about the benefits of healthy food with their children in a child-friendly way, and also to model it,” she said in an e-mail. “But also, all children have a different ‘temperament’ when it comes to eating, so don’t get too worried about your child being a picky eater unless they’re not growing.” 

High cholesterol is associated with an increased risk of developing glaucoma, but a new study suggests taking statins to lower cholesterol helps to reduce this risk. 

Glaucoma is a group of eye conditions that can damage the optic nerve, typically because pressure builds up inside the eye. The current study focused on the most common form, known as open-angle glaucoma, which starts with gradual loss of peripheral vision. 

Researchers followed more than 136,000 healthy adults for over a decade, starting when they were 40 years old and had no signs of glaucoma. By the end of the study, 886 glaucoma cases were diagnosed. 

People with any history of high cholesterol were 17 per cent more likely to develop glaucoma, researchers report in JAMA Ophthalmology. And every 20 milligrammes per decilitre of blood increase in total cholesterol was tied to a 7 per cent increase in glaucoma risk. 

In contrast, any statin use was associated with a 15 per cent lower risk of glaucoma overall, the study found. And people who took statins for five or more years were 21 per cent less likely to develop glaucoma than those who had never used the drugs. 

“The potential mechanisms by which statins may lower the risk of primary open-angle glaucoma is by lowering intraocular pressure, which is a glaucoma risk factor; by helping to maintain adequate blood flow to the optic nerve and by strengthening neuroprotective mechanisms,” said lead study author Jae Hee Kang of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston. 

“The relation with high cholesterol is not well understood but may be related to impaired blood flow to the optic nerve or to the exacerbation of neurodegenerative processes with aging,” Kang said by e-mail. 

Statins are typically prescribed to people with high cholesterol or a high risk for heart attacks or strokes. Side effects can include muscle pain, liver damage, upset stomach, elevated blood sugar and memory problems. 

To explore the connection between statins and glaucoma, researchers examined data from three long-term studies of US nurses and health professionals. All participants had regular eye exams and were periodically assessed for statin use or diagnosis of high cholesterol. 

Among people who never used statins, 34 to 56 per cent had high cholesterol. 

High cholesterol was even more common among statin users, affecting 84 to 94 per cent of people on the pills for up to two years and 96 to 99 per cent of patients on statins for at least five years. 

The effect of statins on glaucoma risk was most pronounced in older participants. People over 65 who used statins for at least five years were 30 per cent less likely to develop glaucoma than individuals who never used these drugs, while people under 65 saw no risk reduction. 

One limitation of the study is that researchers relied on participants to accurately recall and report any statin use or diagnosis of high cholesterol. Results from a study of predominantly white health professionals also may not reflect what would happen in other groups of people. 

Even so, the results highlight the need for further research to explore whether statins might one day be prescribed to prevent glaucoma, which is not currently an approved use of these pills, said the co-author of an accompanying editorial, Dr Yao Liu of the University of Wisconsin-Madison 

“This study is important because glaucoma is a serious eye condition that can cause permanent vision loss” and for which there’s no cure, Liu said by email. 

 “The only way we currently know how to prevent glaucoma damage is by lowering eye pressure [using medications, laser or surgery], but some patients continue to lose vision despite lowering their eye pressure,” Liu said. “New treatments to prevent glaucoma are needed to prevent vision loss and preserve patients’ quality of life.”

While complicated, sensitive hybrids and range-limited electric vehicles with long charge times have been gaining considerable traction in Jordan in recent years, there is, however, a cogent case to be made for the mid-size double cabin four-wheel-drive turbo-diesel pick-up truck being particularly well-suited for local conditions.

A dual use personal and work form of transport trading on rugged durability and ability, generous space, useful mod-cons and equipment, reasonable comfort, fuel efficiency and off-road prowess, the mid-size pick-up’s convenience and value make it a compelling daily drive family vehicle proposition.

Assertive yet understated

Somewhat of a newcomer to the global mid-size pick-up market and even more recently to Jordan, the Foton Tunland first launched in 2011 and is well-positioned and expected to be competitively priced to make inroads into a segment traditionally dominated by Japanese manufacturers. Driven over 700km in Tunland S 4x4 double cabin guise on Jordanian roads and trails including some gruelling weather, surface and elevation conditions, the Chinese manufacturer’s pick-up proved itself to be much on par with mostly Japanese rivals in terms of driving dynamic, practicality, equipment comfort and efficiency.

