Contraceptive App Under Fire

A mobile contraceptive app used by more than 500,000 women is being criticized after reportedly causing 37 unwanted pregnancies.

Stockholm's Södersjukhuset hospital has now reported the Natural Cycles app to the Swedish Medical Products Agency (the government body tasked with the regulation of medical devices) according to news outlet SVT.

The app scans body temperature during the menstrual cycle to notify women when it is safe to have unprotected sex. Days when it's okay are marked as green on its calendar, but if it shows red couples are advised to use an extra form of protection. It's own research suggests Natural Cycles is more effective than the contraceptive pill when used correctly.

The 37 unwanted pregnancy cases stem from a study of over 600 women who sought abortions at Södersjukhuset hospital from September 2017 until the end of the year. "We have a duty to report all side effects, such as pregnancies, to the Medical Products Agency," midwife Carina Montin told Siren news agency. The findings could come as a blow to Natural Cycles' plans to pursue FDA approval.

In a statement, Natural Cycles said: "No contraception is 100 per cent and unwanted pregnancies is an unfortunate risk with any contraception.

"To have 37 unwanted pregnancies out of the 668 mentioned in this study at Södersjukhuset means that 5,5 per cent of women who stated they used Natural Cycles also had an unwanted pregnancy. This is in line with what we communicate as the risk of unwanted pregnancy with typical use, and which is comparable to other types of contraception."

In February 2018 Natural Cycles became the first app to be certified for contraceptive use, following approval by the German regulatory body Tuv Sud, after which its UK users spiked from 5,000 to 125,000. In November, the app, founded by husband and wife duo Dr. Raoul Scherwitzl and Dr. Elina Berglund, snagged US$ 30 mIllion in funding.

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Why Ads Sometimes Don't Show Up At AdSense?

There were reports that claimed about 38.3 million websites around the world were running Google ads in 2021. That is close to about half of all the wobsites online. The report added that AdSense and other ads are a core part of the company’s financial strategy, accounting for nearly US$ 20 billion and 13 percent of the company’s entire revenue.

However, as a blogger who is using Google AdSense, it is sometimes frusttrating when the ads are not showing up. This year, this happens more frequently to it can be extremely frustrating for publishers and their income. Unfortunately, this happens to AdSense publishers frequently in 2024.

What are some of the most common reasons why your ads may not be showing? It could be be because there are just as too many ads running, long activation periods, missing ads.txt files, or enabled ad blockers. We will discuss them more later.

What Is Google AdSense?
Google AdSense is Google’s ad placement engine to display ads on websites. Website owners, publishers, and bloggers place an ad code on their site and Google’s ad serving technology shows ads. AdSense publishers can monetize their site through a revenue-sharing agreement with Google.

As a publisher, you provide a place for ads to show and the traffic to see them. Google sells the ad space to advertisers who make and pay for ads to promote a product. Google also processes the sales and handles the billing.

When publishers use AdSense for display, Google keeps nearly a third of the revenue generated by your website’s traffic. Publishers keep 68 percent of the ad payout. However, the amount you wind up getting paid will vary greatly based on a few factors, like how much advertisers are willing to pay, the clickthrough rate (CTR), and how much traffic you bring to the table.

You can also add AdSense to your site search pages by enabling the Google search engine on your site and adding it. The revenue share for an AdSense publisher for search is 51 percent.

There are two basic ad units with AdSense. Auto ads will populate your site automatically based on where Google believes they will perform best in accordance with your site layout. Oppositely, manual ad units are ads publishers create and place where they want ads to show on their website.

Common Reasons AdSense Ads Won’t Show
There are a few common reasons why website publishers experience trouble getting their Google AdSense ads to show.

It takes a while to set up your ads, place the code, and make sure everything has been configured properly. So, when the lengthy process is finally complete and your ads still aren’t showing up, it’s not a pleasant experience.

