Latest news with #EuropeanCountries
Condé Nast Traveler
4 days ago
- Condé Nast Traveler
How Europeans Feel About American Tourists Right Now
When you picture an American tourist in Europe, a certain cliché is bound to spring to mind. Perhaps you envision a loud, bumbling traveler in a large tour group, who doesn't attempt to adhere to cultural customs or speak the local language, and who is impatient at tourist attractions and restaurants. But do these stereotypes actually have any truth to them? Or are they outdated tropes that don't represent the majority of US travelers? A new study is shedding light on the matter. To get to the bottom of how Europeans really see American travelers, Upgraded Points surveyed more than 2,200 people across 22 European countries on their general view of US tourists. The travel credit card advice site also asked Europeans whether recent political events impacted their opinions. For comparison, they also surveyed 1,000 American travelers on their views of the typical US tourist. How Europeans really see American tourists On the whole, Americans actually had a much harsher view of themselves as tourists than the European respondents did. 'Americans often assume the worst about how they come off, while Europeans see a more balanced, though definitely still loud, picture,' the study said. Indeed, the one matter on which both groups agreed was that American travelers can be loud: 70% of Europeans said loudness was a typical trait of US tourists, while 69% of Americans agreed.
Medscape
6 days ago
- Health
- Medscape
Low Apgar Scores Predict Poor Outcomes in Premature Infants
TOPLINE: A 5-minute Apgar score < 7 was significantly associated with increased risks for in-hospital mortality, severe intraventricular haemorrhage (IVH), bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), and prolonged hospital stay among infants born very preterm (VPT). METHODOLOGY: Researchers conducted a prospective population-based cohort study of liveborn infants born VPT from the EPICE-SHIPS cohort. This study included 7900 liveborn infants born VPT between 22 + 0 and 31 + 6 weeks of gestation across 19 regions in 11 European countries. Data on maternal and perinatal characteristics, management, and neonatal outcomes were collected from patient records. Adjusted associations between 5-minute Apgar scores < 7 and adverse neonatal outcomes were analysed; researchers tested for interactions by the country-level prevalence of an Apgar score < 7, categorised as low (14%-16%), medium (19%-22%), and high (28%-40%) groups. Outcomes included in-hospital mortality, severe IVH (> grade 2), cystic periventricular leukomalacia (cPVL), necrotising enterocolitis, late-onset infection, ROP (≥ stage 3), BPD (moderate/severe), and prolonged hospital stay. TAKEAWAY: A 5-minute Apgar score < 7 was observed in 20.2% of infants born VPT, varying widely across countries from 14% to 40%. A low Apgar score (< 7) was strongly associated with a higher risk for in-hospital mortality than a high Apgar score (≥ 7; 35.7% vs 6.9%; adjusted relative risk [RR], 2.24; 95% CI, 1.95-2.58), with consistent risk observed across all country groups. A low Apgar score was associated with increased risks for severe IVH (RR, 1.61; 95% CI, 1.33-1.96), ROP (RR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.09-1.82), cPVL (RR, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.00-1.96), BPD (RR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.20-1.51), and prolonged hospital stay (RR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.26-1.63). Associations with IVH, BPD, and prolonged hospital stay were stronger among countries with a lower prevalence of low Apgar scores (test of interaction P = .04 for IVH, P = .09 for BPD, and P = .43 for prolonged hospital stay). IN PRACTICE: "[Low Apgar scores'] interactions with adverse outcomes demand caution when using the Apgar score in prognostic models for clinical care and research without local validation," the authors wrote. SOURCE: This study was led by Harald Ehrhardt, MD, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, University Medical Centre Ulm, Ulm, Germany. It was published online on July 15, 2025, in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology. LIMITATIONS: The study's data were collected in 2011-2012, and clinical practices may have evolved since then. Variations in how Apgar scores were assigned across different centres, the lack of data on postnatal resuscitation efforts, and a mostly White European cohort may have limited generalisability. DISCLOSURES: This work was supported by the European Union's (EU's) Seventh Framework Programme and the EU's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. Some authors reported receiving funding from the EU and Swedish Foundation related to the study, and others reported receiving unrelated grants and serving unpaid roles in paediatric organisations and advisory boards. This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.
Washington Post
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
War in Gaza tests ties between Israel and traditional European allies
LONDON — Britain threatened Tuesday to take further action against Israel if it does not agree to end the war in Gaza, a day after two dozen mostly European countries condemned Israel's restrictions on aid shipments into the territory and the killings of hundreds of Palestinians trying to reach food.
