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Honolulu Star-Advertiser "Name in the News" Interview with EWC President Vuylsteke

Name in the News

New Head of the East-West Center Returns to Hawaii

By Maureen O’Connell
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Jan. 27, 2017

When Richard R. Vuylsteke left his post as president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong to become the East-West Center’s 11th top executive at the start of the new year, he was eager to begin work at his Honolulu alma mater of sorts.




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Reverters and how to spot them

This webinar will provide delegates with an introduction to the rights of reverter, which may result in unexpected consequences where land ceases to be used for certain educational purposes....




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Trump clears air on alleged coup to overthrow Venezuela leader

U.S. President, Donald Trump, on Friday, said he would send an army to topple his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolás Maduro if he wanted to. Trump said this while speaking on Fox and Friends, a live talk show on Fox Television as he denied the U.S. involvement in an alleged recent coup attempt on Maduro. “We have […]

Trump clears air on alleged coup to overthrow Venezuela leader




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Advertencias de peligro venidero

La enseñanza bíblica en profundidad de John MacArthur lleva la verdad transformadora de la Palabra de Dios a millones de personas cada día.




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Advertencias de peligro venidero B

La enseñanza bíblica en profundidad de John MacArthur lleva la verdad transformadora de la Palabra de Dios a millones de personas cada día.




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New advertising tax introduced in Hungary

As of the 20th August 2014, businesses in Hungary are required to pay tax in connection with their advertising activities. The new legislation applies to individuals or organisations that publish adverts (“Publishers”);and place orders f...




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Could shareholders inadvertently cancel their Shareholders Agreement?

Following the judgment in De Freitas v Chamdor Meat Packers [2015] JOL 33940 (GJ), when a company proposes to its shareholders the adoption of a new Memorandum of Incorporation, the shareholders should carefully consider the provisions of the new Me...




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Local Government Briefing Note 6 of 2015 - Converting failing schools into Academies - a closer look at the Education and Adoption Bill

Background The Government’s latest proposal in reforming the English schooling system was laid before Parliament last week in the form of the Education and Adoption Bill 2015-16 (“the Bill”). The Bill sets out provisions to conver...




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Internal Monitoring - The Legislator reverts to the issue of antitrust compliance

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Crisis lays bare poverty in Geneva, Switzerland as thousands queue for food

In one of the world’s most expensive cities,...




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Q&A: Continued Social Distancing and Hundreds of Millions More in Poverty – A New Normal for the World?

With much of the global economy stalled amid an unprecedented lockdown of nations grappling to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, the author of a new United Nations report on the disease’s impact on poverty told IPS that hundreds of millions more could be pushed into poverty and we can expect to see social unrest. “A lockdown […]

The post Q&A: Continued Social Distancing and Hundreds of Millions More in Poverty – A New Normal for the World? appeared first on Inter Press Service.




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Inverted tulip blossoms in eastern Van

Inverted tulips (fritillaria imperialis) are seen on a spring day in Gevaş district in the eastern province of Van. (AA Photo)




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Over to EU: ISDA publishes template amendment to convert legacy English law governed agreements to French or Irish law

On 12 March 2020, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc (“ISDA”) published a template amendment agreement which allows the parties to an English law governed ISDA Master Agreement to convert that agreement to an equiva...




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In the news: Venezuela’s Maduro foils overthrow bid, blames Guaidó and the US

The botched raid comes amid concerns over the regime’s ability to cope with COVID-19, given its run-down economy and health systems.




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Tovia Singer: Gospel channel targets vulnerable Jews in attempt to convert


While Singer said there is “nothing new about Evangelical fundamentalist Christians seeking to convert Jews to Christianity,” he noted that the method that GOD TV is using is “completely novel.”




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Plan to end poverty creates more poor people

But the worst bit of being poor is to have no voice.




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Why I’m optimistic we can achieve SDG #1—ending poverty in all its forms, everywhere -- by Alessandra Heinemann

The graduation approach provides a sequenced intervention designed to overcome multiple barriers that prevent the extreme poor from breaking out of poverty.




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Strengthening the chains that helped pull Asia out of poverty -- by Bambang Susantono

The global value chains that help drive Asia’s export-driven economic miracle have widespread development impacts. We need to understand them better to maximize the benefits.




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Court Overturns Quincy Jones' Win in Michael Jackson Lawsuit

A California appeals court on Tuesday overturned most of a 2017 jury verdict awarding Quincy Jones $9.4 million in royalties and fees from the Michael Jackson estate over the use of Jones-produced Jackson hits in the concert film "This Is It" and two Cirque du Soleil shows.The state's 2nd District C...