Let’s walk through some of the most common reasons for ads not showing up:

1. Not Enough Time Has Passed Yet
   When you set up your website for AdSense, Google must first scan your site and learn about it to show the most relevant ads. This applies equally to new accounts or new sites added to existing accounts.
   Due to this step in the activation process, it could be a few days before display ads begin to show up on your homepage or elsewhere. Typically, mobile ads show up first before displaying as desktop versions. Waiting for the activation process can be inconvenient and time-consuming, but there are a few tactics that may potentially assist in shortening your wait time.
   Ensuring that all the details in your Google AdSense account, such as your payment information, are set up correctly is crucial to initiating the processing of your website. Additionally, the more established your Google AdSense account is and the more traffic you have to your website, the more data that will be available. This can expedite the analysis and populate your AdSense ads more quickly.
   Turning on auto ads can also shorten the time for ads to display. If you use auto ads, Google will analyze your site and determine where to display ads for you.
2. Your Ad Blocker is Enabled
   If you are currently using an ad blocker within your internet browser, this may the reason your AdSense ads are not showing when you test them out on your personal device. Ad blockers prevent the appearance of any ads, including your own, regardless of if your ads are showing up for other people.
   By turning off or disabling your ad blocker and reloading the webpage, you should be able to view any AdSense advertisements you are running. However, it is important to note that some antivirus software may also have adblocker options built-in and could be another source of conflict when unable to see your ads.
3. Your Ads.txt File is Missing
   Ad networks requires an Authorized Digital Seller file (known as the ads.txt) to show ads on your website. AdSense provides a personalized ads.txt file you can download from your account which will include your publisher ID. When it’s time to verify, a company checks for correct formating and that an ads.txt file exists.
   You’ll want to check to make sure the publisher ID is correct. In your AdSense account, click Sites and then Add your publisher ID to these ad.txt files. You can copy and paste to input your publisher ID into the file.
   Ads.txt has an added complication in that it must be formatted in a specific way, and must be uploaded to the root directory of your website. To ensure it’s correct, append your website’s address with /ads.txt in your web browser to verify the AdSense code. For example, if your website URL is www.example.com, type www.example.com/ads.txt into your web browser. If the ads.txt file appears in your web browser, then you’ve uploaded the file correctly.
   If you’re using WordPress for your website, you can install the ads.txt plug and click Setting>Ad.txt on the left panel. Copy and paste your details and save.
4. You Have Too Many Ads Running
   Google recommends users limit the number of ads they have running on any particular web page. This regulation is not without reason, seeing as ad clutter can also cause users to leave your site. You can be penalized by AdSense for running too many ads on your site, which in turn prevents AdSense ads from showing.
   If you are using auto ads and manual AdSense ad placements on your site, the auto ads may not show.

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Group Offers US$ 1 Million For A Gay Pride Parade In Gaza

It was reported recently by both the Associated Press and Fox News Digital that a watchdog group would donate US$ 1 million to "Queers for Palestine" or any U.S. LGBTQ advocacy organization to host a gay pride parade in Gaza or the West Bank.

New Tolerance Campaign (NTC) President Gregory T. Angelo, who is gay and the former president of Log Cabin Republicans, said on 16 September that the campaign is a "wake-up call" to anyone who identifies as part of the "Queers for Palestine" or "Gays for Gaza" movements.

"I don't want people to just shrug off this campaign as some kind of publicity stunt or something that is supposed to be comical. It actually is a legitimate offer," Angelo told Fox News Digital.

"This campaign emerged to call out these purported advocates of LGBT equality and put our money where their mouths are," he continued. "I think that this is a real opportunity for these groups to legitimately step up and host an event that would either highlight the fact that the Palestinian territories are not indeed a good place for LGBTQ individuals to be living, or it could be a breakthrough moment for pluralism and peace in the Middle East."

The New Tolerance Campaign said it secured commitments for the US$ 1 million prize and will begin publicizing the offer with mobile billboards circulating around Columbia University in New York City, the headquarters of the Human Rights Campaign in Washington, D.C. and UCLA in Los Angeles.

"Obviously, the US$ 1 million prize is something that is flashy. It was designed to get attention; it was designed to turn heads. But the greater drive behind this project is one of equality and broad human rights," Angelo said.

"On the left in the United States, all oppression is the same oppression. And I think the left, quite to their disservice, lumps everything from racial discrimination to sexual orientation discrimination to gender discrimination to Islamophobia, all under the same umbrella. That’s certainly not the case," Angelo said.

Angelo said that many anti-Israel protesters across the United States insist LGBTQ people aren’t treated particularly well in the United States when confronted with facts about how they would be treated in Gaza or the West Bank.

"Well, that could not be further from the truth. Here in the United States, we have protection from job discrimination for gay and trans individuals that came through a Supreme Court ruling. We have same-sex marriage is the law of the land in all 50 states, and just more generally, aside from legislation, we have a country that welcomes people of all faiths and family types," Angelo said.

