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Sydney, Aug 15 (The Conversation): The <keyword id="19896311" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="World-Health-Organization" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="World Health Organization" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="World Health Organization">World Health Organization</keyword> (<keyword id="19895006" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="WHO" source="keywords">WHO</keyword>) has declared <keyword id="20965747" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="mpox" source="keywords">mpox</keyword> a public health emergency of international concern, after rising cases in the <keyword id="22796094" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Democratic-Republic-of-the-Congo" source="keywords">Democratic Republic of the Congo</keyword> and the potential for further spread. This now triggers a coordinated international response to an extraordinary event and the mobilisation of resources, such as vaccines and diagnostic testing, to curb the spread of this infectious disease. But WHO has not declared mpox a <keyword id="19913581" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="pandemic" source="keywords">pandemic</keyword>. Rather, the measures it has triggered are designed to prevent it from becoming one. <h2>What triggered this latest alert?</h2> Mpox, once known as monkeypox, is a viral infection closely related to <keyword id="22362924" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="smallpox" source="keywords">smallpox</keyword>. Initial symptoms include a fever, headache, swelling of the lymph nodes and muscle ache. A typical rash follows, mainly on the face, hands and feet. The spread of mpox through certain African countries led the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention to declare earlier this week mpox a public health emergency of continental security. This is the first time the organisation has issued such an alert since it was established in 2017. The situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in central Africa has been particularly worrying for more than a year. There are two types or clades of mpox. Clade II, which originates in west Africa, is less severe. It has a fatality rate of up to 1 per cent (in other words, roughly one in 100 are expected to die from it). But clade I, from central Africa, has a fatality rate of up to 10 per cent (up to one in ten die). This compares to a 0.7 per cent fatality rate for the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is seeing large epidemics of the more deadly clade I mpox. Mpox is endemic in some parts of central and west Africa, where the virus exists in animals and can spread to humans. Outbreaks have been increasing, with more human-to-human spread, since 2017. This is partly due to very low levels of immunity to the mpox virus, which is related to the virus that causes smallpox. Mass vaccination against smallpox ceased more than 40 years ago globally, resulting in minimal immunity in populations today against mpox. The WHO designation announced this week relates to the clade I. Not only does this have a higher fatality rate, it has new mutations that enhance spread between people. These changes, and the global lack of immunity to mpox, makes the world's population vulnerable to the virus. <h2>There are two different epidemics</h2> In 2022, an epidemic of mpox swept through non-endemic countries, including beyond Africa. This was a variant of clade II originating from Nigeria, called clade IIb. This was sexually transmitted, predominantly affecting men who have sex with men, and had a low fatality rate. That epidemic peaked in 2022, with vaccines made available to people at risk in high-income countries, but there has been an uptick in 2024. At the same time, large clade I epidemics were occurring in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but with far less attention. Vaccines were not available there, even in 2023, when there were 14,626 cases and 654 deaths. Mortality was 4.5 per cent, and higher in children. In fact, most cases and deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been