North Korea has said it is still willing to hold direct talks between its leader Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump, calling the planned summit “desperately necessary” to resolve potential hostilities after the US cancelled the meeting.
“We express our willingness to sit down face-to-face with the US and resolve issues anytime and in any format,” North Korea’s vice foreign minister Kim Kye-gwan said in a statement. “Our commitment to doing our best for the sake of peace and stability for the world and the Korean Peninsula remains unchanged, and we are open-minded in giving time and opportunity to the US.”
North Korea’s response moved to place the blame on the US. It has consistently worked to portray itself as the driver of progress in a relationship that has remained hostile for over six decades. Kim Jong-un has been crafting an image of a responsible statesman against an erratic Trump.
“Internally we have been quietly giving president Trump high marks for making a decision no other American president had the courage to pursue,” Kim Kye-gwan said.
Trump on Thursday abruptly called off the summit, which was scheduled for 12 June in Singapore, citing “tremendous anger and open hostility” in recent North Korean statements. But Pyongyang said Trump’s “unilateral cancellation of the summit was unexpected and very regrettable”.
Donald Trump: ‘I have decided to terminate the planned summit in Singapore’ – video
US officials also complained North Koreans did not show up to preparatory meetings and would not answer calls. During a television appearance, Trump left open the possibility talks could still be held. “It’s possible that the existing summit could take place, or a summit at some later date. Nobody should be anxious. We have to get it right,” he said. “If and when Kim Jong-un chooses to engage in constructive dialogue and actions, I am waiting.”
US allies in Asia were blindsided by the announcement. The South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, called an emergency meeting just before midnight local time, saying: “I am very perplexed and it is very regrettable that the North Korea-US summit will not be held.”
“Denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and the establishment of permanent peace are historic tasks that can neither be abandoned nor delayed,” Moon said. A photo of the meeting released by the presidential office showed Moon with a deep frown.
North Korea “remains sincere in … making efforts on denuclearization and peace building”, said Cho Myoung-gyon, the South’s minister in charge of inter-Korean affairs.
Japan’s foreign minister, Taro Kono, said it was “meaningless to hold a summit if it does not bring about progress”, but added he would continue to support the idea of a Trump-Kim meeting at a later date.
“The important thing is not the meeting itself but that there are opportunities to move towards resolving the nuclear and missile issues,” the chief cabinet Secretary, Yoshihide Suga, told reporters.
John Tierney, executive director of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, said: “The first rule of diplomacy is to always consult your allies, yet our key allies in the region were blindsided by the move. President Trump can blame North Korea’s hostile rhetoric for his decision, but the reality is that the Trump administration had no unified diplomatic strategy from the beginning.”
The South vowed to continue dialogue with North Korea on denuclearisation, while foreign ministers from South Korea and the US said they would continue working towards a US-North Korea summit. Mike Pompeo, Washington’s top diplomat, said there was “clear will” to continue dialogue with Pyongyang during his call with his South Korean counterpart, according to Yonhap news agency.
Mark Zuckerberg faces allegations that he developed a “malicious and fraudulent scheme” to exploit vast amounts of private data to earn Facebook billions and force rivals out of business.
A company suing Facebook in a California court claims the social network’s chief executive “weaponised” the ability to access data from any user’s network of friends – the feature at the heart of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
A legal motion filed last week in the superior court of San Mateo draws upon extensive confidential emails and messages between Facebook senior executives including Mark Zuckerberg. He is named individually in the case and, it is claimed, had personal oversight of the scheme.
Facebook rejects all claims, and has made a motion to have the case dismissed using a free speech defence.
It claims the first amendment protects its right to make “editorial decisions” as it sees fit. Zuckerberg and other senior executives have asserted that Facebook is a platform not a publisher, most recently in testimony to Congress.
Heather Whitney, a legal scholar who has written about social media companies for the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, said, in her opinion, this exposed a potential tension for Facebook.
