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Special glasses marketed to filter out blue light likely do not make any difference to sleep quality or eye strain from computer use, according to a new review of studies. Blue-light blocking spectacles have been increasingly recommended, often by optometrists, since the early 2000s. Eye patients are frequently prescribed these lenses in many parts of the world with a range of marketing claims existing about their potential benefits. Some of these claims include that the special glasses may reduce eye strain associated with digital device use, improve sleep quality, and also protect the retina from light-induced damage. However, researchers, including those from the University of Melbourne in Australia, say there is “substantial debate” about whether blue-light filtering spectacle lenses have merit in ophthalmic practice. The research, published in the journal Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, assessed data from 17 clinical trials on the benefits offered by these glasses for improving visual performance, providing protection to the retina, and improving sleep quality. The review assessed data from individual studies from six countries, each including five to 156 participants, and the period of time over which the lenses were assessed ranging from less than one day to five weeks. Researchers found that there may be “no short-term advantages” with using blue-light filtering spectacle lenses to reduce visual fatigue associated with computer use, compared to non-blue-light filtering lenses. They say it is also currently unclear whether these lenses affect vision quality or sleep-related outcomes. The research review could also draw no conclusions about any potential effects on retinal health in the longer term. “People should be aware of these findings when deciding whether to purchase these spectacles,” study co-author Laura Downie said. “Our findings do not support the prescription of blue-light filtering lenses to the general population. These results are relevant to a broad range of stakeholders, including eye care professionals, patients, researchers and the broader community,” Dr Downie added. However, scientists said the quality and duration of the individual studies part of the review also needs to be considered. “High-quality, large clinical research studies with longer follow-up in more diverse populations are still required to ascertain more clearly the potential effects of blue-light filtering spectacle lenses on visual performance, sleep and eye health,” Sumeer Singh, another author of the study, said. The potential mechanisms by which these lenses might help with eye strain, sleep, and protecting the retina are also unclear, scientists say. “The amount of blue light our eyes receive from artificial sources, such as computer screens, is about a thousandth of what we get from natural daylight,” Dr Singh said. “Filtering out higher levels of blue light would require the lenses to have an obvious amber tint, which would have a substantial effect on colour perception,” he added. But the new research did not find any consistent reports of adverse side effects from using blue-light filtering lenses. Read More A bed bugs epidemic is sweeping the UK – this is why AI can predict Parkinson’s subtype with up to 95% accuracy, study suggests The return of schedules: How parents can make the most of back-to-school energy

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Hundreds of refugees and migrants are feared missing after a fishing vessel carrying them from Libya capsized and sank off the southern coast of Greece. At least 79 were earlier confirmed dead in the accident that occurred early Wednesday, while officials now fear scores more may have drowned as rescue operations continued on Thursday. The exact number of people on the boat has become the subject of speculation, with some Greek officials claiming it carried as many as 600 people. This is the deadliest turn of events off the country’s coast since the height of the 2015 migration crisis. “It’s one of the biggest operations ever in the Mediterranean,” Greek coastguard spokesman Nikos Alexiou told state broadcaster ERT TV. “We won’t stop looking,” he said. Rescuers have so far saved 104 passengers, including Egyptians, Syrians, Pakistanis, Afghans and Palestinians. Mr Alexiou told local media on Thursday that all survivors are men. One of the dead, however, is a woman, said local reports. “No other survivor has been found [besides the 104 rescued yesterday] and the bodies [recovered] also remain 79,” he added. Caretaker Greek prime minister Ioannis Sarmas declared three days of national mourning on Wednesday night and said their thoughts were with “all the victims of the ruthless smugglers who exploit human unhappiness”. “There has been a dramatic rise in the death count, which is climbing by the hour,” one Greek official said on Wednesday. “Speculation