children. This means most transmission there is non-sexual and is likely to have occurred through close contact or respiratory aerosols. However, in 2023 an <keyword id="20877025" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="outbreak" source="keywords">outbreak</keyword> in a non-endemic part of the country, South Kivu in the east, appeared to be by sexual transmission, indicating more than one epidemic and different transmission modes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. By mid-2024, there were already more cases in the country than all of 2023 - more than 15,600 cases and 537 deaths. Testing capacity is low in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, most cases are not confirmed by lab testing, and the data we have are from a small sample of genomic sequences from the Kamituga region of South Kivu. This show mutations to the clade I virus around September 2023, to a variant termed clade Ib, which is more readily transmissible between people. We do not have much data to compare these viruses with the viruses causing cases in the rest of the country. <h2>Mpox is spreading internationally</h2> In the past month, the virus has spread to countries that share a border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo - Rwanda and Burundi. It has also spread to other east African countries, such as Kenya and Uganda. None of these countries have had mpox cases previously. In an interconnected, mobile world, cases may spread to other continents, as mpox did in 2018 from Nigeria to the United Kingdom and other countries. A few travel-related cases between 2018 and 2019 may have led to the large multi-country 2022 clade IIb epidemic. <h2>We have vaccines, but not where they are needed</h2> As the mpox virus and smallpox viruses are related (they are both orthopoxviruses), smallpox vaccines offer protection against mpox. These vaccines were used to control the 2022 clade IIb epidemic. However, most of the world has never been vaccinated, and has no immunity to mpox. The newer <keyword id="19959412" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="vaccine" source="keywords">vaccine</keyword> (called Jynneos in some countries and Imvamune or Imvanex in others) is effective. However, supplies are limited, and vaccine is scarce in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. WHO's declaration of mpox as a public health emergency of international concern will help mobilise vaccines to where they are needed. The Africa Centres for Disease Control had already begun negotiations to secure 2,00,000 doses of vaccine, which is a fraction of what is required to control the epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. <h2>What happens now?</h2> Ultimately, a serious epidemic anywhere in the world is a concern for all of us, as it can spread globally through travel, as we saw with the COVID pandemic. Controlling it at the source is the best measure, and WHO's latest declaration will help mobilise the required resources. Surveillance for spread of this more serious version of mpox is also essential, bearing in mind that many countries do not have the capacity for widespread testing. So we'll have to rely on "suspected cases", based on a clinical definition, to keep track of the epidemic. Open-source epidemic intelligence - such as using AI to monitor trends in rash and fever illness - can also be used as an early warning system in countries with weak health systems or delayed reporting of cases. A further complication is that 20-30 per cent of people with mpox may simultaneously have chickenpox, an unrelated infection that also causes a rash. So an initial diagnosis of chickenpox (which is easier to test for) does not rule out mpox. Effective communication and tackling push-back against public health measures and disinformation is also key. We saw how important this was during the COVID pandemic. Now, WHO will coordinate the global mpox response, focusing on equity in disease prevention and access to diagnostics and vaccines. It is up to individual countries to do their best to comply with the International Health Regulations, and the protocols for how such a global emergency are managed.