“Facebook’s claims in court that it is an editor for first amendment purposes and thus free to censor and alter the content available on its site is in tension with their, especially recent, claims before the public and US Congress to be neutral platforms.”
The company that has filed the case, a former startup called Six4Three, is now trying to stop Facebook from having the case thrown out and has submitted legal arguments that draw on thousands of emails, the details of which are currently redacted. Facebook has until next Tuesday to file a motion requesting that the evidence remains sealed, otherwise the documents will be made public.
It claims internal emails and messages reveal a cynical and abusive system set up to exploit access to users’ private information, alongside a raft of anti-competitive behaviours.
Facebook said the claims had no merit and the company would “continue to defend ourselves vigorously”.
Six4Three lodged its original case in 2015 shortly after Facebook removed developers’ access to friends’ data. The company said it had invested $250,000 in developing an app called Pikinis that filtered users’ friends photos to find any of them in swimwear. Its launch was met with controversy.
The papers submitted to the court last week allege Facebook was not only aware of the implications of its privacy policy, but actively exploited them, intentionally creating and effectively flagging up the loophole that Cambridge Analytica used to collect data on up to 87 million American users.
The lawsuit also claims Zuckerberg misled the public and Congress about Facebook’s role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal by portraying it as a victim of a third party that had abused its rules for collecting and sharing data.
“The evidence uncovered by plaintiff demonstrates that the Cambridge Analytica scandal was not the result of mere negligence on Facebook’s part but was rather the direct consequence of the malicious and fraudulent scheme Zuckerberg designed in 2012 to cover up his failure to anticipate the world’s transition to smartphones,” legal documents said.
The lawsuit claims to have uncovered fresh evidence concerning how Facebook made decisions about users’ privacy. It sets out allegations that, in 2012, Facebook’s advertising business, which focused on desktop ads, was devastated by a rapid and unexpected shift to smartphones.
Zuckerberg responded by forcing developers to buy expensive ads on the new, underused mobile service or risk having their access to data at the core of their business cut off, the court case alleges.
“Zuckerberg weaponised the data of one-third of the planet’s population in order to cover up his failure to transition Facebook’s business from desktop computers to mobile ads before the market became aware that Facebook’s financial projections in its 2012 IPO filings were false,” one court filing said.
In its latest filing, Six4Three alleges Facebook deliberately used its huge amounts of valuable and highly personal user data to tempt developers to create platforms within its system, implying that they would have long-term access to personal information, including data from subscribers’ Facebook friends.
Once their businesses were running, and reliant on data relating to “likes”, birthdays, friend lists and other Facebook minutiae, the social media company could and did target any that became too successful, looking to extract money from them, co-opt them or destroy them, the documents claim.
Six4Three alleges up to 40,000 companies were effectively defrauded in this way by Facebook. It also alleges that senior executives including Zuckerberg personally devised and managed the scheme, individually deciding which companies would be cut off from data or allowed preferential access.
The lawsuit alleges that Facebook initially focused on kickstarting its mobile advertising platform, as the rapid adoption of smartphones decimated the desktop advertising business in 2012.
It later used its ability to cut off data to force rivals out of business, or coerce owners of apps Facebook coveted into selling at below the market price, even though they were not breaking any terms of their contracts, according to the documents.
A Facebook spokesman said: “When we changed our policy in 2015, we gave all third-party developers ample notice of material platform changes that could have impacted their applications.”
Facebook’s submission to the court, an “anti-Slapp motion” under Californian legislation designed to protect freedom of speech, said: “Six4Three is taking its fifth shot at an ever expanding set of claims and all of its claims turn on one decision, which is absolutely protected: Facebook’s editorial decision to stop publishing certain user-generated content via its Platform to third-party app developers.”
David Godkin, Six4Three’s lead counsel said: “We believe the public has a right to see the evidence and are confident the evidence clearly demonstrates the truth of our allegations, and much more.”