is rife that as many as 600 people were onboard but that has not been confirmed. The ship is under the water. It has sunk.” Ioannis Zafiropoulos, deputy mayor of the port city of Kalamata, where survivors were taken, said there were “more than 500 people” on board. ERT TV reported that Charity Alarm Phone, which operates a trans-European network supporting rescue operations, said it received alerts from people on board a ship in distress off Greece late on Tuesday, saying 750 people were on board. However, it said that the spokesman for Greece’s caretaker government, Ilias Siakantaris, said reports that the vessel was carrying 700-750 people could not be confirmed. “We do not know what was in the hold... but we know that several smugglers lock people up to maintain control,” he said. On Thursday morning, Greek coastguard spokesman Mr Alexiou said it appeared the vessel capsized after people abruptly moved to one side – shifting the centre of gravity of the 25-30-metre vessel. “The outer deck was full of people, and we presume the interior [of the vessel] would also have been full. It looks as if there was a shift among the people who were crammed on board, and it capsized.” Eight people had been transferred to the central Port Authority of Kalamata for preliminary investigation by late Wednesday, said reports. In Kalamata on Thursday, there were tents set up for the rescued people and provisions for soup kitchens as well. The ship capsized in international waters, about 47 nautical miles (87km) southwest of Pylos off the Peloponnese coast, as it made its way to Italy. The Greek coastguard learned about the boat’s engine failure shortly before 2am, the shipping ministry said. Coastguard vessels, a navy frigate, military transport planes, an air force helicopter and an array of private craft were searching for survivors on Thursday. Reports said search and rescue efforts were hampered by strong winds. “The engine stopped and it sank in minutes,” one of the survivors was quoted as saying. Greek president Katerina Sakellaropoulou visited the area where rescued migrants were being tended to and political parties called off planned campaign events ahead of national elections later this month. The Italy-bound boat is believed to have sailed from eastern Libya’s Tobruk area. It was spotted heading north at high speed, according to the Greek coastguard. Coastguard officers tried to approach the vessel after receiving a request for help, it said at around 2am, then “saw the boat take a right turn, then a sharp left, and then another right so big that it caused the vessel to capsize”. Repeated calls to the vessel offering help were declined, the coastguard said in a statement. “In the afternoon a merchant vessel approached the ship and provided it with food and supplies, while the [passengers] refused any further assistance,” it said. A second merchant ship that approached it later offered further supplies and assistance which were turned down. About 72,000 refugees and migrants have arrived so far this year in Europe’s frontline countries Italy, Spain, Greece, Malta and Cyprus, according to UN data, with the majority landing in Italy. Meanwhile, it was reported that the rescued people who were taken to the hospital in Kalamata were battling hypothermia, fainting incidents and dehydration. “We are witnessing one of the biggest tragedies in the Mediterranean, and the numbers announced by the authorities are devastating,” Gianluca Rocco, head of the Greek section of UN migration agency International Organisation for Migration (IOM), said on Wednesday. “This situation reinforces the urgency for concrete, comprehensive action from states to save lives at sea and reduce perilous journeys by expanding safe and regular pathways to migration.” The IOM has recorded more than 21,000 deaths and disappearances in the central Mediterranean since 2014. Additional reporting by agencies Read More Charities say new Italian rules will limit rescues at sea A look at migration trends behind the latest shipwreck off Greece Greece says it's investigating claim migrants were illegally deported back to Turkey After long waits, new pilgrims prepare for Hajj's return, the first major one since COVID-19 Huge search seeks survivors of migrant boat sinking off Greece; hundreds feared missing After long waits, new pilgrims prepare for return of Hajj, the first major one since COVID-19