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Hariri: Baabda talks sought to subvert Taif Accord

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri Thursday dismissed as not useful the meeting held the previous day at Baabda Palace to discuss the economic financial rescue plan which he and his parliamentary Future bloc boycotted.




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Effective Approaches to Poverty Reduction: Selected Cases from the Asian Development Bank

This report presents nine case studies on poverty reduction projects financed by ADB in Mongolia, Nepal, the People’s Republic of China, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, and Viet Nam.




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dsPIC33/PIC24 FRM, 12-Bit High-Speed, Multiple SARs A/D Converter (ADC)

dsPIC33/PIC24 FRM, 12-Bit High-Speed, Multiple SARs A/D Converter (ADC)




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Slum-Upgrading Project Helps Reduce Poverty and Improve Livelihoods Across Indonesia

670,000 households in Indonesia are benefitting from improved access to water and sanitation.




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Enhancing Productivity for Poverty Reduction in India

This brief presents findings from a study on labor productivity across various sectors in India and its impact on poverty reduction.




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Soil gets its smell from bacteria trying to attract invertebrates

Soil’s earthy smell comes from chemicals produced by bacteria called Streptomyces, which use the odour to attract springtails to help disperse their spores




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Optimism can avert climate disaster, say duo who brokered Paris deal

Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac led the 2015 Paris climate negotiations. They tell us why they’re hopeful for the future, and explain how fighting climate change is “the most exciting experiment in history”




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U.S. Moves to Avert Shortage of Yellow Fever Vaccine

Title: U.S. Moves to Avert Shortage of Yellow Fever Vaccine
Category: Health News
Created: 4/28/2017 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 5/1/2017 12:00:00 AM




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What Are the Risks of Vertebroplasty?

Title: What Are the Risks of Vertebroplasty?
Category: Procedures and Tests
Created: 4/24/2020 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 4/24/2020 12:00:00 AM




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PMC Releases New ID Converter

PMC has just released an upgrade to our ID converter, now dubbed the PMCID - PMID -Manuscript ID - DOI Converter. This utility allows you to start with the unique identifier for an article that is in PMC, and find additional unique identifiers that may apply to the article. Improvements include support for DOIs, auto-detection of the ID type based on its format, and enhanced output. It also provides output in any of several different formats: HTML, XML, JSON, or CSV. This tool uses an underlying web service, that is also publicly available for those needing programmatic access to this data. See the ID Converter API documentation.




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Context Is Key: Comparative Biology Illuminates the Vertebrate Microbiome

ABSTRACT

Microbes affect vertebrates on timescales from daily to evolutionary, and the cumulative effect of these interactions is immense. However, how microbiomes compare across (host) species is poorly understood, as most studies focus on relatively few species. A recent mBio article by S. J. Song, J. G. Sanders, F. Delsuc, J. Metcalf, et al. (mBio 11:e02901-19, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.02901-19) expands our collective understanding of the vertebrate microbiome by analyzing ~900 species. They demonstrate that patterns within mammals contrast with those within birds. Their results suggest many hypotheses about the role of host ecology and evolution on microbiome variation. Bats, the only volant mammals, appear to contradict many of the general mammal microbiome trends, in some ways resembling birds. What role has powered flight, and the evolution thereof, played in microbiome structure and function? Comparative methods, mechanistic hypotheses, and theory will elucidate this exciting question (and others) that we can ask using Song, Sanders et al.’s data and results.




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ACA Medicaid Expansion and Insurance Coverage Among New Mothers Living in Poverty

BACKGROUND:

Medicaid plays a critical role during the perinatal period, but pregnancy-related Medicaid eligibility only extends for 60 days post partum. In 2014, the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA’s) Medicaid expansions increased adult Medicaid eligibility to 138% of the federal poverty level in participating states, allowing eligible new mothers to remain covered after pregnancy-related coverage expires. We investigate the impact of ACA Medicaid expansions on insurance coverage among new mothers living in poverty.

METHODS:

We define new mothers living in poverty as women ages 19 to 44 with incomes below the federal poverty level who report giving birth in the past 12 months. We use 2010–2017 American Community Survey data and a difference-in-differences approach using parental Medicaid-eligibility thresholds to estimate the effect of ACA Medicaid expansions on insurance coverage among poor new mothers.

RESULTS:

A 100-percentage-point increase in parental Medicaid-eligibility is associated with an 8.8-percentage-point decrease (P < .001) in uninsurance, a 13.2-percentage-point increase (P < .001) in Medicaid coverage, and a 4.4-percentage-point decrease in private or other coverage (P = .001) among poor new mothers. The average increase in Medicaid eligibility is associated with a 28% decrease in uninsurance, a 13% increase in Medicaid coverage, and an 18% decline in private or other insurance among poor new mothers in expansion states. However, in 2017, there were ~142 000 remaining uninsured, poor new mothers.