WHO has declared mpox a global health emergency. What happens next?

The <keyword id="22667872" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="mpox-outbreak" source="keywords">mpox outbreak</keyword> in <keyword id="19924003" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="africa" source="keywords">Africa</keyword> is yet another example of how <keyword id="20040661" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="infectious-diseases" source="keywords">infectious diseases</keyword>, perceived to be "someone else's problem", and affecting mainly poor, developing countries, may suddenly pose unexpected global threats. Other examples of <keyword id="22817243" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="neglected-diseases" source="keywords">neglected diseases</keyword> include the West Nile, Zika and Chikungunya viruses. Mpox was discovered in 1958 (in captive monkeys, hence the original misnomer "monkeypox") and the first human case was identified in 1970. Then, for decades it was largely neglected by the scientific and public health communities, regarded as an uncommon infection in remote rural areas in tropical Africa, without relevance for the rest of the world. When a massive mpox outbreak hit developed countries in 2022, increased research funding led to a surge in scientific studies. On just one medical search engine, there's been more research produced since April 2022 than in the preceding 60 years. The 2022-23 global mpox outbreak happened despite repeated calls from African researchers for increased global investment in diagnostic, therapeutic and infection prevention tools for mpox. The WHO has now declared the current upsurge of mpox in central Africa a <keyword id="21952478" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="public-health-emergency" source="keywords">public health emergency</keyword> of international concern. This is the highest alert level for events that constitute a public health risk to other countries and requires a coordinated international response. Mpox's recent history is yet another reminder that an infectious disease in one corner of the world should not be regarded as someone else's problem, as it can suddenly start to spread fast and far. It also highlights global inequities in resource allocation and access to vaccines, diagnostics and treatments. These were made available in many industrialised countries and helped curb the global outbreak, but are still largely lacking in most of Africa. <h2>The 2022 outbreak: a total surprise</h2>The disease has been renamed "mpox" but the name of the virus, for now, remains "monkeypox" (MPXV). It is closely related to the smallpox virus. MPXV was considered a <keyword id="21311828" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="zoonotic-disease" source="keywords">zoonotic disease</keyword> endemic in parts of central and west Africa. It was acquired mainly through close contact with wild mammals, especially handling bush meat, but there was no sustained human-to-human transmission. Only very occasionally were cases seen outside the endemic areas, due to infected travellers or import of infected small mammals. This changed abruptly in 2022: a massive, rapidly evolving global outbreak caused over 99,000 laboratory-confirmed cases in 116 countries. At its peak in August 2022, over 6,000 cases were reported each week. This outbreak came as a total surprise: most cases were reported from non-endemic countries, mostly in men who have sex with men, who had become infected during recent sexual encounters. Even though most cases were clinically not particularly severe and the death toll stands at just over 200, the global outbreak was declared a public health emergency of international concern by the <keyword id="19896311" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="world-health-organization" source="keywords">World Health Organization</keyword> on 23 July, 2022. Fortunately, case numbers soon plummeted due to a combination of behavioural changes and vaccination in at-risk groups. Modern vaccines and antiviral drugs with activity against mpox were made available in many affected high-income countries. These had been developed and stockpiled in the US and Europe, mostly in preparation for a potential bioweapon attack using a poxvirus. The global outbreak in 2022 was caused by clade II of MPXV, which is endemic in west Africa and not as virulent as clade I MPXV, which so far has only been seen in the Congo Basin. That first mpox public health emergency of international concern was declared over in May 2023. Clade II MPXV infections are still occurring globally, but the worst seems over - for now. Complacency would be misguided, as illustrated by the current mpox outbreak that is gathering steam. <h2>Upsurge in Africa</h2>The African region is experiencing an upsurge in mpox cases, which started in 2023. As the continent which includes the areas where mpox has been endemic for a long time, Africa now presents a complex mosaic. The current clade I MPXV (formerly called Congo Basin strain) is more virulent than the clade II (west African) strain, resulting in a higher case fatality rate. The ongoing outbreak has its epicentre in South Kivu province, eastern DRC, and has the potential to fuel a large pandemic. It has a distinct epidemiological pattern with sustained chains of human-to-human transmission, often via the sexual route. It may have increased transmissibility (we don't know yet). The virus which causes it is the newly defined clade Ib lineage. It displays mutations that are the hallmark of human-to-human spread that is estimated to have been happening since September 2023. Case numbers are rising rapidly, even though many suspected cases are likely not tested and thus not counted as confirmed. Complicating matters, a commonly used test was found to miss infections with this lineage of the virus. It affects mostly adults. The case fatality rate is higher than it was in the 2022 global outbreak. Already, this outbreak has resulted in mpox cases occurring in several neighbouring countries, including some (like Kenya), with no previous record of mpox. The challenge is enormous. The eastern DRC is an area beset by multiple problems. This includes natural disasters, violence and infectious diseases including measles, cholera and poliomyelitis for the DRC. In recent years the second-largest Ebola outbreak ever took place in the wider area and, despite the availability of vaccines and treatments, posed considerable challenges. <h2>What needs to happen</h2>Equitable access to diagnostic tests, vaccines and antiviral treatments requires political commitment and financial investments. Scientific investigations are needed to learn more about exposure settings, transmission routes and clinical presentations. It's important to find the best ways to make these interventions. There is no doubt that a disease in one corner of the world can suddenly become a global heath threat. It's time the global health system woke up to this reality.