"Contrast that with what you see over in the Palestinian territories where same-sex marriage isn't something that's even a possibility or discussed," he said. "There are no protections in terms of employment for sexual orientation or gender."

New Tolerance Campaign bills itself as a "watchdog organization mobilizing Americans to confront intolerance double-standards by establishment institutions, civil rights groups, universities, and socially-conscious brands," according to its website.

"NTC action campaigns empower ordinary Americans to hold accountable self-proclaimed arbiters of tolerance when they betray their own stated values," the site says.

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Sweet Briar College Bars Non-Biological Female Students

The Virginia school Sweet Briar College will be focusing on protecting the biological female students as it instituted an admissions policy that bars transgender women next school year. This admissions policy at private undergraduate colleges is exempted from Title IX, the 1972 law that bars sex discrimination in education.

The private women's liberal arts school said the policy stems from the legally binding will of its founder, Indiana Fletcher Williams, who died in 1900. Sweet Briar's leadership said the document requires it to "be a place of 'girls and young women.'"

The phrase "must be interpreted as it was understood at the time the Will was written," Sweet Briar's president and board chair wrote in a letter earlier this month to the college community.

The new policy requires an applicant to "confirm that her sex assigned at birth is female, and that she consistently lives and identifies as a woman."

"Sweet Briar College believes that single-sex education is not only our tradition, but also a unique cultural and social resource," President Mary Pope Hutson said in a statement to The Associated Press.

The new guidelines are facing criticism from some students and most faculty. They warn the politically fraught policy could repel potential students — not just transgender women.

Last 26 August, the faculty voted 48 to 4, with one abstention, to call on the board to rescind the policy, John Gregory Brown, an English professor and faculty senate chair, said.

Sweet Briar has about 460 students —- known as Vixens — and was established in 1901 on Williams’ estate, a former plantation in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Hutson acknowledged that a board member has resigned over the policy and that alumnae on both sides "care deeply about the future of our college."

"Many want Sweet Briar to remain a place where women can thrive, and they believe that a broader policy is a slippery slope toward co-education," Hutson said. “They strongly support this policy."

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Widespread Myths About Contraception

A UK survey years ago has revealed that myths about contraception may be widespread.

One in five women said they had heard of kitchen items, including bread, cling film and even chicken skin, being used as alternative barrier methods.

Others had heard food items such as kebabs, Coca-cola or crisps could be used as oral contraceptives.

The survey questioned 1,000 women aged 18 to 50 and was carried out by market research company Opinion Health, sponsored by Bayer Schering Pharma.

Contraceptive myths have been around for thousands of years.

Ancient methods have varied from crocodile dung and honey before sex, to sea sponges and beeswax after.

Perhaps the most intoxicating was alcohol made from stewed beaver's testicles.

However, it seems that a variety of unsafe and unproven methods might still exist in modern Britain.

Dr. Annie Evans, Women's Health Specialist at the Bristol Sexual Health Centre, said: "It is not surprising, given that Britain continues to have the highest unintended pregnancy rate in Europe."

Other myths surround the use of oral contraceptive pills. One in 10 of the women questioned believed that it always takes a number of years to regain fertility after discontinuation of the pill. Others believed that the pill could protect them against HIV.

Professor Steve Field, Chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, commented: "This is alarming but not surprising.

"I've had complications with patients over the years that have concerned me.

"The more we can put appropriate information to the public about the availability of different methods of contraception, about their advantages and disadvantages, the better.

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Bloggers' Code of Ethics

In this day and age, many people are always looking for for ways to expand their online presence and while one of the most popular strategies is launching a blog, not everyone knows what is a blog and how to start one.

When blogs first emerged around 1994, people used them mainly to share their personal lives, including their experiences and interests. Now, blogs have become an essential online marketing strategy for businesses and one of the most profitable career choices for individuals.

The interface of blogs has changed significantly over time. Bloggers can now integrate various widgets and plugins into their platforms, such as a social media feed, a contact form, or an author profile.

However, once you submit any type of content online — a blog, recipe, video, photograph, or even a tweet — you automatically become a publisher and have the ethical responsibilities of a journalist.

Cyberjournalist.net created a Bloggers’ Code of Ethics that states, ". . . responsible bloggers should recognize that they are publishing words publicly, and therefore have certain ethical obligations to their readers, the people they write about, and society in general."