Sandy Parakilas, a former Facebook employee turned whistleblower who has testified to the UK parliament about its business practices, said the allegations were a “bombshell”. He claimed to MPs Facebook’s senior executives were aware of abuses of friends’ data back in 2011-12 and he was warned not to look into the issue.
“They felt that it was better not to know. I found that utterly horrifying,” he said. “If true, these allegations show a huge betrayal of users, partners and regulators. They would also show Facebook using its monopoly power to kill competition and putting profits over protecting its users.”
A trial date for the case has been set for April 2019.
Prevention is increasingly an integral part of modern medicine, and dentistry has also taken this principle, giving great importance to this issue to avoid the emergence of more serious secondary complications. “The importance of dental prevention is maximum starting from the pediatric age, when it is necessary to intercept pathologies early to implement targeted interventions, capable of guiding the stomatognathic system towards a correct development”, assertlessly the doctor. Mauro Iorio, dentist expert in advanced oral surgery and dental implantology.
Dr. Iorio, when should you bring a child to the dentist for the first time?
The first visit should be performed when all the milk teeth are present in the mouth, then around 3 years. It is essential to check the state of dental health and the regularity of growth of the maxillary bones and to sensitize the parents to the correct procedures of oral hygiene and prevention of caries, in order to prevent more complex secondary problems. There are many diseases and dental abnormalities that can be diagnosed in time before the milk tooth is lost. For example, imperfect formation of tooth enamel is a developmental disease that involves significant qualitative changes in tooth enamel; a genetic-based disease that must be intercepted early in order to prevent the destruction of the dental elements.
How should we approach a small patient, even from a psychological point of view?
The dentist must never be identified as a professional figure related to pain or unpleasant and dramatic events, in order to fuel the onset of future phobias. With experience and professionalism, it is necessary to know how to overcome the initial distrust and fear of the little patient, preparing him for a friendly relationship and fruitful collaboration with his dentist in the years to come. In fact, starting from the first meeting, even in the absence of symptoms, periodic checks must be performed at least every 6 months, in order to safeguard the oral health status of the patient in the developmental age.
You are the owner of the Odontoflegrea brand and medical director of two dental centers. What are the strengths of the structures you direct?
Located in Quarto Flegreo and Monte di Procida, our dental centers are highly avant-garde. Equipped with a latest-generation digital radiology system as well as the most advanced dental instruments, and thanks to the help of various highly specialized and competent professionals, they are a point of excellence in the regional scene, able to maximize the “patient” satisfaction “, through high quality, safe and complete performance in the different branches of dentistry.
“We all have a stake in stopping cybercrime, which also enables so many other crimes, from human trafficking and migrant smuggling to trafficking in drugs, illicit firearms and wildlife, and money laundering,” said Yury Fedotov, the director general at the United Nation’s Office on Drugs and Crime, this week.
States are meeting at the UNODC in Vienna to discuss criminal justice responses to prevent and counter cybercrime, which uses new technologies to generate some $1.5tn in revenue per year, with a rapidly increasing amount laundered via equally cutting-edge digital methods that often avoid detection.
From £2,000 fake ebooks on Amazon and phony listings on Airbnb to ghost journeys on Uber and in-game currencies on video games, the cyberlaunderer’s black market has come a long way from Walter White’s car wash.
Today’s cybercriminals operate in another orbit to yesterday’s crooks thanks to these new and unlikely ways to wash dirty money. And because traditional methods of tracking money laundering rely heavily on the policing of bank transactions, they’re leaving authorities for dust.
“Keeping track of the ingenious ways in which cybercriminals are utilising digitally enabled means of laundering is one of the major policing challenges of the moment,” says Dr Michael McGuire, a professor of criminology at the University of Surrey and author of a new study on cybercrime.
Around $200bn, 10% of the estimated $2tn laundered annually, is cyberlaundered today. By 2020 the proportion laundered digitally v traditional cash methods is expected to double, as economies become increasingly cashless.
“Confronted with a quickly evolving landscape of digital laundering techniques and increasingly affluent cybercriminal groups, under-funded and under-resourced policing agencies are finding it hard to match [them],” says McGuire.
