WORLD NEWS FLASH
EUROPE
A nurse has been convicted of murdering newborn babies at the hospital where she worked.
Lucy Letby used a variety of methods to secretly attack a total of 13 babies on the neonatal ward at the Countess of Chester hospital between 2015 and 2016.
Seven babies died as a result and a jury found Letby guilty of their murder on Aug. 18. She was also found guilty of seven counts of attempted murder relating to six other babies. On Aug. 21, Judge James Goss issued a whole life order with no condition of early release. The American equivalent would be life in prison with no parole.
During the trial, which began in October last year, Manchester Crown Court heard that doctors at the hospital began to notice a significant rise in the number of babies who were dying or were unexpectedly collapsing. When they were unable to find a medical explanation, police were alerted and an investigation followed.
Letby, 33, was first arrested in July 2018 and subsequently charged in November 2020.
The prosecution was able to present evidence of Letby using various methods to attack babies, including: the injection of air and insulin into their bloodstream; the infusion of air into their gastrointestinal tract; force feeding an overdose of milk or fluids; impact-type trauma. Her intention was to kill the babies while deceiving her colleagues into believing there was a natural cause.
Pascale Jones of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said, “Lucy Letby sought to deceive her colleagues and pass off the harm she caused as nothing more than a worsening of each baby’s existing vulnerability.
“In her hands, innocuous substances like air, milk, fluids – or medication like insulin – would become lethal. She perverted her learning and weaponized her craft to inflict harm, grief and death.
“Time and again, she harmed babies, in an environment which should have been safe for them and their families. Her attacks were a complete betrayal of the trust placed in her.
“My thoughts are with families of the victims who may never have closure, but who now have answers to questions which had troubled them for years.”
Jonathan Storer, Chief Crown Prosecutor, CPS Mersey-Cheshire, said, “This is an utterly horrifying case. Like everyone who followed the trial, I have been appalled by Letby’s callous crimes.
“To the families of the victims – I hope your unimaginable suffering is eased in some way by the verdicts. Our thoughts remain with you.
“Our prosecution team and police investigators have my respect and gratitude. These convictions could not have happened without their dedication to securing justice.”
Key evidence in the prosecution case
UNITED STATES
NO EQUALITY IN MATERNITY CARE
Twenty percent of women surveyed reported experiences of mistreatment during pregnancy and delivery care, according to a new CDC Vital Signs report. Mistreatment during maternity care was higher among Black (30%), Hispanic (29%), and multiracial (27%) women.
“Every mother deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. Maternal care is a core component of this nation’s health care, and the Biden-Harris Administration is committed to improving maternal health outcomes,” said U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra. “Bias, stigma, and mistreatment have no place in our healthcare systems.”
Women with no insurance (28%) or public insurance (26%) at the time of delivery experienced more mistreatment during maternity care than women with private insurance (16%).
The most common types of mistreatment reported were:
CDC analyzed data from the Porter Novelli View Moms survey administered in English from April 24-30, 2023, to examine components of respectful care. While most of the 2,402 survey respondents reported overall satisfaction with the maternity care they received, satisfaction was lower among those who experienced mistreatment.
Improving the quality of maternity care is one approach that can prevent pregnancy-related deaths. All women deserve respectful maternity care that maintains their dignity, privacy, and confidentiality, ensures freedom from harm and mistreatment, and includes shared decision-making and continuous support.
“As a healthcare community, we need to do all we can to make sure we are delivering equitable and respectful care to women during pregnancy and delivery,” said CDC Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry, M.D., M.P.H. “Health systems, hospitals, and providers can take steps to improve care and lower the risk of pregnancy-related complications and death for all women. These data show that we must do better to support moms.”
Twenty-nine percent of women reported discrimination during maternity care. The most common reasons for reported discrimination were age, weight, and income and varied by race/ethnicity.
Black (40%), multiracial (39%), and Hispanic (37%) women reported the highest rates of discrimination. Experiences of racial discrimination have previously been associated with pregnancy complications.