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The home of a Paris mayor has been raided and set alight while his wife and children were inside sleeping as the city continues to be rocked by riots. Vincent Jeanbrun, who is in charge of the area of L’Hay-les-Roses in the southern suburbs, said rockets were also thrown as they fled from the burning house in what he’s calling an “assassination attempt”. Mr Jeanbrun said his wife and one of his two children, who are both aged under eight, were injured as they fled the building in the early hours of Sunday. “Last night, a milestone was reached in horror and ignominy,” he wrote on Twitter. “My home was attacked and my family was the victim of an assassination attempt.” The mayor was not at home at the time but was instead working at his office. Mr Jeanbrun also said the attack was “a murder attempt of unspeakable cowardice”. “A line has been crossed,” he said. “If my priority today is to take care of my family, my determination to protect and serve the Republic is greater than before.” A car was used to ram through the gates of the family’s home before the vehicle was set on fire in an effort for flames to spread to the house, Mr Jeanbrun said in a statement. His wife, Melanie Nowak, suffered a broken leg when she attempted to flee through rocket fire. An attempted murder investigation has already been opened, according to France’s minister of the interior Gerald Darmanin. “The perpetrators will answer for their heinous acts,” he said. The street outside of the Jeanbrun’s family home in L’Hay-les-Roses was closed off by police officers who declined to speak to the media on Sunday evening about what had occurred. However, residents of the affluent and quiet suburb said they were “deeply frightened” by the incident and said it was “unimaginable” in their neighbourhood. “By chance we spoke to the mayor just yesterday and he said there was a problem but we never imagined this. It’s very scary and unexpected,” said Dominique, 61, who lives 100m away and is a neighbour of the Jeanburns. He said the mayor’s wife was still being treated for her injuries in hospital. “They came at 1am and set fire to a car, rammed the house with it while the children were inside,” his wife Veronique added, visibly shaken. “In all the 20 years we have lived here we have never experienced anything like it. It’s terrifying,” she added. Both said the area had been quiet despite the unrest rocking the rest of country but the mayor had been concerned in recent days as he had come out publicly supporting the need to police the streets. “There is no justification for this act – people have looted shops, burned cars and now done this, attacking a family while children are inside,” Veronique added. Another resident of the area – Michel, 30, a lawyer – said the attack only shored up the belief in these neighbourhoods that a greater police presence was needed. “Nobody is safe at the moment and so we live day by day. This area is usually calm –but people are jumping on this moment, opportunists to destabilise everything,” he added. The attack took place about 30km (19 miles) away from where a 17-year-old boy was killed, allegedly by a police officer, during a traffic stop on Tuesday in the suburb of Nanterre. Nahel Merzouk’s death has triggered widespread riots in France, which resulted in tens of thousands of police officers being deployed to the streets. His grandmother, Nadia, urged people not to join in the chaos in a desperate plea on Saturday. “I want it to stop everywhere,” she told TV channel BFM TV. “I tell the people who are rioting this: do not smash windows, attack schools or buses. Stop! It’s the mums who are taking the bus, it’s the mums who walk outside.” Nadia went on to detail just how the tragedy has undone her family. “It’s over, my daughter no longer has a life,” she said. Anger and unrest quickly spread from the capital’s suburbs to other parts of France including Marseille after almost a week since the shooting. Curfews have been enforced in some places and thousands of police deployed to the streets in a bid to stop the chaos, which has included looting and bins being set on fire. Riots continued for a fifth night on Saturday, with 45,000 police deployed and 719 people arrested across the country by early on Sunday. Mourners paid tribute at the teenager’s funeral in the Parisian suburb of Nanterre on Saturday, near where he died. Nahel’s mother, who was identified as Mounia, told French television station France 5 this week about the tragedy’s impact on her. “(The police officer) saw a little Arab-looking kid, he wanted to take his life,” she said. “A police officer cannot take his gun and fire at our children, take our children’s lives.” The teenager was of Algerian and Moroccan descent and lived in a suburb in the Vieux-Pont neighbourhood of Nanterre, about 15km from the centre of Paris. Nadia did not attend the “marche blanche”, which was organised by her daughter on Thursday night as she didn’t want to leave the spot where her grandson died. French president Emmanuel Macron met with ministers on Sunday evening in a desperate effort to review the situation. Read More Paris shooting: Where are the riots in France and why are they happening? France riots - live: Mayor claims protesters ‘try to assassinate his family’ in fifth night of violence Paris protests: Where are the riots in France and why are they happening?

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