The rapid expansion of fintech, e-commerce and mobile app services has made doing business and transferring money faster and more seamless than ever before. But it has also opened the floodgates to cyberlaunderers who are now finding ways to co-opt legitimate sites and platforms for their own means.
Accordingly, transaction laundering has become a huge financial blindspot for authorities.
“The spike in digital financial crime accompanying the frictionless payments systems these technologies promote suggests criminals may be innovating as quickly, if not quicker,” wrote Izabella Kaminska, editor of the Financial Times’ Alphaville blog, in March 2017. “For now at least, more fintech equals more ‘crimtech’”.
Products listed at astronomically high prices on eBay appear to be real transactions when sold but are in fact methods to launder and secretly send cash. This simple, popular ruse has been used by Islamic State to funnel cash to operatives in the Middle East, according to the FBI.
Similar fake transactions are found elsewhere. Books of gibberish are listed on Amazon for thousands of dollars and are believed to facilitate money laundering.
Titles such as I Have Abundance Overflowing In My Life Forever: Brinks Trucks Follow Me Everrywhere I Go Eternally (Whatever You Ask Believe Receive) are advertised for around $2,000.
One author, who was contacted by US tax authorities, claims fraudulent sales of his obscure books were used to send almost $24,000.
On Airbnb, properties are apparently let out without anyone actually staying in them. It has been reported that fraudsters use stolen credit cards to launder their dirty money in cahoots with obliging Airbnb hosts who then send back a percentage of the sum.
Elsewhere, Paul Manafort, Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, allegedly used laundered money from an offshore account in Cyprus to buy a $2.85m Manhattan apartment that he made thousands renting through Airbnb, despite it being against the terms of the lease.
Video games including Fifa and Counter Strike sell in-game items that allow users to more quickly progress through the game.
These items are resold for thousands on gaming marketplaces where laundering reportedly occurs, while it is also possible to send convertible virtual money to associates abroad.
“Cyberlaundering is on an upward trajectory. It’s rising with the everyday use of the internet,” says Michael Perklin, a digital forensic investigator responsible for catching cyberlaunderers.
Payments for items on eBay are often made via PayPal, which was previously the de rigeur tool for cyberlaundering before the rise of cryptocurrencies such as ZCash and Monero that offer near-total anonymity, but remains popular with criminals.
“Microlaundering is the most obvious way to circumvent PayPal’s payment limits,” says Dr McGuire. “You just run thousands of payments through various accounts. It’s almost impossible to detect.”
The world is shifting away from traditional banking systems, thanks to the rapid growth of alternative payment options such as Alipay, WeChat Pay, Circle Pay and M-Pesa, which is now Africa’s leading digital money platform. As these mobile payment systems have grown in popularity, so too have they become an integral tool within the developing cybercrime economy.
The US Department of State recently warned that m-payment systems, which accounted for over $700bn transactions globally in 2017, are highly vulnerable to money laundering.
“Financial regulators have their heads in their hands over this kind of thing,” McGuire continues. “It’s almost like how the postal system is used as part of the cybercrime economy, you simply cannot examine every single packet or, indeed, a transaction of less than £1,000.”
“Either it will just have to be accepted as a fact of the day, or if there’s a real keenness to control it there’s going to have to be a mindset change on how small payments are handled and tackled.”
My cancer, an aggressive tumour on the salivary glands, was diagnosed in early 2015. I’d first noticed the lump the previous summer, but tests proved inconclusive. It took a deep-tissue biopsy in January to confirm that it was cancerous. Because of where it was – and because it had been there for about 18 months – there was a good chance the cancer would be embedded in the nerves. The surgeon said he might need to cut those to remove the lump, in effect paralysing that side of my face. He wouldn’t know until I was under the knife.