Nearly half (45%) of women reported holding back from asking questions or discussing concerns with their provider during maternity care. The most common reasons included:
Effective communication among healthcare providers and patients can build trust and contribute to high-quality care. It is important for patients to feel comfortable sharing health concerns with their providers, which could lead to more accurate and timely treatment for pregnancy-related complications.
MASS SHOOTING UPDATE
Information recent as of 8-22-2023 at 12 p.m.
2023 Mass Shooting Stats: (Source: Mass Shooting Tracker – https://www.massshootingtracker.site/data/?year=2023)
Total Mass Shootings: 525
Total Dead: 638
Total Wounded: 2120
Shootings Per Day: 2.24
Days Reached in Year 2023 as of August 22: 234
AFRICA
CYBER CROOKS & NETWORKS CRUSHED
INTERPOL and AFRIPOL have coordinated an operation across 25 African countries that enabled investigators to arrest 14 suspected cybercriminals and identify 20,674 suspicious cyber networks, highlighting the surge in digital insecurity and cyber threats in the region.
The networks identified were linked to financial losses of more than USD $40 million.
The four-month Africa Cyber Surge II operation was launched in April 2023 and focused on identifying cybercriminals and compromised infrastructure. It was coordinated by INTERPOL’s Cybercrime Directorate, under the auspices of the INTERPOL Africa Cybercrime Operations desk and INTERPOL’s Support Program for the African Union in relation to AFRIPOL (ISPA).
This operation sought to facilitate communication, provide analysis and share intelligence between countries, streamlining cooperation between African law enforcement agencies to prevent, mitigate, investigate, and disrupt cyber extorsion, phishing, business email compromise and online scams.
By leveraging actionable private sector intelligence, it underlined how cybersecurity is most effective when international law enforcement, national authorities, and private sector partners cooperate to share best practices and pro-actively combat cybercrime.
INTERPOL, AFRIPOL and private sector partners Group-IB and Uppsala Security provided on-the-ground operational support, sharing actionable intelligence leveraged throughout the operation.
- In Cameroon, acting on a tip-off from Côte d’Ivoire, three suspects were arrested in relation to an online scam involving the fraudulent sale of works of art worth USD 850,000.
- Authorities in Nigeria arrested a suspect accused of defrauding a Gambian victim.
- Police in Mauritius arrested two money mules linked to scams initiated through messaging platforms.
- In Gambia, proactive measures and strong partnerships led to the take down of 185 Internet Protocols (IP) connected to malicious activities.
- Two Darknet sites have been taken down following actions by Cameroonian authorities.
- In Kenya, authorities took down 615 malware hosters.
Some 150 INTERPOL analytical reports providing intelligence and insight on cyber threats targeting specific countries were distributed to participating countries for investigative and disruptive actions during the operation.
Developed by INTERPOL based on information shared by partners Group-IB, Trend Micro, Kaspersky, and Coinbase, the reports contained information on:
- 3,786 malicious command and control servers
- 14,134 victim IPs linked to data stealer cases
- 1,415 phishing links and domains
- 939 scam IPs
- More than 400 other malicious URLs, IPs and botnets.
“The Africa Cyber Surge II operation has led to the strengthening of cybercrime departments in member countries as well as the solidification of partnerships with crucial stakeholders, such as computer emergency response teams and Internet Service Providers. This will further contribute to reducing the global impact of cybercrime and protecting communities in the region,” said Jürgen Stock, INTERPOL Secretary General.
The initiative highlighted the strong correlation between financial crime and cybercrime, allowing participating countries to expand their law enforcement response by adopting a “follow the money” approach.
It was also preceded by a one-week tabletop exercise in Tanzania on cybercrime and cryptocurrency investigations, equipping officials from 20 African countries with the knowledge and skills necessary for the successful execution of the operation.
“As digital systems, Information Communication Technologies and Artificial Intelligence grow in prominence, it is urgent that public and private actors work hand in hand to prevent these technologies from being exploited by cybercriminals. Coordinated operations such as Cyber Surge are necessary to disrupt criminal networks and build individual, organizational and society-wide levels of protection,” said AFRIPOL’s Acting Executive Director, Ambassador Jalel Chelba.
Africa Cyber Surge II was carried out with funding by the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, the German Federal Foreign Office and the Council of Europe.