Aesthetically assertive yet understated, with diamond-like headlights and big but unexaggerated chrome grille and foglamp housings, the Tunland 4x4’s equal width to height ratio, chunky tyres and subtle wheelarch blisters provide a grounded road presence and sportier profile that reduces height between the wheelarch top and bonnet line. A sloped bonnet and fascia, and pyramid-like rear lights also accentuate its confident stance, while concave cargo bed surfacing keep its flanks visually interesting. Compared with competitors with recently adopted higher and chunkier bonnets, the Tunland’s bonnet angle and moderate A-pillar thickness provide terrific in-segment front and side visibility.

Low-rev response

Established in 1996 and based in Beijing, Foton’s line of commercial vehicles and SUVs benefit from cooperation with several global manufacturers including Cummins engine manufacturer and Daimler AG, not to mention research and development centres in Japan and Germany. In this vein, the Tunland is offered with a choice of 2.5- and 2.8-litre Isuzu-sourced turbo-diesel four-cylinder engines, a more powerful Cummins-sourced engine, and German Getrag 5-speed manual gearbox. Fitted with the more 2.8-litre Isuzu engine, the driven Tunland S 4x4 produces 114BHP at 3,600rpm and 206lb/ft at 2,300rpm, and is capable of a 150km/h maximum.

Low-revving like most turbo-diesels, the Tunland does its best work between its peak torque and power point and redlines at 4,000rpm, but there is little point in revving beyond 3,600rpm.

However, its small turbocharger spools up quickly to make its comparatively responsive at low rpm and with much less low-end turbo lag than expected. Capable of carrying its 1,930kg mass to a 150km/h maximum, the Tunland is, however, at its best between 60-120km/h when it is relaxed and riding a generous mid-range sweet spot, while highway on the move acceleration is adequately confident and versatile.

Confident off-roader

Expected to complete the 0-100km/h benchmark time in around 12-seconds, the Tunland is also capable of confidently climbing 30 per cent slopes, but it can feel slightly stressed but willing on especially steep and slow hot weather hill climbs. That said, working the Tunland’s accurate and slickly mechanical feeling gear lever and intuitively user-friendly clutch pedal is a joy when driving through inclines, along winding routes or in traffic. Driving the rear wheels in normal circumstances, the Tunland’s four-wheel-drive is engaged quickly and smoothly at standstill through push-button controls for off-road driving.

Easily dispatching most trails and moderate off-road situations in rear-drive and with four-wheel-drive for more difficult and particularly loose surfaces, the Tunland’s low ratio four-wheel-drive only really needs to be engaged for the most extreme conditions where sustained low speed at high power is required. A confident and adept off-road machine, the Tunland 4x4 features generous 200mm ground clearance and 26 degree approach and 20 degree departure angle to clear deep ruts and crests. Meanwhile, its good visibility and accurate steering allow one to easily place it through narrow off-road trails, roads and parking garages alike.

Rugged and balanced

Using tough body-on-chassis construction with rugged leaf spring and live axle rear suspension to deal with its huge 2,730kg gross weigh capacity, the Tunland meanwhile easily dispatches rough and uneven trails, let alone being able to dispatch Amman’s numerous potholes and bumps in its stride, and with no fear of damage. Its 245/70R16 tyres are meanwhile a very good compromise for off-road driving, grip, impact absorption and steering feel. The Tunland’s independent double wishbone coil spring front, however, provides good wheel travel and angles for off-road and smooth, reassuring on-road driving.

Combined with accurate rack and pinion with intuitive feel, the Tunland turns into corners with reassuring grip, stability and agility as it copes with road elevations and textures. Balanced throughout with decent body lean control for its segment, the rear suspension is, however, slightly bouncy at the rear over rough roads as are all pick-ups in this segment. Willing to be hustled along at a fairly brisk pace through winding switchbacks, the Tunland’s steering requires more turning lock input than many cars, but is well-weighted and nuanced, and in tight confines provides a tight and very usefully manoeuvrable turning circle.

Space and efficiency

Stable and reassuring on highway, the Tunland is a confident and comfortable long distance cruiser, with ride quality smoothening at speed. With a commanding view inside, its driving position is particularly good, and is alert, spacious, ergonomic, comfortable, and with easy reach of controls, even without steering reach adjustability or adjustable lumbar support. Spacious front and rear, the Tunland’s rear seat access, knee room and head room especially impressed and is favourable to many mid-size SUVs and saloons. Meanwhile rear-parking sensors proved useful given how tricky it is judging rear distances in pick-ups. 