I didn’t really understand the impact of this. From the outset, I wasn’t interested in my prognosis, because it didn’t help me cope with my illness; trying to imagine life without facial movement was pointless. When I woke up, after a five-hour operation, I was told they’d had to sever those nerves to root out the entire tumour. I couldn’t move the right side of my face or make any facial gestures, and could open my mouth just wide enough to eat a piece of toast.
It’s only when you can’t smile that you realise how central it is to nonverbal communication. Soon after coming out of hospital, I passed someone in the chemist and did that whole “after you” pantomime, giving her a little smile. Except it wasn’t a real smile – it was a sort of one-sided grimace. She gave me a confused and slightly mistrusting look.
I asked my consultant how I could get my smile back. I’m a project manager for an IT company, and I perform in a band, so nonverbal communication is really important for me. Plus I have a 10-year-old daughter, Mia. “How are you going to get a girlfriend if you can’t smile?” was her burning question. I was told it wasn’t an option yet; the remaining nerves were being blasted by radiotherapy and there was a lot of scar tissue. I had my treatment and saw a speech therapist about facial physiotherapy. She referred me to another hospital, which specialises in facial palsies such as mine.
My kind of facial paralysis isn’t temporary, like Bell’s palsy – this situation was for ever, unless I went for it. So, in November 2016, I had a 14-hour operation. It was a complicated procedure, but I was determined to come out smiling. The surgeons took a nerve from my thigh and attached it to the cut nerves in my face, connecting them to my jugular vein. They put a deep layer of fat on top of the affected area, which kept the nerves warm and helped the blood supply from the jugular. After the operation, I kept haemorrhaging. They used leeches to control the bleeding. I lay in bed, covered in leeches, watching Trump win the election and thinking life was pretty bad. The next morning they operated again to stop the bleeding.
I knew the lump would look ghastly, then settle down, but I cried as hard as I’d ever cried after seeing myself in the mirror. It looked like a massive tumour. I’d told Mia I was going to hospital to restore my smile, and that it wouldn’t come back straight away. But this was awful. When I got home, she sat on my right, but asked to swap because she couldn’t cope with how I looked.
A year and a half on, I still can’t smile. My doctors originally said it could take up to two years to see movement. Now they say it might take up to three. Of course I miss smiling with Mia, but there’s a level of communication with someone intimate that is intuitive – we hug and laugh a lot, and she knows when I’m smiling inside. She’ll sometimes say she wished this had never happened, but our relationship is probably stronger than ever. She’s shown empathy and intelligence, and understands that there’s no such thing as normal or weird – just different.
Now I choose my words carefully, talk more slowly and use more eye contact. It’s interesting to see how other people cope when they meet me. I think there’s a fear – of looking at me and not offending me. Everything I say is delivered with the same face, so you have to really listen to the words to work out what I’m saying.
While I’m waiting to see if the nerves start working again, I’d like an operation to help my face look more symmetrical. But I’m pragmatic; I’m alive, back at work, recording and performing my music, and raising awareness of facial cancers for Cancer Research UK. And, to Mia’s delight, I’ve got a girlfriend. She didn’t know me before all this happened. It’s good to know she wants me as I am.
A sick love, the strength to report and ask for help
According to the World Health Organization’s Word Report on Violence and Health, domestic violence is unfortunately a widespread and complex phenomenon that includes a multitude of criminal actions and psychological, physical and sexual abuses perpetrated to emotionally control a person who it is part of the same family nucleus.
Nowadays it is unfortunately not possible to estimate the incidence of this phenomenon, since not all the victims have the strength to denounce their perpetrator and to turn to specialized professionals, thus avoiding that a normal conflict can degenerate into an irremediable conflict. The lawyer Cinzia Russo, owner of the prestigious law firm Russo in Velletri, has been actively engaged in a delicate sector such as family and juvenile law, taking care of both the civil and criminal aspects. Disrupted families, minors overwhelmed by the family crisis, mistreatment and abuse of all kinds: the lawyer Russo is often called to intervene to turn off the birth of angry and instinctive reactions that, especially in the presence of children, can have devastating effects.