The Code includes the following mandates for bloggers:

1. Never plagiarize.
2. Identify and link to sources whenever feasible. The public is entitled to as much information as possible on sources’ reliability.
3. Distinguish between advocacy, commentary, and factual information. Even advocacy writing and commentary should not misrepresent fact or context.
4. Distinguish factual information and commentary from advertising and shun hybrids that blur the lines between the two.
5. Disclose conflicts of interest, affiliations, activities, and personal agendas.
6. Deny favored treatment to advertisers and special interests and resist their pressure to influence content. When exceptions are made, disclose them fully to readers.

Many bloggers are interested in monetizing their blogs and entering into marketing relationships with food companies and other corporations to review products, write sponsored blog posts, or serve as media spokespeople. Disclosing these marketing relationships, such as payments or free prod- ucts, between a company and a blogger (an "endorser" or "advocate") is no longer simply an issue of ethics—there are legal implications. Revised endorsement guidelines from the Federal Trade Commission require bloggers who accept cash or in-kind payments to disclose these "material connections" with corporate sponsors or advertisers.

Transparency is required for blogs, podcasts, microblogs (eg, Twitter or X), social networks (eg, Facebook, LinkedIn), video sharing websites (eg, YouTube, Vimeo), and photo sharing websites (eg, Pinterest, Instagram). The rationale is that ". . . on a personal blog, a social networking page, or in similar media, the reader may not expect the reviewer to have a relationship with the company whose products are mentioned.

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A Japanese Dancer Became The Queen Of Flamenco

As the world becomes more connected and dynamic, everyone should expect that cultures will tend to mix and produce a new generation of experts, specialists and artists. Despite all the lingering distraction, change remain constant and evolution continues.

The air of change has whiff across Europe as a Japanese dancer became the first foreigner to win at Spain’s most prestigious flamenco festival.

When the Cante de las Minas festival jury chose Junko Hagiwara as best female dancer, applause was mixed with jeers in the town of La Unión in Murcia. According to the 38-year-old from Kawasaki, whose stage name is La Yunko, she did not hear the hecklers because her mind "went blank" after the announcement.

No foreign competitor had previously won the "Desplante" award at the annual festival held every August.

"When I dance, I don’t think I am a foreigner, that I am Japanese. It doesn’t occur to me. I am simply on stage, I listen to the guitar, the singing, and what I feel I express in my dancing," Hagiwara told local newspaper La Opinión de Murcia.

"I consider myself to be a purist of the genre. True flamenco purists don’t think about where I come from."

Hagiwara fell in love with flamenco guitar aged 14 when when hearing it as supporting music for a Spanish rhythmic gymnast she was watching on television.

Her parents did not encourage her to pursue her passion but, once she was an 18-year-old at university in Tokyo, she started to take flamenco lessons.

She eventually moved to Seville where she trained with top flamenco exponents and married an Andalusian.

Hagiwara said she was "overwhelmed by the responsibility" of winning the prize and "infinitely grateful" to fellow performers, who have sent her messages of support.

A flamenco critic Manuel Bohórquez wrote in Sevilla Info, an online newspaper: "I liked her more than her competitors for three reasons: her classicism, that she did not dance for the gallery, in other words, for the public, and, finally, her good training."

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Nick Kyrgios Was Accused Of Being "Misogynistic" Towards His Ex

Nick Kyrgios has always been known as the most vocal critic of newly-crowned Tennis US Open Champion and world number 1 Jannik Sinner.

However, their situation exploded last 8 September when Kyrgios appeared to make a "misogynistic" comment surrounding Sinner’s Russian girlfriend Anna Kalinskaya, a professional tennis player ranked number 15 by WTA.

Kalinskaya and Kyrgios dated before the pair ended their relationship in 2020. In early 2024, she started dating Sinner and has been seen in his box for his recent US Open matches.

During a series of tweet exchanges with Sinner fans, one Twitter user tagged Kyrgios in a photo that showed the 29-year-old with Kalinskaya at an NBA game four years ago.

"Second serve," Kyrgios replied.

While he didn’t elaborate on what he meant, and later deleted the post, Krygios’s comment was interpreted by many social media users as a vulgar comment towards Kalinskaya.

Tennis writer Olly Paton of tennismajors.com tweeted an image of Kyrgios’s post along with the words: "Kyrgios about Kalinskaya (who is Nick’s ex-girlfriend and Sinner’s current partner)," and a 'face-palm' emoji.

Kyrgios replied: "Right… so I’m the one that’s the bad guy for saying something about it? I never brought it up lol. Don’t take offence if people are gonna bring it up. Simple."

