WASHINGTON

A group of Dutch researchers has discovered what may be a previously unidentified set of organs inside the human head.  

The Netherlands-based scientists are proposing that the pair of glands be called tubarial salivary glands. They are located in an area at the back of the throat known as the nasopharynx where it hits the nasal cavity.

The researchers posted their findings in the September edition of the Radiotherapy and Oncology Journal, but the New York Times reported on it Monday.

The glands are small but visible to the human eye, but the location where they were found under the base of the skull "is not very accessible, and you need very sensitive imaging to detect it," Dr. Wouter Vogel, one of the study's authors, told the Times.

The discovery could help explain why patients who receive radiation therapy for cancers in the head or neck region commonly experience dry mouth and difficulty swallowing, Vogel added, noting that because they were not previously detected, "nobody ever tried to spare them."

Still, some scientists cast doubt on whether they should be considered unique new organs.

Dr. Alvand Hassankhani, a radiologist at the University of Pennsylvania, told the New York Times that there are thousands of small salivary glands in the human head in addition to the three known major glands.

Hassankhani said the Dutch researchers may have simply found a better way to image the minor glands than was previously known./aa

BOGOTA, Colombia 

A steady, recent rise in coronavirus cases has prompted new worries and restrictions in some Latin American and Caribbean countries.  

The region saw its number of infections pass 10.5 million Tuesday as the death toll topped 380,000, according to an Anadolu Agency count. 

Argentina 

The number of new daily cases in Argentina reached a record 16,337 on Tuesday and the government announced 384 deaths. 

Only a few months ago, Argentina was considered a success story. At the time, the nation of over 45 million had confirmed fewer cases than most Latin American countries. 

Argentina now has 1,018,999 confirmed cases and 27,100 fatalities. 

Mexico

With Mexico registering 86,338 official deaths from the coronavirus pandemic, authorities are asking people not to celebrate the Day of the Dead on Nov. 2.

Undersecretary of Health Hugo Lopez-Gatell recommended skipping the tradition this year because cemeteries are places of high concentrations of people that become COVID-19 risk zones.

“The cemeteries in Mexico are places of congregation. There is no doubt that these become spaces of risk and contagion. Therefore, the recommendation is to avoid converging and that administrative decisions are made from the municipalities,” said Lopez-Gatell.

Brazil  

Sao Paulo's Butantan Institute, which is carrying out Phase 3 testing of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by China's Sinovac Biotech, said the two-dose vaccine had proved to be safe in a trial so far involving 9,000 volunteers. 

"The first results of the clinical study conducted in Brazil prove that among all the vaccines tested in the country, CoronaVac is the safest, the one with the best and most promising rates," Sao Paulo Governor Joao Doria told reporters. 

Brazil recorded 23,227 cases of the coronavirus in the past 24 hours and 661 deaths, the Health Ministry said Tuesday. It has registered nearly 5.3 million cases of the virus, while the official death toll has risen to 154,837. 

Daily figures in Brazil have increased again after two days of reporting smaller numbers. 

Cuba 

The Cuban capital of Havana, the epicenter of the coronavirus on the island for several months, has not registered any new infections in the last 24 hours, a phenomenon that had not been recorded since July, according to health authorities. 

Havana is the most populated Cuban city and the one that has spent the most time under restrictions to control the disease. And yet, 13 provinces of the country are being allowed to reopen for tourism, but Havana is not one of them.  

Cuba has 6,305 confirmed cases and 127 deaths. 

Colombia  

Attacks on Colombian medical workers have surged to the worst rate in 24 years, most of whom work on the COVID-19 pandemic, a report by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) revealed Tuesday.

There were 242 attacks on medical teams between January and September and about 40% of them were related to the current context of the pandemic, the study said.

Colombia has more than 974,000 cases and 29,272 deaths. 

Nicaragua

Nicaragua has registered 154 deaths and 5,353 confirmed cases since having reported the first case of the virus in the country in mid-March, according to health authorities.