Lawyer Russo, family conflict requires the lawyer to be responsible and competent to direct the couple towards the search for alternative solutions to disputes. How do you approach clients who have suffered domestic violence?
Nowadays, unfortunately, even the family can become a theatre of acts of a criminal nature; in fact, the crimes foreseen in this area by our penal code (abuse, violation of the obligations of family assistance, sexual abuse and incest, and crimes of omission, abandonment of minors or incapacitates) are numerous. in the case of particularly complex and complex events that take on penal importance, my first approach is aimed at finding a just solution that favors family balance and the personal dignity of all the parties involved.
And in the most serious situations?
When the spouse’s conduct is a cause of serious prejudice to the physical, moral or freedom of the other spouse, the art. 342 bis of the c.c. provides that, by request of a party, the judge can issue the protection orders. These consist of orders addressed to the person who maintained the conduct that was prejudicial to ceasing the conduct itself; at the same time the removal from the family house is ordered and the obligation not to approach the places normally frequented. In the case of prejudicial conduct carried out to the detriment of the minor, the Judge may also order the intervention of the social services to promote protected meetings between the child himself and the violent parent.
Romantic atmospheres and bewitching colors, with incredible nuances and in harmony with the surrounding picturesque landscapes: Palazzo Pecci is a breath-taking location, able to give unique and intense emotions, for a wedding of rare and exquisite elegance. Strategically located on a gentle hill of the Sannio, just 7 km from Benevento, this marvellous historic Villa is a rare pearl of the artistic and cultural heritage of our country.
Belonging to the noble Zamparelli family, in the course of seven centuries of family history, from 1400 to today, it has hosted illustrious, religious and civil personalities, such as the Apostolic Delegate Gioacchino Pecci, who later became Pope Leo XIII; from 1939 to 1944 it was “Palazzo del Fascio”, as witnessed by texts and registers that can be viewed in the Library. Today Palazzo Pecci, in whose stones are centuries of history, is an ideal location for exclusive and refined receptions. Crescenzo De Lucia, current owner of this marvelous structure with noble origins, presides over the organization of the ceremonies, to meet the needs of an increasingly elite clientele.
Dr. De Lucia, what makes your proposal for the newlyweds unique?
Our main strength is undoubtedly the ability to know how to satisfy, in an original and accurate way, every single wish of the newlyweds. The passion and grace with which we take care of every last detail and the excellent professionalism profused by all the staff, are fundamental details that make our offer unparalleled. The magnificent shades of the surrounding nature, the dreamlike atmosphere that is breathed in every corner of the Villa and the rare elegance of the rooms are the result of a truly unique professionalism and dedication, the same that we observe to make the most important day unforgettable. in the life of the newlyweds, customizing their wedding, creating unforgettable scenes in every environment – from the 700 cellar to the Library – and trying to turn every dream into reality. Our Wedding planner, Giusy Cavuoto, loves to pamper the guests of the Palace, following them to 360 degrees in organizing the ceremony and taking care of everything in the smallest details (the lights, the decorations, the floral decorations, the menu and the wedding cake). to make the atmosphere of the big day magical and suggestive.
What are the strengths of Palazzo Pecci?
Palazzo Pecci is above all a structure rich in history, an open-air museum of beauties of the past. Thanks to the functionality and refinement of its spaces, this wonderful architectural complex is the ideal place for those who want a memorable wedding with attention to detail. Versatile and functional, it makes it possible to exploit all the rooms in an impeccable and spectacular way: the marvellous entrance of lava stone slabs from the early 1900s; the charming period residence of 20 rooms; the huge garden of about 1500 square meters of lawn and olive trees, extraordinarily well-kept; the elegant reception room of 320 square meters, equipped with huge windows to enjoy, during the course, the suggestive view of the Palace and the wonderful pool with waterfalls; a viewpoint of over 350 square meters from which you can enjoy a 360 ° view of the Sannite hills, Montevergine, the beautiful sleeper and the Matese. Moreover, a luxurious and elegant suite is available to newlyweds who choose, after the reception, to spend their first wedding night at the Palace, thus completing the day in a relaxing way.