Mpox outbreak in Africa was neglected - it could now turn into the next global pandemic

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The US deployed its <keyword id="23312251" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mid-Range-Capability" source="keywords">Mid-Range Capability</keyword>, or <keyword id="23312252" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Typhon" source="keywords">Typhon</keyword>, system to the Pacific earlier this year.</li><li><keyword id="19894886" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="China" source="keywords">China</keyword> has expressed frustration with its deployment in the <keyword id="19941735" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Philippines" source="keywords">Philippines</keyword> and possible plans for Japan.</li></ul>China has been up in arms over a new <keyword id="23311373" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="US-missile-system" source="keywords">US missile system</keyword> that showed up in the <keyword id="19909557" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indo-Pacific" source="keywords">Indo-Pacific</keyword> earlier this year, with government officials in Beijing complaining about the weapon repeatedly, including twice in the past week alone. The US military deployed its Mid-Range Capability, or Typhon, missile system to the Philippines in April, and US military officials have expressed interest in deploying it in Japan. The MRC is a versatile new ground-based missile system that is capable of firing the<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-aircraft-spotted-sm6-missile-newly-tested-in-combat-2024-7"> Standard Missile 6 (SM-6)</a> and<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-submarines-getting-ship-killer-missile-able-to-counter-china-2023-12"> Tomahawk Land Attack Missile System</a>. Developed for the US Army, the system is intended to fill a key gap in the US arsenal, but it's raising concerns as the US military begins deploying land-based intermediate-range missiles once barred by a now-defunct arms-control treaty. The US military deployed the missile system overseas for the first time in April, putting it in the Philippines amid a joint exercise between the two militaries. It was characterized as a "landmark deployment" marking "a significant milestone for the new capability while enhancing interoperability, readiness, and defense capabilities in coordination" with the Philippines, US Army Pacific<a target="_blank" href="https://www.usarpac.army.mil/Our-Story/Our-News/Article-Display/Article/3740807/"> said</a> at the time. While the new weapon wasn't fired during the exercise, its presence in the region irked China, which demanded the system be removed. <div type="image" title="Navy USS Savannah SM-6 containerized missile" height="1080" width="1920" msid="113644413" hostid="261"></div>Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo said in August that his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi had<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-got-dramatic-over-us-missile-system-in-pacific-ally-2024-8"> expressed concern over Typhon</a> while the two talked at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting in Laos a month earlier. Manalo said China made the situation "very dramatic" despite reassurances. Earlier this month, the US said it had no plans to remove MRC from the Philippines, which also isn't in a rush to see it go. The move angered Beijing further. "China has made clear our opposition more than once," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian<a target="_blank" href="https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/xw/fyrbt/lxjzh/202409/t20240919_11493204.html"> said</a> last Thursday during a regular press conference. He added that "the deployment is a move to turn back the wheel of history. It gravely threatens regional countries' security, incites geopolitical confrontation, and has aroused high vigilance and concerns of countries in the region." The <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-military-china-missile-problem-getting-worse-2024-5">Chinese military's Rocket Force</a> notably maintains a substantial missile arsenal that includes medium- and intermediate-range systems that put US assets and bases in the region at risk, leading the US to rethink its assets and capabilities in the Indo-Pacific. China's MRC woes may not be limited to the Philippines, which has expressed interest in acquiring its own mid-range weapons and training on the American weapon. Deploying the MRC in Japan is apparently on the table, too. At a Defense News conference on September 4, the secretary of the US Army, Christine Wormuth, said the US and Japan had discussed placing a Typhon there. Lin<a target="_blank" href="https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/xw/fyrbt/lxjzh/202409/t20240918_11492497.html"> said</a> during a press briefing last Wednesday that the US was "hellbent" on its military investment in the Pacific region, noting that putting Typhon in Japan "will heighten arms race, exacerbate regional tensions, threaten peace and security in this region, and disrupt global strategic balance and stability." Lin said that China has urged the US to abandon its plans. <div type="image" title="A Tomahawk land attack missile in flight" height="3571" width="2551" msid="113644415" hostid="261"></div>During the Trump administration, in response to serious allegations of Russian violations, the US officially withdrew from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty — which banned nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers. Since 2019, the door has been wide open for the development and deployment of these weapons. US allegations that Russia violated the treaty prompted Moscow to resign from the agreement. Russia is said to have violated the Cold War-era arms-control pact by developing and fielding the SSC-8/9M729 missile system. Arms-control experts have said that Russian President Vladimir Putin's violation of the INF Treaty and subsequent US developments would likely have a snowball effect. Not only are new missiles showing up in the Pacific, but there are plans for Europe as well. The US and some of its NATO allies formally announced in July they were pushing ahead with plans to<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-europe-long-range-weapons-bring-back-cold-war-danger-2024-7"> develop and field new long-range strike options in Europe</a> after seeing the value of such weapons in the war in Ukraine. Some experts suggested that this emerging arms race<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nato-allies-to-develop-long-range-missiles-fill-critical-gap-2024-7"> reflects one of the most dangerous aspects of the Cold War</a>. Correction: September 25, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misspelled the surname of the secretary of the US Army. She's Christine Wormuth, not Christine Warmouth.

A new US missile system that showed up in the Pacific this year keeps making China more and more unhappy