CONCLUSIONS:

ACA Medicaid expansions are associated with increased Medicaid coverage and reduced uninsurance among poor new mothers. Opportunities remain for expansion and nonexpansion states to increase insurance coverage among new mothers living in poverty.




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Leishmania donovani Subverts Host Immune Response by Epigenetic Reprogramming of Macrophage M(Lipopolysaccharides + IFN-{gamma})/M(IL-10) Polarization [INFECTIOUS DISEASE AND HOST RESPONSE]

Key Points

  • L. donovani induces histone lysine methyltransferases/demethylases in the host.

  • L. donovani–induced epigenetic enzymes induce host M(IL-10) polarization.

  • Knockdown of epigenetic enzymes inhibited parasite multiplication in infected host.




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    Molecular Drivers of Lymphocyte Organization in Vertebrate Mucosal Surfaces: Revisiting the TNF Superfamily Hypothesis [IMMUNOGENETICS]

    Key Points

  • Lymphotoxin axis is not essential for formation of O-MALT in ectotherms and birds.

  • Vertebrate O-MALT structures are enriched in neuroactive ligand/receptor genes.

  • Mammalian PPs and LNs are enriched in genes involved in olfactory transduction.




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    Covert sleep-related biological processes are revealed by probabilistic analysis in Drosophila [Neuroscience]

    Sleep pressure and sleep depth are key regulators of wake and sleep. Current methods of measuring these parameters in Drosophila melanogaster have low temporal resolution and/or require disrupting sleep. Here we report analysis tools for high-resolution, noninvasive measurement of sleep pressure and depth from movement data. Probability of initiating activity,...




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    Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Advertising and Patient-Provider Interactions

    Background:

    Direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising is prevalent and affects patient care. Previous research that examined its effect on the patient-provider relationship predates many changes in the advertising and medical landscape that have occurred in the last decade, such as the rise in online promotion and the push for value-based medicine.

    Methods:

    We conducted a nationally representative mail-push-to-web survey of 1744 US adults in 2017 to explore how patients view the effects of direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising on patient-provider interactions.

    Results:

    Most respondents (76%) said they were likely to ask a health care provider about advertised drugs; 26% said they had already done so. Among the 26% of respondents who talked to a health care provider about a specific prescription drug they saw advertised, 16% said they received a prescription for the advertised drug. Few respondents (5%) reported that advertising had caused conflict with a health care provider, 16% said it had caused them to question their provider’s advice, and 23% said they were likely to look for a different provider if their provider refused to prescribe a requested brand name drug.

    Discussion:

    These results suggest that direct-to-consumer advertising is driving some patients to discuss specific products with their health care providers but that most patients do not believe advertising has a negative influence on the patient-provider interaction itself.




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    The effect of vertical extent of stimuli on cockroach optomotor response [RESEARCH ARTICLE]

    Juha Nuutila, Anna E. Honkanen, Kyösti Heimonen, and Matti Weckström

    Using tethered American cockroaches walking on a trackball in a spherical virtual reality environment, we tested optomotor responses to horizontally moving black-and-white gratings of different vertical extent under six different light intensities. We found that shortening the vertical extent of the wide-field stimulus grating within a light level weakened response strength, reduced average velocity, and decreased angular walking distance. Optomotor responses with the vertically shortened stimuli persisted down to light intensity levels of 0.05 lx. Response latency seems to be independent of both the height of the stimulus and light intensity. The optomotor response started saturating at the light intensity of 5 lx, where the shortest behaviourally significant stimulus was 1°. This indicates that the number of vertical ommatidial rows needed to elicit an optomotor response at 5 lx and above is in the single digits, maybe even just one. Our behavioural results encourage further inquiry into the interplay of light intensity and stimulus size in insect dim-light vision.