And then, there’s her, the kitchen … the beating heart of this enchanted world!
Exactly. Our chefs are able to excite even the most demanding palates with a cuisine that offers the creative reinterpretation of the best local traditions. Linked to the territory but with an eye always attentive to new culinary trends, our kitchen is a real laboratory of authentic and natural flavors that make every event tasty and tasty, guaranteeing guests unique products (strictly at Km 0) for quality and presentation. Campania, land of sun, sea and culture, offers many gastronomic specialties, known and appreciated all over the world; for this reason, we offer the possibility of making “food and wine tours” – tastings of cold meats, refined cheeses and vintage wines – to be carried out in the evocative historic cellars of the Palazzo with sommeliers specialized in the description of local products. In short, Palazzo Pecci is a breath-taking location, surrounded by natural wonders, suggestive scenery and enchanting corners of paradise, for those who want a wedding out of the ordinary.
The innovations introduced by the “Gelli-Bianco” Law on civil and criminal medical liability
The law of 8 March 2017 n. 24, entered into force on 1 April, containing “Provisions on the safety of care and the assisted person, as well as on the professional liability of health care professionals”, better known as the Gelli-Bianco Law. To illustrate the changes introduced by the “de qua” Law, which has modified the previous Balduzzi Law in numerous points, is the lawyer Ginevra Borghi, owner of the homonymous Law Firm, which over the years has gained significant experience in the field of civil and criminal liability for claims related to the “medical malpractice”, collecting numerous judicial successes.
Avv. Borghi, what are the main innovations introduced by the “Gelli-Bianco” Law?
The Gelli Law introduced the art. 7 what has been defined as the “double track” of civil liability, differentiating the position of the structure from that of the health worker. Indeed, the public or private health care facility continues to respond as contractual responsibility, pursuant to Articles 1218 and 1228 of the Civil Code, with regard to the intentional and negligent conduct of the operating staff, while the responsibility of the physician, except for the case of contractual obligation taken with the patient, he now assumes an extra-contractual nature (Article 2043 of the Civil Code). A not insignificant difference since, in the event of an Aquilian responsibility, there is an inversion of the probative burden that falls on the patient, who if he feels damaged, will have to prove the event (the lesion), the element psychological (the malice or the fault of the doctor) and the causal link between the conduct and the harm suffered (in case of contractual responsibility, however, the patient must limit himself to trying to have turned to the health facility and have suffered damage, while it is up to the structure itself to prove that the performance has been carried out in compliance with the best medical science and professional obligations). In terms of limitation, then, the compensation for damages from a non-contractual fault is subject to the short limitation set forth in art. 2947 c.c. (only 5 years), while the unlawful contract applies the art. 2946 c.c. which provides for the ordinary term of ten years, except in cases expressly provided for by law.
What, however, the news in the criminal field?
Article. 6 of the aforementioned law introduces the art. 590 sexies in the penal code, entitled “Liability for culpable death or personal injury in health”. This article expressly provides for the non-punishment of the doctor due to inexperience when, in carrying out the health activity, respects the recommendations provided for by the c.d. Guidelines or, in the absence of these, good clinical-care practices, provided they are appropriate to the specific case.
Prof. Salvatore Sansalone of the Università Tor Vergata of Rome, talks about the achievements of scientific research on the field
There are several clinical conditions for which a man may need a surgical reconstruction of the genital organ. Among these, the most common are partial or total trauma amputation or surgical excision for the treatment of benign or malignant lesions.
Modern reconstructive surgical techniques, more and more advanced and close to the clinical and psychological needs of patients, allow today to recover an absolutely satisfying sexual and urinary function. To illustrate the latest frontiers of this surgery is Prof. Salvatore Sansalone, researcher of the Department of Experimental and Surgical Medicine of the Università Tor Vergata of Rome.