<ul class="summary-list"><li>An IT outage is causing global chaos, with reports that 911 services are down across several US states.</li><li>The Alaska State Troopers confirmed that 911 services are down due to a "nationwide" outage. </li></ul>Emergency lines have gone down in several US states <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/major-disruptions-airline-bank-london-stock-exchange-microsoft-outage-2024-7">after a massive IT outage</a> sparked chaos across the globe.Major airlines, banks, and retailers are <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mass-it-outage-companies-operations-airlines-affected-microsoft-crowdstrike-2024-7">experiencing widespread disruptions</a> after Microsoft reported problems with its online services, linked to an issue at cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike.The Alaska State Troopers service <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.facebook.com/AlaskaStateTroopersOfficial/posts/pfbid022K5MYDVWd8fKxJqbYVCm9sKz1UTCd2SB4T9z5s7tRA3ZP5cPupbg4TU6Ev4bxi5Ul?locale=en_GB">confirmed in a post on Facebook</a> that 911 and non-emergency call services were down across the state due to the "nationwide" outage, with emergency services in New Hampshire and Ohio posting similar messages."Due to a nationwide technology-related outage, many 911 and non-emergency call centers are not working correctly across the State of Alaska," the police force wrote in a Facebook post.It is unclear how widespread the outage is. Emergency services in other states also took to social media to warn of issues with 911 services.The Office of Emergency Management for the city of Nashua, New Hampshire, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.facebook.com/NashuaOEM/posts/pfbid02CP8ZLrB7hrNjPrhixpuddgaGnEmEuD5w919asZbBMoxXEow11AXgeGLJpC9T5mUsl?locale=en_GB">posted on Facebook</a> that "statewide 911 is down," while an X account for the Middletown Division of Police in Ohio wrote that they were <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://x.com/MPDOhio/status/1814185068153147489">experiencing a phone outage</a> "that includes 911."A spokesperson for the Federal Communications Commission, which regulates 911 communications, said the agency was aware of reports of 911 outages."The FCC is aware of reports of a systems outage that is causing disruptions in service, including 9-1-1. We're closely working with other federal agencies to provide assistance and determine the extent of these service disruptions," they said.Business Insider did not receive a response to a request for comment from the Alaska State Troopers, the New Hampshire Office of Emergency Management, and the Ohio State Police, which were sent outside of working hours.Details are still emerging about the scale of the global IT outage. The disruption has already impacted airlines, banks, and grocery stores worldwide.American Airlines, Delta Airlines, and United Airlines are among the airlines that <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/major-disruptions-airline-bank-london-stock-exchange-microsoft-outage-2024-7">have issued ground stops</a> for their aircraft due to communication issues.Budget airline Frontier Airlines wrote on X on Thursday that its services were being impacted by a "major Microsoft technical outage."Early Friday, it said that the ground stop had been lifted, its systems were "gradually normalizing," and it was in the process of resuming flight operations.

Emergency services say 911 lines are down in several states as a mass IT outage causes havoc

<keyword id="3809787" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="pokerbaazi" source="Orion">PokerBaazi</keyword>, <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword>'s biggest online poker platform, on Monday clarified that its server did not expose any real data pertaining to users, after a cyber security research claimed that the platform suffered a significant security lapse after an internal database containing sensitive user information was left exposed online for more than 2 months. Security researcher <keyword id="14547969" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="anurag-sen" source="Orion">Anurag Sen</keyword> told portal XposedOrNot that the exposure was "due to a misconfiguration in the system and could be easily accessed by anyone with knowledge of the database's IP address". The size of the exposed data was more than 6GB in size, and growing, according to Sen. In a statement to IANS, a PokerBaazi spokesperson said that "we would like to clarify that there is no data breach and our server did not expose any real data pertaining to users". "This was a testing done at the dummy stage with logs of dummy users to further develop our platform. These dummy accounts/users are used by our internal testers and developers," said the spokesperson. Sen had also tweeted that India's PokerBaazi site suffered a major security lapse. "Even after multiple attempts to contact. No reply so far. Contacted," he posted, tagging the country's cyber agency <keyword id="6480513" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="computer-emergency-response-team" source="Orion">Computer Emergency Response Team</keyword> (CERT.in). The exposed data allegedly contained full names, email address, location, '<keyword id="1600078" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="oauth" source="Orion">Oauth</keyword>' tokens and internal logs. PokerBaazi said in the statement that the "server had been kept publicly open for establishing a proof of concept with an external and reputed tool which helps in monitoring applications logs so that it can give us a 360-degree view of how our applications are performing." PokerBaazi.com is India's biggest online poker platform that provides potential customers with an opportunity to play poker safely and securely. The gaming mobile and the desktop app provide 24/7 customer support, a user-friendly interface as well as a wide array of tournaments, making PokerBaazi.com an engaging platform to get involved with. Spearheaded by its Founder and CEO Navkiran Singh, the platform last reported over 2 million registered users. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/drone-player-garuda-aerospace-raises-22-mn-from-sphiticap-others/articleshow/97855020.cms">Drone player Garuda Aerospace raises $22 mn from SphitiCap &amp; others</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/best-deals-on-mobile-phone-under-30000-in-amazon-fab-phones-fest-sale/articleshow/97855605.cms">Amazon Fab Phones Fest Sale – best deals on smartphones under ₹30,000</a>