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    Immunosenescence and its influence on reproduction in a long-lived vertebrate [RESEARCH ARTICLE]

    Jessica M. Judson, Dawn M. Reding, and Anne M. Bronikowski

    Immunosenescence is a well-known phenomenon in mammal systems, but its relevance in other long-lived vertebrates is less understood. Further, the influence of age and reproductive effort on immune function in long-lived species can be challenging to assess, as long-term data are scarce and it is often difficult to sample the oldest age classes. We used the painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) to test hypotheses of immunosenescence and a trade-off between reproductive output and immune function in a population of a long-lived vertebrate that has been monitored for over 30 years. These long-term data are utilized to employ a unique approach of aging turtles with mark-recapture data and population-specific growth modeling to obtain more accurate estimates of age. We analyzed natural antibodies, lysis ability, and bactericidal competence in 126 individuals from 1 to 33 years of age captured during May and June in 2011. Older turtles exhibited greater natural antibody levels than young individuals across sexes. Young females with large clutches exhibited greater lysis ability, while older females with large clutches had decreased lysis ability, suggesting a trade-off between reproductive output and immune function conditional upon age. However, bactericidal competence increased later in the nesting season for older females. Our study rejects the hypothesis of immunosenescence in a long-lived turtle, despite evidence of actuarial and reproductive senescence in this population. Additionally, we detected mixed evidence for a trade-off between reproduction and immune health.




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    Inhibition of glycosphingolipid biosynthesis reverts multidrug resistance by differentially modulating ABC transporters in chronic myeloid leukemias [Cell Biology]

    Multidrug resistance (MDR) in cancer arises from cross-resistance to structurally- and functionally-divergent chemotherapeutic drugs. In particular, MDR is characterized by increased expression and activity of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) superfamily transporters. Sphingolipids are substrates of ABC proteins in cell signaling, membrane biosynthesis, and inflammation, for example, and their products can favor cancer progression. Glucosylceramide (GlcCer) is a ubiquitous glycosphingolipid (GSL) generated by glucosylceramide synthase, a key regulatory enzyme encoded by the UDP-glucose ceramide glucosyltransferase (UGCG) gene. Stressed cells increase de novo biosynthesis of ceramides, which return to sub-toxic levels after UGCG mediates incorporation into GlcCer. Given that cancer cells seem to mobilize UGCG and have increased GSL content for ceramide clearance, which ultimately contributes to chemotherapy failure, here we investigated how inhibition of GSL biosynthesis affects the MDR phenotype of chronic myeloid leukemias. We found that MDR is associated with higher UGCG expression and with a complex GSL profile. UGCG inhibition with the ceramide analog d-threo-1-(3,4,-ethylenedioxy)phenyl-2-palmitoylamino-3-pyrrolidino-1-propanol (EtDO-P4) greatly reduced GSL and monosialotetrahexosylganglioside levels, and co-treatment with standard chemotherapeutics sensitized cells to mitochondrial membrane potential loss and apoptosis. ABC subfamily B member 1 (ABCB1) expression was reduced, and ABCC-mediated efflux activity was modulated by competition with nonglycosylated ceramides. Consistently, inhibition of ABCC-mediated transport reduced the efflux of exogenous C6-ceramide. Overall, UGCG inhibition impaired the malignant glycophenotype of MDR leukemias, which typically overcomes drug resistance through distinct mechanisms. This work sheds light on the involvement of GSL in chemotherapy failure, and its findings suggest that targeted GSL modulation could help manage MDR leukemias.




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    Genetic Influences of the Microbiota on the Life Span of Drosophila melanogaster [Invertebrate Microbiology]

    To better understand how associated microorganisms ("microbiota") influence organismal aging, we focused on the model organism Drosophila melanogaster. We conducted a metagenome-wide association (MGWA) as a screen to identify bacterial genes associated with variation in the D. melanogaster life span. The results of the MGWA predicted that bacterial cysteine and methionine metabolism genes influence fruit fly longevity. A mutant analysis, in which flies were inoculated with Escherichia coli strains bearing mutations in various methionine cycle genes, confirmed a role for some methionine cycle genes in extending or shortening fruit fly life span. Initially, we predicted these genes might influence longevity by mimicking or opposing methionine restriction, an established mechanism for life span extension in fruit flies. However, follow-up transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) and metabolomic experiments were generally inconsistent with this conclusion and instead implicated glucose and vitamin B6 metabolism in these influences. We then tested if bacteria could influence life span through methionine restriction using a different set of bacterial strains. Flies reared with a bacterial strain that ectopically expressed bacterial transsulfuration genes and lowered the methionine content of the fly diet also extended female D. melanogaster life span. Taken together, the microbial influences shown here overlap with established host genetic mechanisms for aging and therefore suggest overlapping roles for host and microbial metabolism genes in organismal aging.