Prof. Sansalone, in the history of medicine, how many penis transplantations have been performed in the world?
“Until today only three! The first, in China in 2006, and was unfortunately negative, not because of an error in the surgical technique but rather due to problems of a psychological nature of the patient. The second was instead successfully performed in South Africa in 2014 on a 21-year-old boy who, thanks to the intervention, recovered the perfect functionality of the organ, both from the urological and sexual point of view.
Ten months after the operation, the transplanted patient became a father! The third and last intervention was performed on a 64-year-old man, in the USA, by the Massachusetts General Hospital team, assisted by Dr. Curtis L. Cetrulo. It is therefore a decisive turning point for reconstructive surgery of male external genitalia, an intervention which will benefit men who lose their penis from cancer, genetic abnormalities or surgical side effects and traumas “.
How important is a penis transplant?
“Very very much! The loss of the genital organs can be truly devastating for a man’s identity and his sense of virility. The goal of the operation, therefore, is not only to reconstruct the genital organ, but above all to restore the patient’s social and sexual identity as a result of a traumatic event. Today, thanks to the immense progress made by reconstructive surgery, it is possible to meet the expectations of men who want to return to a normal life! “.
To evaluate the achievements in this field, you have organized a scientific conference, which will see the participation of numerous luminaries of the subject.
“Absolutely yes. To analyze these first clinical experiences reported in the scientific literature and especially to assess the feasibility of such an intervention in Italy, we organized a meeting, of which I am the scientific manager, to be held at the “Policlinico Tor Vergata” on 13 and 14 April, titled “Tissue Engineering and Penile Transplant”. Honorary guests include Cardinal Emilio Menichelli, National Ecclesiastical Assistant Association of Italian Catholic Doctors (A.M.C.I.), F.M. Boscia, President A.M.C.I., Prof. V. Mirone, Head of the Resource and Communication Office of the Italian Society of Urology (SIU) and dr. Curtis L. Cetrulo, of the Harvard School of Medicine in Boston, who performed the first penis reconstruction in the USA. An important opportunity for discussion that will bring together important professionals from all over the world “.
She heads the Centre for Reconstructive Genital and Urethral Surgery in Rome, a centre of excellence at the top of Europe. What are its strengths?
“The Centre represents an important high specialized point of reference, recognized nationally and internationally for the very high clinical standards guaranteed in the diagnosis and therapeutic treatment of urethral and male genital tract diseases (urethral strictures, lichen sclerosus, failed hypospadias, urinary incontinence, Peyronie’s disease, congenital curved penis, erectile dysfunction, penile prosthesis implant). The Centre has achieved a level of excellence that distinguishes itself within the international scene, both for its surgical and scientific activities “.
The Guardian’s science correspondent Hannah Devlin has scooped a coveted prize in the Association of British Science Writers awards for her investigation into the vaginal mesh scandal.
The figures Devlin unearthed last August suggested that about one in 15 women fitted with the most common type of mesh support later required surgery to have it extracted due to complications.
In its citation the judging panel described Devlin’s work as “a persistent investigation that uncovered an important story of public interest that might never otherwise have come to light”.
Devlin’s reporting raised awkward questions about the sponsors of the awards Johnson & Johnson, the medical devices multinational which is believed to produce the majority of vaginal mesh products used in the UK.
At the time Johnson & Johnson said: “We empathise with those patients who have had complications associated with pelvic mesh procedures, but we believe it is important to recognise that their experiences do not speak for the vast majority of women whose lives have been improved through treatment with pelvic mesh devices.”
Devlin thanked the women who shared their stories of how they had been affect
The association also awarded a posthumous life achievement prize to Steve Connor, the former science editor of the Independent who died in 2017.
His award was presented to his widow, Ines Connor, by Tim Radford, his former counterpart at the Guardian.
The chair of the judging panel, Mićo Tatalović, praised the calibre of the record 300 entries. “The sheer number of entries and their overall high quality did, of course, make judging tricky, but I am confident the panel has made the right choices,” he said.
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