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The new "chroming" trend on social media has already led to a number of deaths , but what is the trend, and why is it becoming so popular now?  "You’re literally inhaling paints and solvents to get a high … the problem is you have acetone in there, formaldehyde is in there," Fox News contributor Dr. Marc Siegel said during an appearance on "America’s Newsroom." "It’s called volatile organic compounds for a reason: It irritates your skin, it can get into your lungs, you can have seizures, you can have coma, and, again, we’re occasionally seeing people die from this."  At a glance, the trend appears to be a variation on the decades-old trend of huffing or sniffing different materials, this time involving the inhalation of anything from aerosol cans to metallic paints, gas and solvents. Two boys, both 16, died from participating in the trend in 2019, according to The Strait Times.  Despite the trend existing for a few years, searches for chroming...

Britain's leading business lobby group set out a series of proposals Wednesday that it hopes can secure its future following a string of allegations of inappropriate behaviour that led to the cancellation of membership subscriptions from some of the country's biggest companies. In a statement, the Confederation of British Industry said it will ask its members to vote on the proposals to improve its governance structures and internal culture at an extraordinary general meeting on June 6. It said its "ambitious" program of change has been based upon discussions with more than 1,000 business leaders, and will result in a "renewed CBI." The CBI has been rocked by multiple sexual misconduct allegations since March, including rape, in recent months, which prompted dozens of household names, including automaker BMW, banking firm NatWest and insurance group Aviva, to ditch their membership in the organization. The scale of the outrage raised questions over wheth...

Air New Zealand announced it will weigh some international passengers before they board flights this summer in an effort to gauge average passenger weight and improve fuel efficiency.  The passenger airline will ask more than 10,000 customers between May 29 and July 2 to hop on a scale at the gates of certain flights departing from the Auckland International Airport, according to a press release from the airline.  Passengers’ weights will be anonymously recorded and won’t be seen by airline staff or fellow passengers, the airline said. The weight survey will be carried out on a voluntary basis.  "We know stepping on the scales can be daunting. We want to reassure our customers there is no visible display anywhere. No one can see your weight – not even us! It's completely anonymous,​" Air New Zealand load control improvement specialist Alastair James said in a press release on the announcement.  PLUS-SIZE AIRLINE PASSENGER DEMANDS FREE SEATS AND BIGGER BATHROOMS...

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea has been elected to the executive board of the World Health Organization (WHO). The North Korean Ministry of Public Health's Dr. Jong Min Pak has been seated on the WHO's executive board with a term set to last until 2026. The communist state's new position on the board allows them say in determining the organization's agenda and policy prescriptions. The decision sparked immediate criticism from the government of neighboring South Korea, which pointed to North Korea's history of ignoring policies put forward by the WHO and its parent organization, the United Nations. SOUTH KOREA RECOVERS PIECE FROM NORTH KOREA'S FAILED SPY SATELLITE ROCKET LAUNCH: 'SERIOUS DEFECTS' "It is questionable whether North Korea, which has continued to contravene [United Nations Security Council] resolutions and disregard the U.N.'s authority, meets the standards for a WHO executive board member, which should abide by...

Chinese loans with secretive and unforgiving terms are threatening to cripple multiple developing countries whose concessions to China could begin to have implications for U.S. national security. "The Chinese Communist Party's strategy to expand its influence across the Pacific has been to coerce and cut deals," Joel Rubin, who has served in administrations from both parties, most recently as deputy assistant secretary of state for the Obama administration , told Fox News Digital. He added that the Chinese target "countries that have strategic importance for the navy, in particular for basing." Rubin's comments come as concerns grow over the impact of Chinese loans to developing countries, particularly in locations where China has leveraged its position to take control of ports and natural resources to benefit the country's growing ambitions. According to a report from Fortune this month, a dozen countries are staring down the barrel of economic insta...

South Korea’s military said it salvaged an object presumed to be part of the crashed North Korean rocket carrying a spy satellite after it plunged into waters near South Korea.  Later, the Defense Ministry released photos of the suspected rocket part. North Korea’s attempt to launch a spy satellite into space, which would be the country’s first, failed Wednesday after the rocket plunged into waters approximately 124 miles west of the southwestern island of Eocheongdo. The country’s space agency attributed the failure to "the low reliability and stability of the new-type engine system applied to (the) carrier rocket" and "the unstable character of the fuel," according to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency. The North’s National Aerospace Development Administration will conduct a more thorough investigation into "serious defects revealed" by the launch, according to KCNA. NORTH KOREA INFANT JAILED FOR LIFE AFTER PARENTS FOUND WITH BIBLE ACC...

For the first time in Syria’s 12-year war, people in every district are experiencing some degree of "humanitarian stress," and a staggering 15.3 million — nearly 70% of the population — need humanitarian aid, the United Nations said Tuesday. A U.N. appeal for $5.4 billion to help over 14 million people in Syria is less than 10% funded and the U.N. World Food Program has warned that without additional money, 2.5 million people are at risk of losing food or cash assistance from July. The dire humanitarian situation , compounded by the February earthquake that devastated the rebel-held northwest, was spelled out to the Security Council by the U.N. humanitarian office’s operations director Edem Wosornu. The Syrian people "are more and more reliant on humanitarian assistance as basic services and critical infrastructure are on the brink of collapse," she said. Wosornu urged generous pledges and the swift release of funds at a European Union hosted conference in Brus...