    IMPORTANCE Associated microorganisms ("microbiota") are intimately connected to the behavior and physiology of their animal hosts, and defining the mechanisms of these interactions is an urgent imperative. This study focuses on how microorganisms influence the life span of a model host, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. First, we performed a screen that suggested a strong influence of bacterial methionine metabolism on host life span. Follow-up analyses of gene expression and metabolite abundance identified stronger roles for vitamin B6 and glucose than methionine metabolism among the tested mutants, possibly suggesting a more limited role for bacterial methionine metabolism genes in host life span effects. In a parallel set of experiments, we created a distinct bacterial strain that expressed life span-extending methionine metabolism genes and showed that this strain can extend fly life span. Therefore, this work identifies specific bacterial genes that influence host life span, including in ways that are consistent with the expectations of methionine restriction.




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    Efficacy and Safety of Flow-Diverter Therapy for Recurrent Aneurysms after Stent-Assisted Coiling [INTERVENTIONAL]

    BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:

    Flow-diverter treatment for previously stented aneurysms has been reported to be less effective and prone to complications. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness and safety of flow diverters for recurrent aneurysms after stent-assisted coiling.

    MATERIALS AND METHODS:

    Patients who underwent flow-diverter placement for recurrent aneurysms after stent-assisted coiling between March 2015 and March 2019 were recruited. Clinical and radiographic characteristics and clinical and angiographic outcomes were retrospectively evaluated.

    RESULTS:

    Among 133 patients who underwent flow-diverter insertion, 17 (male/female ratio = 5:12; mean age, 53.8 years) were treated for recurrent aneurysms after stent placement with (n = 16) or without (n = 1) coiling. Eight patients initially presented with subarachnoid hemorrhage; 7, with headache; and 2, with visual field defects. Angiographic morphology included large/giant saccular in 12 patients, dissecting in 2, fusiform in 1, traumatic pseudoaneurysm in 1, and ruptured blood blister-like aneurysm in 1. The duration between the first treatment and flow-diverter placement ranged from 2 weeks to 15 months (median, 6 months). Flow-diverter placement was successful in all cases without any complications. All patients had favorable outcomes (mRS, 0–2), without any newly appearing symptoms. Aneurysms were followed up with conventional angiography at least once in 6–18 months. Sixteen aneurysms showed complete occlusion, and 1 aneurysm was enlarged.

    CONCLUSIONS:

    Results from this case series investigating flow-diverter placement for recurrent aneurysms after stent-assisted coiling suggested that the procedure is safe and effective. Further study in a larger population may be warranted.




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    Advertising adds up to $40bn

    Advertising spending contributes about $40 billion a year to the Australian economy, or 2 per cent of GDP.




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    Dangerous Lies review – diverting yet dopey Netflix thriller

    A ridiculously titled film about a couple who stumble upon a stash of money is absurd and cliched but mostly entertaining

    One of the most surprising reveals of last October’s unprecedented Netflix data dump was the astounding popularity of cheap psycho-thriller Secret Obsession. While the streamer proudly touted new films from Alfonso Cuarón, Paul Greengrass and the Coens in the same period, it was a no-star, dim-plotted slab of schlock that netted more viewers, with an estimated 40m households eager to find out just how secret that obsession really was. Modelled after a Lifetime TV movie (with a Lifetime TV director at the helm), it was an important victory for Netflix because it revealed a substantial audience for tiny-budgeted thrillers with generic titles, a bracket they could easily fill at little expense.

    Related: The Half of It review – charming Netflix teen comedy takes on Cyrano

    Continue reading...




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    Quincy Jones' $9.4 million legal win against Michael Jackson's estate has been overturned

    The 87-year-old record producer - who worked extensively with Michael at the height of his pop career - was originally awarded




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    US death toll overtakes Italy as highest in world while Europe clamps down on Easter travel

    Read our live coronavirus updates HERE




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    Burger King adverts for &apos;plant-based&apos; Whopper banned as it&apos;s cooked on grill with meat products

    The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) found the fast food giant had also failed to make it immediately clear its new product was dressed with an egg-based mayonnaise.




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    Adverts for IV drips claiming to treat Covid-19 banned by watchdog

    Adverts promoting IV drips that claimed to boost patients' immunity to Covid-19 have been banned by the advertising watchdog.




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    UK publishers appeal for advertisers to disregard misleading &apos;coronavirus blocklist&apos;

    If the pandemic lasts another three months, news brands could suffer a £50 million loss




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    Faces behind Food For London Now campaign share their stories of tackling food poverty in the city

    You can donate at virginmoneygiving.com/fund/FoodforLondonNOW




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    Adverts which claim IV drips can help fight coronavirus banned by watchdog

    No treatments for the coronavirus have yet been approved, meaning companies cannot make medical claims about their products




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    Joe Lycett reverts to using own name after legally changing it to Hugo Boss

    The 'Joe Lycett's Got Your Back' presenter legally changed his name in March