As refined as most pick-ups the Tunland well damps vibrations, while some diesel clatter noise is not especially intrusive or unexpected in this segment. Well laid out inside, it features plenty of hard tough surfaces, but which are nicely finished. Equipment includes two rear head rests, dual airbags, air conditioning, electric windows, remote central locking and
USB/CD player. The Tunland’s 8l/100km combined fuel efficiency and long driving range — anecdotally estimated at 800-900km — very much impressed, even through demanding test drive conditions. Meanwhile, a more powerful, capable and highly equipped Cummins diesel engine-powered version is expected in Amman soon.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 2.8-litre turbo-diesel, in-line 4-cylinders

Bore x stroke: 93 x 102mm

Compression ratio: 17.4:1

Gearbox: 5-speed manual, four-wheel-drive, low gear transfer

Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 114 (115.5) [85] @3,600rpm

Specific power: 41BHP/litre

Power-to-weight: 59BHP/tonne

Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 206.5 (280) @2,300rpm

Specific torque: 101Nm/litre

Torque-to-weight: 145Nm/tonne

Top speed: 150km/h

Fuel consumption, combined: 8-litres/100km

Fuel capacity: 76-litres

Length: 5,310mm

Width: 1,860mm

Height: 1,860mm

Wheelbase: 3,150mm

Tread, F/R: 1,600/1,580mm

Overhang, F/R: 925/1,280mm

Minimum ground clearance: 200mm

Approach angle: 26 degrees

Departure angle: 20 degrees

Gradeability: 30 degrees

Kerb weight: 1,930kg

Gross weight: 2,730kg

Suspension, F/R: Double wishbones, coilovers/leaf springs, live axle

Steering: Power-assisted rack & pinion

Brakes, F/R: Ventilated discs/drums

Tyres: 245/70R16

Here we go again as desperate dieters sending out distress signals in the most critical month of the year: It is swimsuit season!

I do not know about you, but I was supposed to drop three dress sizes by now, but the only thing that is dropped since last summer is everything else on my body as gravity insists on getting the upper hand. Unless you are living on a different planet where gravity is not an issue for you, then our only solace is that we are in this journey together! It does not mean we need to give up and let go. After all, that is for losers and if there is anything you can say about desperate dieters is this: we are not losers! If we were, we would not be here in the first place, would we? We would have lost the weight and gone on with our lives.

What we gain

There is a positive aspect to being a desperate dieter, and that is the fact that every time we gain and lose and gain again, we grow stronger and gain: 

• Confidence in knowing what works and what does not and what we are willing to give up and what we are not willing to sacrifice 

• Wisdom and gumption as we remain steadfast in never giving up on ourselves even when every diet has failed us, and every swimsuit has proven not to hold up under pressure

• Insight into who we are and what our cravings are saying about us

• Knowledge as we seek to understand the parts of our souls that have gone under-nourished as a result of starving them all these years while silencing our heart’s desires instead of feeding them with kindness and self-compassion

We judge ourselves in front of our mirrors and on top of our scales. We are our worst critics, and we stand idly by, watching silently as the negative self-talk goes on in our heads like a broken record-breaking our hearts. We often behave like our worst enemy instead of being our own best ally.

Embracing
who we are 

I am ending this maddening cycle now during swimsuit season! Let us embrace who we are and discover the magic of what will happen when we start respecting ourselves for who God made us to be. 

The moment we learn to stop judging and begin to start loving our bodies is the moment we awaken to the realisation that we can now begin to be kind to ourselves. 

Kind in the way we look at ourselves and in the way we think of ourselves and in the way we feed ourselves and in the way we feed our thoughts and our bodies and our souls. That is where true healing begins. 

A big splash

There is absolutely no limit to what our bodies can do when we set our minds to exercise and eat what is beneficial to us. And when we mess up, may we learn to forgive ourselves and be self-motivated to get right back in the waters of life even if we have to make the biggest splash!

After all, is not that what we used to love to do when we were kids? Do you remember playing the game where we would jump into the pool where the winner was the one who made the biggest splash? 

Let is not lose sight of the child inside us who still knows how to have fun even when it comes to shedding excess weight. Life is too short not to enjoy every moment so here’s to living it to the fullest even during swimming season. 

So go ahead, make a splash — you might be surprised how refreshing it feels to let the child inside you live a little!