Another X user accused Kyrgios of being "abusive", to which he replied: "Abusive? What’s abusive about what I said? I had no intention to say anything about it. People wanna go there deal with the consequences."

Sinner’s US Open victory was shrouded in controversy as he entered the tournament just weeks after a doping violation was made public. It was confirmed last month Sinner had twice tested positive to a banned substance earlier this year, but was allowed to continue playing.

"Ridiculous – whether it was accidental or planned. You get tested twice with a banned substance ... you should be gone for 2 years. Your performance was enhanced," Kyrgios said on X.

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2024 Esports World Cup List Of Winners

As the world looks back at the recent 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, another battle ground has opened. In the past eight weeks, pro gamers battled across 22 titles in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and history was made as the Esports World Cup crowned its first-ever champions.

Here is the list of all the winners of the 2024 Esports World Cup.

1. Esports World Cup: Apex Legends
   Alliance’s consistency in the grand finals was the key factor in its 1st place finish over runner-up Team Falcons.
2. Esports World Cup: Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3
   Atlanta FaZe took the trophy in a 4-2 grand finals win over 100 Thieves.
3. Esports World Cup: Call of Duty Warzone
   Team Falcons’ win in Warzone was the organization’s first trophy lift of EWC and the start of their run to winning the Club Championship.
4. Esports World Cup: Counter-Strike 2
   Natus Vincere took gold in CS2 by way of a 2-1 grand finals victory over G2 Esports.
5. Riyadh Masters x Esports World Cup (DOTA 2)
   Gaimin Gladiators dominated the grand finals against Team Liquid, taking gold in a 3-0 sweep.
6. Esports World Cup: EA FC 24
   Luna Galaxy’s João "jafonsogv" Vasconcelos took the grand finals 6-2 over Tuzzy E-Sports’ Gabriel "Young" Freitas.
7. Esports World Cup: ESL R1
   Team Redline won the RENNSPORT team championship and the team’s driver Kevin Siggy won the individual driver championship as well.
8. Esports World Cup: featuring Fortnite
   XSET took the grand finals over Exceed 4-2 to win EWC: featuring Fortnite.
9. Esports World Cup: Free Fire
   EWC: Free Fire was Team Falcons’ second gold medal finish of EWC 2024 on its way to winning the Club Championship.
10. HoK Invitational Midseason x Esports World Cup
    KPL Dream Team lived up to expectations and then some in their first international event with an undefeated run capped off by a sweep of LGD Gaming MY in the grand finals.
11. Esports World Cup presenting League of Legends
    Team captain Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok led T1 to total victory with a 3-1 grand finals win over Top Esports.
12. Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Mid Season Cup 2024 x Esports World Cup
    Selangor Red Giants upset Falcons AP.Bren 4-3 in the grand finals to crown itself Mobile Legends: Bang Bang MSC champion.
13. Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Women's Invitational 2024 x Esports World Cup
    Smart Omega Empress swept Team Vitality in the grand finals of ML:BB Women’s Invitational 2024.
14. Esports World Cup: Overwatch 2
    Crazy Raccoon triumphed over Toronto Ultra 4-1 in the grand finals of EWC: Overwatch 2.
15. PUBG MOBILE World Cup x Esports World Cup
    Alpha7 Esports took five Chicken Dinners across 18 rounds to secure 1st in PUBG MOBILE at EWC.
16. Esports World Cup: PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS
    Soniqs took 1st place in 25 percent of the grand finals rounds to cap off its championship run.
17. Esports World Cup: Rainbow Six
    Team BDS only entered two events at EWC and won both of them.
18. Esports World Cup: featuring Rocket League
    Team BDS beat hometown hero Team Falcons 4-2 in the grand finals.
19. Esports World Cup: StarCraft II
    Clem dropped only a few games to a single player on his way to winning SC2 for Team Liquid.
20. Esports World Cup: Street Fighter 6
    Zeng "Xiao Hai" Zhuojun brought glory to KuaiShow Gaming in a 5-2 grand finals win over Masaki Kawano.
21. Esports World Cup presenting Teamfight Tactics
    Wolves Esports took gold in EWC: presenting TFT with a 3-1 victory over T1 in the grand finals.
22. Esports World Cup: TEKKEN 8
    Freecs’ Lim "Ulsan" Soo-hoon swept hometown hero Atif “ATIF” Ijaz in the grand finals to win EWC: TEKKEN 8.

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