India's PokerBaazi suffers security lapse, users' data exposed: Researcher

“We expect women to work like they don’t have children / domestic responsibilities. And we expect them to raise kids and tend to the home like they don’t have a <keyword id="19920980" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="career" source="keywords">career</keyword>.” This statement resonates deeply with many mothers, echoing across social media platforms, parenting forums, and communities. It is incredibly sad to acknowledge that this is a sentiment shared by countless mothers who find themselves caught between the demands of work and home. This is also how I felt 11 years ago. On this Mother’s Day, I wanted to revisit some such challenges that seem overwhelming at times and I myself faced as a <keyword id="21624352" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="working-mother" source="keywords">working mother</keyword>. In this article, I won't hesitate from laying bare the challenges of being a working mother. At times, my words may push the boundaries of what's deemed acceptable for print, perhaps even sounding like a rant. But it's crucial to acknowledge and validate these struggles. Being a mother is challenging, and having a career is demanding. Combining these two roles means signing up for one of the toughest jobs on the planet. Some of the common challenges most working mothers face are : 1.Inconvenient time management: Being a mom is a full-time responsibility. It is a 24X7 job. It is also a role that requires the highest level of surrender physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Having a career requires full time commitment to work. It requires you to keep marching forward as the goal posts keeps shifting. Imagine existing in this state on an everyday basis! Intelligently planning schedules, adhering to timelines, factoring in childcare emergencies and unforeseen developments at work require precision akin to six sigma. Oh, and don’t forget the events! The birthday parties, the company off-site, the client visit and the school annual day – these are no less than an hurdles race we’re running whilst holding a life in our hands. 2.Coping with emotional demands: A working mother is almost always torn between the various emotional demands that come with being an individual who would like to raise a beautiful child whilst building a respectable body of work. There's always the lingering "mommy guilt" of missing out on precious moments and "not being around enough". And then there's an inner voice tugging at her heart, urging her not to lose sight of her career goals. 3.Burden of judgement: From next-door neighbors to relatives, and sometimes even family members to colleagues, peers, and superiors - everyone seems to view working mothers with a preconceived notion that they are set up for failure. No matter how hard she tries, her best is never enough. There is often very little acceptance and a lot more judgment. 4.Lack of <keyword id="20006960" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="support-system" source="keywords">support system</keyword>: The Indian family system is not designed to support working women. It often glorifies women as "domestic goddesses" and sees them primarily as caretakers. There are exceptions of course – some families genuinely nurture the individual and her dreams while some depend on the women financially and therefore make space for her work while. 5.Unconscious bias and microaggression - Working mothers often experience a lack of support both in the workplace and at home. Many also encounter discrimination and bias in professional settings. This can take the form of being overlooked for promotions or job opportunities, as well as facing negative stereotypes or assumptions about their dedication to their work due to their parental responsibilities. The snide remarks, the judgmental stare, the condescending tone or simply the lack of empathy – the list goes on. The list doesn’t end here. Working mothers face numerous challenges as they strive to balance their professional and personal responsibilities. From societal expectations to workplace biases, the hurdles can sometimes seem insurmountable. However, by building strong support networks, negotiating for flexibility, and challenging stereotypes, working mothers can overcome these challenges and achieve success in both their careers and their personal lives. My advice to working mothers, is to enlist as much help as possible. Outsource tasks that do not require a personal touch. Define boundaries at home and work, and reinforce what can or cannot be expected of you. Seek mentors and build allies at work. Most importantly, work on your ‘self’ – carve out ‘me-time’ and indulge in self-care. Doesn’t have to mean a spa, it could be cuppa and a book or meeting an old friend. The reality is that there's no such thing as a perfect balance. It's all about finding what works for your family and your career and making compromises when needed. Lastly, be nice to yourself. Remember, you’re doing the best you can. Every mother is the best mother in the world. Chetna Israni is Co-Founder and Director of Morning Star Brandcom. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed are of the author/interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views of Business Insider India. The article has been partly edited for length and clarity.

OPINION: Balancing act or pure jugglery — navigating professional challenges as a working mother