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine

Fragile Nation, Shattered Land: The Modern History of Syria

James A. Reilly

Boulder/London: Lynne Reinner Publishers, 2019, Pp. 258

In this book, James Reilly, professor of history at the University of Toronto, analyses the political, social and economic transformations that occurred in the territory that is modern-day Syria, with an eye for understanding how the country could have descended into civil war in 2011.

His account is far from dry as he sketches brief, but fascinating, portraits of the places and people that made history from the Ottoman era until the present. Making the narrative even more lively are the sections about cultural life in each time period, from the barber who chronicled life in Damascus’s Old City in late Ottoman times up to the well-known modern Syrian writers, poets and film-makers. There are also sections on early women’s organising.

During most of the Ottoman era, there was hardly a specifically Syrian national identity, and Reilly shows how closely events in Syria at this time were connected to developments in what is today Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. By the late 19th century, however, Syrian intellectuals’ participation in the Nahda (Arab Awakening) laid the groundwork for Arab nationalist sentiments, while a “new literary genre of the historical novel introduced to the reading public a fresh way of thinking about the past… Arabic readers could imagine that they were heirs to a drama that stretched back to antiquity and celebrated the heroes of old”. (p. 77) One notable example was “Zenobia” (1871), written by Salim Bustani about the Roman-era queen of Palmyra. 

Reilly traces the gradual development of a specifically Syrian national identity and identifies several tendencies that emerged in Ottoman times that have persisted until the present. One of these is urban-rural tension, whereby the rural population regarded the cities as “rapacious or exploitative. Urban-rural tensions and contestations would prove to be an enduring feature of Syria’s modern history”. (p. 24)

The gap between urban and rural areas has been named among the causes of the recent war, which seems doubly ironic considering that the initial Baath take-over was led by officers and politicians of rural background, and the first years of Baathist rule brought vast improvements in rural areas. According to Reilly: “Ambitious young people of rural and small-town origins saw opportunities that their parents could only have dreamed of.” (p. 140)

Another recurring feature in modern Syria’s history has been the emergence of local power centers. In some cases, this fostered an independent Syrian national identity, such as when Sultan Atrash unleashed resistance to French occupation by leading the initial revolt in Jabal Druze, which then spread to other areas and sectors of the population. In other cases, the existence of local power centres has led to fragmentation as events since 2011 have shown.

While Mohammad Ali’s foray into Syria resulted in the imposition of a modern state formation for nine years, it was the restoration of Ottoman rule and its institution building after the sectarian conflicts of 1860, that really changed things. “From this point onward, Syrian Arab elites would adapt to modern statehood rather than try to resist it.” (p. 64) 

It was not always a smooth adaptation. The colonial division of the area after World War I separated Syria from its familiar context as the centre of Balad Al Shem, ended the assumed diversity of the Ottoman Empire and posed new challenges. “Syria’s long-standing ethnic, social and cultural diversity was an awkward fit for the new, post-World War I paradigm of political community embodied in the nation state… These efforts to construct a unified nation… were all the more daunting in the face of a French colonial administration whose practice was to emphasise and deepen Syria’s political and social differences.” (p. 112)

As a result, newly independent Syria was plagued by coups and shifting governments for over a quarter of a century until the rule of the Baath Party stabilised. The 1940s, the decade when Syria declared its independence, also witnessed the emergence of the League of National Action and the Islamic associations, forerunners of the Baath Party and the Muslim Brotherhood, respectively. As the author notes, this “anticipated Syria’s future political conflicts”. (p. 107) 

Still, despite these challenges and having fewer resources than Egypt for example, Reilly asserts that “Syria would hold a prominent place in the development of a modern Arab cultural imagination” (p. 116), which of course makes the recent war even more tragic.

Reilly deals with many other questions and events. One comes away from the book with much valuable information, but also a sense of how complicated Syria’s history is. To help the reader keep the record straight, the book ends with a chronology (1516-2018), a Who’s Who of important people and a glossary of terms, in addition to the usual notes and index. If one wants to gain new insights into Syria in a highly readable form, this book is recommended.

Many patients with gallstones and abdominal pain do not feel better after a procedure to remove their gallbladder, and a recent study suggests this surgery may not always be necessary. 

Treatment guidelines in many countries recommend that doctors perform a minimally invasive operation known as a laparoscopic cholecystectomy to remove the gallbladder when patients have abdominal pain associated with gallstones. But in non-emergency cases, there is no consensus on how doctors should choose which patients might be better off with nonsurgical treatments and lifestyle changes. 

