A new report from the Burnet Institute, commissioned by the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE) has found the number of people, including those in their 30s, diagnosed with alcohol-associated hepatitis has increased in recent years.

It found the rate of alcohol-associated hepatitis increased drastically in Victoria during the COVID-19 pandemic and had since remained elevated.

"The COVID lockdowns, which were particularly severe in Victoria, clearly contributed [to alcohol consumption]"...

"I suspect we would find similar effects across Australian states and territories."

"Between 2017 and 2024, around 40 per cent of admissions for alcohol-associated hepatitis occurred in people under the age of 45,"

While data suggested young people were now drinking less than previous generations... this was not the whole story.

"A smaller number of people are also drinking more, including binge drinking, resulting in harmful alcohol consumption and its adverse consequences,"

Women now account for about one in three cases of alcohol-associated hepatitis in Victoria...

The report found women with alcohol-associated hepatitis were younger, more physically frail and more likely to require an ICU admission than men.

"Women have a smaller body mass, particularly muscle mass, than men and so the amount of alcohol that can lead to harm within the body is lower,"

A lot of attention has been paid to the mischief done by “agentic” large language models (LLMs) on their own initiative. But the more immediate and commonplace danger is that AI will multiply and indulge existing human weaknesses. AI does not have to be super intelligent to provide an excuse for secretive and poor-quality government decision-making.

The 19 stores set to close their doors are:

• Carousel, WA
• Garden City, WA
• Glen Waverley, VIC
• Green Hills, NSW
• Hay Street Mall, WA
• Highpoint, VIC
• Hornsby, NSW
• Macarthur Square, NSW
• Macquarie Centre, NSW
• Malvern Central, VIC
• Marion, SA
• Newmarket, NZ
• Parramatta, NSW
• Robina Town Centre, QLD
• Sunshine Plaza, QLD
• Warringah Mall, NSW
• West Lakes, SA
• Woden, ACT
• Wollongong Central, NSW

apparently it was for an internal planning day

The robots are taking charge of healthcare, with assessments of NDIS and aged care patients’ needs being done by algorithms that can’t be held accountable.

“What gets measured, gets managed.”

It’s a familiar saying in government and business. But when it comes to poverty, Australia has a significant blind spot.

Despite being one of the world’s wealthiest countries, Australia still lacks an official national poverty measure, making it hard to track whether efforts to reduce disadvantage are working.

“Official measures are the critical first step in supporting governments and decision-makers to best address poverty in Australia,” said Travers McLeod, executive director of the Brotherhood of St. Laurence (BSL).

The renewed push to address this gap follows former High Court justice Michael Kirby’s warning that poverty is eroding Australia’s democracy...

Almost 160 countries have already adopted official poverty measures, whether monetary, multidimensional or both, while Australia has yet to adopt either type.

Let's hope they get on with this quick.

https://thepoint.com.au/new/261110-australia-in-the-minority-of-countries-without-official-poverty-measure-as-experts-push-for-change

The 38-year-old security guard had left Queensland to join the Russian army in its invasion of Ukraine, despite having no military experience or known family ties to eastern Europe.

He entered into a contract with Russia before undergoing basic combat training with other foreign mercenaries.

But within days of posting about being sent to the front line, unconfirmed reports started spreading online that Daryl "Dundee" Fladung had been killed by a drone strike.

"I think he's an idiot for doing it. But there's nothing I can do about it," she told ABC Investigations.

Well, his mother seems on the ball but like she said, what can you do? FAFO

Good luck to Ukraine and their struggle for freedom!