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The Hawaiian island of Maui has tsunami alert systems to warn residents of emergencies.</li><li>Locals say no alerts were issued while a fire blazed, killing at least 93 on the island.</li></ul>Every first Monday of the month, residents of the <a href="https://www.insider.com/rescue-crews-search-for-hundreds-of-missing-after-hawaii-fire-2023-8">Hawaiian island of Maui</a> know to prepare for a test of their emergency alert system, with blaring sirens meant to warn of incoming tsunamis, floods, or earthquakes."It always scares tourists because they think, like, 'oh my gosh.' Because it is so loud and it goes for a little bit — but the people that live here know: That's our warning," Kami Irwin, a Maui resident helping to coordinate fire relief efforts at the Maui Brewing Company location in Kihei, told Insider. "You know, if it doesn't go off on that day and it goes off on a different day, there's something wrong."This week, as <a href="https://www.insider.com/maui-wildfires-before-after-photos-show-lahaina-destruction-2023-8">wildfires ravaged the island and burned nearly an entire city to the ground</a>, Irwin and other locals told Insider no sirens went off."This is where I believe the ball was dropped — in my eyes and a few other open eyes as well — because there was no warning," Matt Robb, co-owner of a Lāhainā bar called The Dirty Monkey, told Insider.Of the 26 staff of The Dirty Monkey, Robb said 16 lost their homes and everything in them due to the wildfire. Staff with no place to stay are waiting for aid in the home of the bar's other co-owner, Alen Aivazian.<h2>'Get the hell out now'</h2>Small fires had broken out earlier this month, a common occurrence on the island, but when the wind kicked up on August 8 — caused by the Category 4 storm Hurricane Dora, which was surging about 500 miles away — the flames began spreading uncontrollably.But residents of the island had no idea anything was wrong except that the power went out.Instead of closing that night's shift at the bar, Aivazian, who was visiting family in Minnesota when the fire broke out, told Insider, "Everyone went to my house or they went home because they didn't know what was happening.""But then, in a couple hours, while they were trying to sleep, they were woken up by policemen telling them, 'get the hell out now,'" Aivazian said. And then they were all running, he said, "they weren't even able to grab any underwear, a shirt or cash if they had any."He added: "That's probably why so many people have died. It happened that night — and fast. And, you know, not everybody is trained properly on what to do, so they didn't know which way to run."The <a href="https://www.insider.com/maui-wildfires-service-cell-service-landlines-down-hawaii-2023-8">death toll rose to 93</a> on Sunday, making the <a href="https://www.insider.com/maui-wildfires-california-researchers-using-ai-to-prevent-future-wildfires-2023-8">Maui fires the deadliest in American history.</a> But officials warn that number will continue to increase, as only 3% of the areas affected by the fires have so far been searched for potential survivors and the bodies of victims.<a href="https://www.insider.com/fema-director-maui-wildfire-devastation-like-apocalypic-movie-2023-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Insider reported</a> FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said in some cases, the ground is still too hot for search-and-rescue dogs to traverse."It's absolutely heartbreaking to just see an entire community that is no longer there," Criswell said, describing the scene on the Hawaiian island as like "an apocalyptic movie."Representatives for the Maui Police Department and the office of Mayor Richard Bissen did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.Survivors have <a href="https://www.insider.com/maui-fire-survivors-leadership-botched-emergency-response-looting-first-aid-2023-8">criticized local leadership for their response to the deadly fire</a>, from the lack of emergency warnings to failure to communicate effectively or provide adequate aid in the immediate aftermath. Citizen groups, including those formed by staff at The Dirty Monkey and Maui Brewing Company, are stepping up to <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/ac52uj-maui-fire-disaster-relief">fundraise</a>, coordinate directly with local authorities and aid groups, and form patrols for security and search and rescue efforts. "There's some police presence. There's some small military presence, but at night people are being robbed at gunpoint," Robb told Insider. "People are raped and pillaged. I mean, they're going through houses — and then by day it's hunky dory. So where is the support? I don't think our government and our leaders, at this point, know how to handle this or what to do."

Despite tsunami warning system in place for emergencies, Maui residents say 'there was no warning' before wildfire ravaged island