For the current study, researchers tested whether patients with gallbladder conditions being treated at outpatient clinics might have better outcomes and less post-operative pain if surgeons adopted a strict set of criteria for operating instead of the “usual care” practice of operating at surgeons’ discretion. 

Researchers randomly assigned 537 patients with gallstones and abdominal pain to receive usual care, and 530 patients to get surgery only if they met five criteria: severe pain attacks; pain lasting at least 15 to 30 minutes; pain radiating to the back; pain in the upper abdomen or the right upper quadrant of the abdomen; and pain that responds to pain relief medication. 

Pain relief was no better or worse with the restrictive criteria than it was with usual care. With both approaches, at least 40 per cent of patients still had abdominal pain 12 months later. 

But fewer people had operations with the restrictive criteria: 68 per cent compared with 75 per cent in the usual care group. This suggests that surgeons need to rethink whether gallstone surgery is necessary in every case and reconsider their criteria for recommending operations, researchers write in The Lancet. 

Patients should “be aware that there is a high chance that your gallbladder operation will not resolve all your abdominal pain”, said study co-author Dr Philip de Reuver, a gastrointestinal surgeon at Radboud University Hospital Nijmegen in The Netherlands. 

“A good way to minimise unnecessary surgery is shared decision making,” de Reuver said by e-mail. “Patients should make a list of their symptoms and doctors need to tell which symptoms are most likely to be resolved after surgery and which are less likely or unlikely to be resolved.” 

The main goal of the study was to prove “non-inferiority” of restrictive surgical selection criteria as compared with leaving the choice up to the surgeon. To prove this, researchers estimated that there would need to be at least five percentage points separating the proportion of patients who were pain-free one year after surgery. 

With restrictive criteria, 56 per cent of patients were pain-free after 12 months, as were 60 per cent of patients with usual care. This difference was too small for the restrictive criteria to be considered “non-inferior” to usual care. 

There was no meaningful difference in gallstone complications related to participating in the trial; 8 per cent of patients in the usual care group and 7 per cent in the restrictive criteria group experienced complications like acute gallbladder pain or pancreatitis. 

Surgical complication rates were also similar between the groups, affecting 21 per cent of patients in the usual care group and 22 per cent in the restrictive criteria group. 

At the end of the day, the study suggests that more work is needed to determine the best criteria for selecting patients for surgery, said the co-author of an accompanying editorial, Dr Kjetil, Soreide of the University of Bergen in Norway.

 “Jumping to a cholecystectomy may not always yield good outcomes, although many patients do still benefit from having a cholecystectomy,” Soreide said by email.

“One needs to be aware that this is not necessarily a ‘quick fix’ to avoid disappointment after surgery,” Soreide added. “Hopefully further studies will give better insight to what might cause symptoms and when a gallbladder surgery is likely to relieve symptoms.”

NEW YORK — One of the co-founders of Facebook called on Thursday for the social media behemoth to be broken up, warning that the company’s head, Mark Zuckerberg, had become far too powerful.

“It’s time to break up Facebook,” said Chris Hughes, who along with Zuckerberg founded the online network in their dorm room while both were students at Harvard University in 2004.

In an editorial published in The New York Times, Hughes said Zuckerberg’s “focus on growth led him to sacrifice security and civility for clicks”, and warned that his global influence had become “staggering”.

Zuckerberg not only controls Facebook but also the widely used Instagram and WhatsApp platforms, and Hughes said that Facebook’s board works more like an advisory committee than a check on the chief executive’s power.

“Facebook accepts that with success comes accountability,” said vice president of global affairs and communications Nick Clegg.

“But you don’t enforce accountability by calling for the breakup of a successful American company.”

Clegg, a British former deputy prime minister, reasoned that carefully crafted regulation of the internet is the way to hold technology companies accountable, and noted that Zuckerberg has been advocating for just that.

Facebook and its family of services have many competitors, and can find corporate efficiencies when it comes to data centres, talent and other resources that can work on its various offerings, Clegg said.

Hughes, who quit Facebook more than a decade ago, was photographed in the newspaper together with Zuckerberg when both were fresh-faced students launching Facebook as a campus networking tool. 

He accused Facebook of acquiring or copying all of its competitors to achieve dominance in the social media field, meaning that investors were reluctant to back any rivals because they know they cannot compete for long.