Al Arabiya
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Iran warns it will react to return of UN sanctions, spokesperson says
Iran will react to the return of UN sanctions following the snapback mechanism, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said in a press conference on Monday. He added that European countries are not in a place to trigger the UN snapback mechanism. Developing
Daily Mail
26-06-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Alarm over brain-eating parasite found in supermarket salad item - amid rise in deadly food poisoning
Health chiefs have sounded the alarm over ready-to-eat salad bags due to potentially-deadly contamination fears, amid an alarming rise in food poisoning outbreaks. There are currently no mandatory surveillance for bacteria in fresh produce—which can cause severe brain damage and breathing difficulties—despite ready-to-eat items surging in popularity, scientists have warned. The contamination is not confined to a specific area, instead reported across 10 European countries including the UK, the study, published in the journal Eurosurveillance found. Scientists collected 3,320 salad samples between October 2021 and September 2022 and found that over 4 per cent of the leaves were contaminated with toxoplasma gondii oocysts. This bacteria can be passed on by digesting cat feces, which contaminate food and water, making salad that is not washed properly a popular breeding ground for the bacteria. Research by the National Institute of Health suggests that half of the UK population show signs of past infection by the age of 50, though most cases go unnoticed. The nasty bug can also cause flu-like symptoms and muscle aches and pains. However, it can be fatal. People who have a weakened immune system, such as cancer patients, are at an increased risk of infection, known as toxoplasmosis. This can cause severe neurological and respiratory systems which can be fatal, causing damage to the brain, eyes, heart and lungs. Catching this infection during pregnancy can be particularly dangerous, resulting in spontaneous miscarriage and fetal abnormalities, the NHS warns. If people become seriously ill, they may need hospital care because the damage can be life-threatening. The NHS advises anyone who experiences more serious symptoms, including confusion and slurred speech to call 999. However, most cases will clear up on their own or can be treated with a course of antibiotics. Samples of the leaves were collected in the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and the UK. Most positive samples were collected in winter and packaged in the UK, France, Portugal, Spain and Denmark. Scientists are now urging for better control measures to help protect consumers against infection. 'This is particularly relevant since ready-to-eat salads are intended to be consumed raw without any further treatment by the consumer', they added. 'Future work should investigate presence of [the parasite] in different steps of the ready-to-eat production to minimise infection risk for humans.' This comes as health watchdogs warn that outbreaks of food poisoning are becoming more complex, with a significant increase in serious cases. In April this year, health officials sounded the alarm over a worrying surge in serious cases of a rare strain of bacterial infection that's been linked to colon cancer. The outbreak sickened 288 patients, causing nine cases of haemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) — a life-threatening condition that can lead to kidney failure —and two deaths, the latest UKHSA figures show. Food safety chiefs previously said they were confident a type of butterhead lettuce, named Apollo, was behind the outbreak of the diarrhoea-causing bug. Experts believe lettuce's texture can make it more prone to the bacteria and the fact it's not cooked, which would usually kill off bugs, increases the risk. Rates of a rare strain of the bug commonly in contaminated lettuce—have risen almost 10-fold in England in just seven years, fresh figures show. Cases of the infection are thought to be linked to the mysterious epidemic of colon cancer among the under 50s. In 2023 alone, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) investigated 59 new or ongoing outbreaks and incidence of gastrointestinal illness linked with foodborne disease. Now, experts have told of the potential reasons behind the explosion — including climate change, more vigilant reporting by hospitals and a rise in the number of people vulnerable to severe illness. It may also be the case that more shoppers are opting for prime sources of the bug, such as lettuce, either via ready made sandwiches or bagged salads. Studies suggest leafy greens are responsible for half of all outbreaks. Professor Paul Hunter, a renowned infectious diseases expert from the University of East Anglia told MailOnline: 'Watering during growth allows the potentially contaminated water to rest on the lettuce leaf. 'The rough and waxy surface of the leaf also makes it difficult to wash off E. coli. 'As to whether E. coli can enter the tissue of the lettuce, probably it can, though the evidence is somewhat conflicting. 'The main risk comes from bacteria attached to the leaf surface. Most other vegetables are either peeled or cooked before eating. 'We also found bagged lettuce already prepared for use to be a common factor.' Experts say all salad should be washed thoroughly by immersing in cold water. Storage of vegetables is also key: if salad bags are in the fridge and the temperature is less than four degrees, bacteria will not multiply as rapidly. Experts also say recent wet, warm weather can creates an 'ideal' breeding ground for E. coli to spread. Out of the 436 recorded incidence involving food contamination, Salmonella was the most recorded cause, with Listeria and STEC also on the rise. STEC is one of the most dangerous forms of food-borne E. coli, capable of causing life-threatening kidney failure, serious blood clotting disorders.