Data from the Ministry of Health contrasted with data from the COVID-19 Citizen Observatory, a network of doctors and volunteers, which reported 2,780 deaths from pneumonia and other symptoms related to the coronavirus and 10,733 suspected cases.

President Daniel Ortega said "Nicaragua is one of the countries that has best handled the pandemic.”

"Here we have had several cases, hundreds of cases, and we have also had deaths from the pandemic, but we have launched systematic campaigns through the Ministry of Health to take the basic, minimal protective measures: handwashing, face masks, distancing," he said./aa

ANKARA

Turkey will send around 110,000 tons of flour and legumes as aid to needy countries, the country’s Official Gazette announced early Wednesday. 

According to a presidential decree published in the gazette, the Turkish Grain Board (TMO) will supply up to 100,000 tons of flour and 10,000 tons of legumes to the Turkish Red Crescent (Kizilay), which will distribute it to civilians in need, especially in Syria.

The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) will assist the Turkish Red Crescent in the transport and distribution.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity./aa

WASHINGTON

The US unsealed charges Monday against six Russian intelligence officers accused of carrying out sweeping state-sponsored cyber attacks that included taking Ukraine's power grid offline, and election interference in France.

The officers are believed to be linked to Unit 74455 of Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), according to the Justice Department, which listed the defendants as Yuriy Sergeyevich Andrienko, 32, Sergey Vladimirovich Detistov, 35, Pavel Valeryevich Frolov, 28, Anatoliy Sergeyevich Kovalev, 29, Artem Valeryevich Ochichenko, 27 and Petr Nikolayevich Pliski, 32.

The US indicted in 2018 seven officers tied to Unit 74455 in relation to Moscow's efforts to interfere in the US's 2016 presidential election. The latest round of charges does not pertain to those activities.

Each of the men charged in Monday's indictment are facing seven counts each, including conspiracy to commit computer fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, damaging protected computers and aggravated identity theft.

“No country has weaponized its cyber capabilities as maliciously or irresponsibly as Russia, wantonly causing unprecedented damage to pursue small tactical advantages and to satisfy fits of spite,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers said in a statement.

“Today the department has charged these Russian officers with conducting the most disruptive and destructive series of computer attacks ever attributed to a single group, including by unleashing the NotPetya malware. No nation will recapture greatness while behaving in this way,” he added.

The NotPetya attack is widely credited as being the costliest cyber attack in history. It infected computers across the world in 2017, and the US has steadfastly maintained it was the work of the Russian government.

In addition to that attack, the men are accused of involvement in 2017 campaigns aimed at French President Emmanuel Macron's political party, as well as other politicians during that year's national elections.

The charges further reference a hacking campaign against the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games that targeted the Opening Ceremony in retaliation for bans imposed on Russian athletes for Moscow's state-sponsored doping program./aa

ANKARA

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Monday that the push by central banks to develop digital currencies entails both risks and benefits at the global and local levels.  

According to a new report by the international financial body, rapid progress in digital technologies has increased the likelihood of adopting new forms of digital currencies for both domestic and international transactions.

These include central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and so-called global stable coins (GSCs) proposed by big technological companies, the report said.

It stressed that these will increase competition, reduce transaction costs, expand access to services and encourage financial participation via mobile devices.

"CBDCs and GSCs could make cross-border payments less costly and make it easier for households and small firms to have access to financial services," the report said.

But it added that it can also reduce the ability of local governments to conduct monetary policy and control domestic financial conditions.

"Digital money adoption across borders also entails risks and policy challenges," it noted, adding this could increase pressures for currency substitution.

Without appropriate measures, foreign CBDCs and GSCs could facilitate illicit flows, it said, adding this will make it difficult for regulatory authorities to enforce exchange restrictions and capital flow management measures.

The scale of digital money adoption will rely on strong network effects but will also depend on design features, country circumstances, legal frameworks and regulation, the report said./aa