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Asthma study sparks debate about safety of cooking with gas
Asthma study sparks debate about safety of cooking with gas
Business and Economy
by  AFP

New research that links cooking with natural gas to around 12 percent of childhood asthma cases has sparked debate about the health risks of kitchen stoves, as well as calls in the United States for stepped-up regulation. A report released Monday used the same calculation to link 12 percent of childhood asthma to gas cooking in the European Union.

Blame the voting machines: Brazil riots fit global pattern
Blame the voting machines: Brazil riots fit global pattern
Business and Economy
by  AFP

Mobs of rioters who stormed Brazil's seats of power raised conspiracy-laden slogans against voting machines, a prime target of disinformation campaigns seeking to undermine trust in electoral systems around the world. However, paper ballots were returned the following year after sustained disinformation campaigns eroded public trust in the machines.

ChatGPT bot 'for professional use' on the way
ChatGPT bot 'for professional use' on the way
Business and Economy
by  AFP

Hot startup OpenAI on Wednesday initiated a waitlist for a professional and paid version of its software ChatGPT, which has sparked debate about artificial intelligence and the future of work. OpenAI late last year released its free version of the ChatGPT chatbot that is capable of answering questions so well that it reopened the debate on risks linked to artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.

Pharma lobby blasts 'stupid' pandemic patent plans
Pharma lobby blasts 'stupid' pandemic patent plans
Business and Economy
by  AFP

Stripping patent protection from Covid-19 treatments is a "mind-bogglingly stupid" idea, the head of a leading pharmaceutical lobby said Wednesday, warning that the move would put industry innovation at risk. Therefore, an IP waiver "potentially undermining what worked so well in this pandemic is basically mind-bogglingly stupid", Cueni said.

Crisis-hit Egypt's currency halved in value since March
Crisis-hit Egypt's currency halved in value since March
Business and Economy
by  AFP

The Egyptian pound traded Wednesday at half its value from March after the central bank intervened for a third time as part of an International Monetary Fund loan agreement. The currency plunged to 31.95 pounds to the dollar in state banks on Wednesday, before settling at 29.7 in the afternoon, according to the central bank.