Zuckerberg “has created a leviathan that crowds out entrepreneurship and restricts consumer choice”, wrote Hughes, who is now a member of the Economic Security Project, which is pushing for a universal basic income in the United States. 

After buying up its main competitors Instagram, where people can publish photos, and WhatsApp, a secure messaging service, Facebook now has 2.7 billion monthly users across its platforms and made a first quarter profit of $2.43 billion this year.

‘Break up Facebook’s monopoly’

“The most problematic aspect of Facebook’s power is Mark’s unilateral control over speech. There is no precedent for his ability to monitor, organize and even censor the conversations of 2 billion people,” said Hughes.

The company has been rocked by a series of scandals recently, including allowing its users’ data to be harvested by research companies and its slow response to Russia using Facebook as a means to spread disinformation during the 2016 US election campaign. 

Facebook is reportedly expecting to face a fine of $5 billion. It has also been investing heavily in staff and artificial intelligence to fight misinformation and other abuses at its platform.

A whistleblower group in Washington filed an official complaint that Facebook was unwittingly auto-generating content for terror-linked groups using its platform that its artificial intelligence systems do not recognise as extremist.

Facebook’s software was automatically “creating and promoting terror content”, the National Whistleblowers Center added in the complaint, by creating “celebration” and “memories” videos for extremist pages that had amassed sufficient views or “likes”.

The group said Thursday it filed a complaint with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on behalf of a source that preferred to remain anonymous.

In his editorial, Hughes urged the government to break Instagram and WhatsApp away from Facebook and prevent new acquisitions for several years.

“The American government needs to do two things: break up Facebook’s monopoly and regulate the company to make it more accountable to the American people,” Hughes said.

“Even after a breakup, Facebook would be a hugely profitable business with billions to invest in new technologies — and a more competitive market would only encourage those investments,” he said. 

Hughes said the break-up, under existing anti-trust laws, would allow better privacy protections for social media users and would cost US authorities almost nothing.

Hughes said that he remained friends with Zuckerberg, noting that “he’s human. But it’s his very humanity that makes his unchecked power so problematic”.

The active ingredients of commonly-used sunscreens end up in the bloodstream at much higher levels than current US guidelines from health regulators and warrant further safety studies, according to a small study conducted by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) researchers and published on Monday. 

The over-the-counter products originally marketed to prevent sunburn with little regulation are widely used to block radiation from the sun that can cause skin cancer, the most common malignancy in the United States. 

The study of 23 volunteers tested four sunscreens, including sprays, lotion and cream, applied to 75 per cent of the body four times a day over four days, with blood tests to determine the maximum levels of certain chemicals absorbed into the bloodstream conducted over seven days. 

The study found maximum plasma levels of the chemicals it tested for — avobenzone, oxybenzone, octocrylene and in one sunscreen ecamsule — to be well above the level of 0.5 nanogrammes per millilitre (ng/mL) at which FDA guidelines call for further safety testing. 

For example, the maximum concentration of avobenzone was found to be 4 ng/mL and 3.4 ng/mL for two different sprays, 4.3 ng/mL for a lotion and 1.8 ng/mL for the cream. 

Researchers did not name the products used in the study. 

The effects of plasma concentrations exceeding the FDA’s limit is not known and needs to be further studied, the research team wrote in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). 

The results in no way suggest that people should stop using sunscreen to protect against the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays, researchers said. 

“The demonstration of systemic absorption well above the FDA guideline does not mean these ingredients are unsafe,” Dr Robert Califf and Dr Kanade Shinkai said in an editorial that accompanied the study in JAMA. 

“The study findings raise many important questions about sunscreen and the process by which the sunscreen industry, clinicians, specialty organisations and regulatory agencies evaluate the benefits and risks of this topical OTC medication,” they added. 

David Andrews, a senior scientist at the nonprofit health and environmental advocacy group Environmental Working Group, called for thorough testing of sunscreen ingredients. 

“For years the sunscreen chemical manufactures have resisted common sense safety testing for their ingredients and now FDA is proposing that these common ingredients must undergo additional testing to stay on the market,” Andrews said. 

However, the Personal Care Products Council trade association pointed out limitations of the study and expressed concern that it may confuse consumers. 

Sunscreens in the study were used at “twice the amount that would be applied in what the scientific community considers real-world conditions,” said Alexandra Kowcz, the group’s chief scientist.