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The EMT industry is facing an increasingly difficult <keyword id="11908404" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="labor-shortage" source="Orion">labor shortage</keyword>, NBC <keyword id="11893589" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news" source="Orion">News</keyword> reports.</li><li>The industry has long dealt with high turnover over burnout and low pay, and it's only worsened.</li></ul>Emergency medical technicians, or <keyword id="12284056" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="emts" source="Orion">EMTs</keyword>, are the latest group to contend with an increasingly worsening labor shortage - and civilians who need medical assistance could feel the impact, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ems-services-warn-crippling-labor-shortage-undermining-911-system-rcna2677">NBC News reports</a>.It's not a new problem, but it's a shortage that's only gotten worse throughout the pandemic, where EMTs have been out on the frontlines. American Ambulance Association President Shawn Baird told NBC News that the "magnitude" of shortages "has really blown up after the last few months," and said that there aren't enough workers to cover calls in many different areas."When you take a system that was already fragile and stretched it, because you didn't have enough people entering the field, then you throw a public health emergency and all of the additional burdens that it put on our workforce as well as the <keyword id="11939554" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="labor-shortages" source="Orion">labor shortages</keyword> across the entire <keyword id="11893570" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="economy" source="Orion">economy</keyword>, and it really has put us in a crisis mode," Baird told NBC News.All across the economy, industries are struggling to hire and retain workers. Economists <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-youre-having-trouble-finding-job-employees-labor-shortage-economists-2021-9">have told Insider</a> that may be due to workers staying home over virus concerns, and that businesses may need to offer higher wages and better working conditions and benefits to lure them back. That's true for many of the workers who have been dispatched to serve on the frontlines of the pandemic.Emergency personnel had already been facing down a shortage prior to the pandemic, Insider's Dave Mosher and Rhea Mahbubani <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-new-york-ambulance-paramedic-emergency-workers-pay-retention-risks-2020-4">reported</a> in April 2020. At the time, New York City-based lieutenant EMT Vincent Variale said that EMTs faced heavy turnover, with some leaving the field over low pay and lack of funding for the program compared to their peers. When the pandemic hit, ambulance workers also <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-group-matches-medical-workers-with-empty-rvs-coronavirus-2020-4">became infected</a> at high rates - exacerbating staffing issues and forcing remaining personnel to work longer shifts, with some putting in 16 hours a day for continuous days.In 2018, the CDC <a href="https://emergency.cdc.gov/coping/responders.asp">released</a> a set of tips for emergency responders to cope with burnout. One self-care technique included limiting shifts to be under 12 hours.Fewer workers also means <a href="https://thelensnola.org/2021/08/24/people-are-just-reaching-a-breaking-point-new-orleans-ems-employees-say-pay-covid-burnout-contributing-to-turnover-and-delays-in-care/">greater delays</a> for ambulances and response times, something that can potentially have a big impact on patient outcomes.Now, NBC News reports that the "pandemic has made a bad labor problem worse," as workers leave over the strain of working during the pandemic, and the remaining responders have to work longer (and then leave over it) - creating a continual cycle of turnover. Courses to train new workers were also put on pause by the pandemic. One Michigan provider, Ken Cummings of Tri-Star Hospital EMS, told NBC News that the state has 1,000 open positions. Some areas are turning to new initiatives to train EMTs and get them out into the field. The Bronx Times <a href="https://www.bxtimes.com/ems-in-progress/">reported</a> on "Earn While You Learn" program launching in New York City; according to the <a href="https://www.hunterems.com/ewyl">program's website</a>, trainees will be paid a training wage throughout the program and all fees are paid for by Global Medical Response. The Bronx Times said that the program aims to graduate 80 paramedics. In 2019, the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/01/05/nycs-paramedic-shortage-has-become-a-crisis-emts-say/">reported</a> that shortages in the city were a "crisis."

An EMT labor shortage might mean you have to wait longer after calling 911, report says

The <keyword id="866184" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="indian-computer-emergency-response-team" source="Orion">Indian Computer Emergency Response Team</keyword> (CERT-In) has issued a 'high severity' warning for <keyword id="182214" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="google-chrome" source="Orion">Google Chrome</keyword> Internet browser users. As per the advisory, several vulnerabilities have been found in the <keyword id="6355629" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="google" source="Orion">Google</keyword> <keyword id="30001" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="chrome" source="Orion">Chrome</keyword> browser that could be exploited by a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the targeted system. Google has already released a fix for these vulnerabilities in its latest software update for Chrome and it is highly advisable that Google Chrome users upgrade to the latest version soon. According to Google, 22 types of security fixes have been given in the latest Chrome browser, which works to increase user privacy. The government advisory as well as Google advised Chrome users to update to the latest version. Google recently updated the Chrome stable channel to 96.0.4664.93 for Windows, Mac and Linux, which is available for all users. In an advisory, CERT-In said, "Multiple vulnerabilities exists in Google chrome due to Type Confusion in V8; Use after free in web apps, UI, window manager, screen capture, file API, auto fill and developer tools; Incorrect security UI in autofill; Heap buffer overflow in extensions, BFCache and ANGLE; Type Confusion in loader; Insufficient data validation in loader; Integer underflow in ANGLE and Insufficient validation of untrusted input in new tab page." One can check for the available update on Chrome and update it by clicking the three vertical dots in the top right of the page. Click the About Chrome option and it will update. The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team is an office within the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of the Government of India.

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