North Korea is reportedly planning to launch its first military spy satellite into orbit for monitoring U.S. military drills with South Korea .  The announcement came a day after North Korea informed Japan that it plans to launch a satellite sometime between May 31 and June 11 — despite the United Nations prohibiting it from engaging in such activity.  It’s not clear whether North Korea’s satellite will be advanced enough to track and monitor U.S. and South Korean activities in real time.  North Korea placed Earth-observation satellites in orbit in 2012 and 2016, though their capabilities have been questioned.  Foreign experts have said those earlier satellites never transmitted imagery back to North Korea, and analysts say the new device displayed in state media in recent weeks appeared too small and crudely designed to process and transfer high-resolution imagery. NORTH KOREA INFANT JAILED FOR LIFE AFTER PARENTS FOUND WITH BIBLE ACCORDING TO RECENT REPORT S...

The death toll from a migrant boat sinking last week off the Greek resort island of Mykonos has tripled to nine after another six bodies were found in the sea and on a nearby island, authorities said Tuesday. Others remain missing. A coast guard statement said that divers on Tuesday found the bodies of four women and a man at a depth of 100 feet inside the sunken speedboat that had departed from Turkey. It said the body of an 18-year-old woman from the boat was also found Monday on a rocky stretch of coast on Antiparos, another island in the Cyclades group in the central Aegean Sea. Their nationalities weren't made public. GREEK AUTHORITIES PULL 39 MIGRANTS FROM RIVER ISLET ON TURKISH BORDER Two men survived the shipwreck and swam to shore on Mykonos . They told rescuers that up to 17 people had been on the boat, which would leave six still missing. They said none of the passengers had been wearing lifejackets. The plastic speedboat capsized and sank northeast of Mykonos on ...

Nepal's government honored record-holding climbers Monday during celebrations of the first ascent of Mount Everest 70 years ago. The celebrations come amid a growing concern about temperatures rising, glaciers and snow melting, and weather being harsh and unpredictable on the world’s tallest mountain. Hundreds of people from the mountaineering community, Sherpa guides and officials attended a rally in Kathmandu to mark the anniversary. Participants waved celebratory banners and walked in the center of Kathmandu to tunes played by military bands. NEPALESE SHERPA WHO CLIMBED MOUNT EVEREST A RECORD 28 TIMES SAYS HE’S NOT READY TO RETIRE Among those honored were Sherpa guides Kami Rita, who climbed Everest twice this season for a record 28 times overall, and Sanu Sherpa, who has climbed all of the world's 14 highest peaks twice. Hari Budha Magar, who became the first double above-the-knee amputee to climb Everest, was also honored by the country's Tourism Minister Sushila...

China sent three astronauts, including its first civilian, into orbit early Tuesday as the country gears up for a space race with the United States, Chinese authorities said. According to the Wall Street Journal, Tuesday’s launch sent veteran astronaut Jing Haipeng on his fourth mission into space. He was accompanied by first-timers spaceflight engineer Zhu Yangzhu and payload specialist Gui Haichao, who is also a professor at Beihang University in Beijing. "We’re 20 years apart in age, which makes this a cross-generational team," Jing said Monday. The astronauts will serve as the new crew for China’s space station, the Tiangong, as both the U.S. and China have announced plans to send astronauts to the moon as early as 2025 and 2030, respectively. CHINA TO LAND ASTRONAUTS ON MOON BEFORE 2030, OFFICIALS SAY The Shenzhou-16 spacecraft launched from northern China’s Gobi Desert Tuesday morning en route to the Tiangong Space Station – a more than six-hour trip.  The newly...

Russia launched a pre-dawn air raid on Ukraine's capital of Kyiv on Tuesday, killing at least one person, while officials in Moscow claim the Russian capital was attacked by drones. At least 20 Shahed explosive drones were struck down by air defense forces in Kyiv’s airspace in Russia’s third attack on the capital in the past 24 hours, according to the Kyiv Military Administration via The Associated Press. Ukraine shot down 29 of the 31 drones fired into the country, most of which were in the Kyiv area, the air force later said. Moscow's residents reported hearing explosions and the Defense Ministry later said eight drones had been fired at the city in a "terrorist attack" by the "Kyiv regime." The ministry said five drones were shot down and the systems of three were jammed, forcing them off course. Ukraine has not yet commented on the Moscow attack, which would be one of its deepest offenses into Russia since the war began in February 2022 if confirmed...

Poland imposed sanctions Monday on 365 Belarusian citizens and froze the financial assets of 20 entities and 16 other people associated with Russian capital in reaction to what it condemned as a "draconian" verdict against a journalist. Under the sanctions announced by Poland's Interior Ministry, the 365 Belarusians will be barred from entering the Schengen area, an area of visa-free travel in Europe. The group includes lawmakers, judges, prosecutors, members of state media, athletes and people working for state enterprises. The move is the latest development amid a tense relationship between Poland, a member of NATO and the European Union , and Belarus, a country on its northeastern border that is allied with Russia and led by an authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko, who has held power since 1994. NOBEL PEACE PRIZE LAUREATE TRANSFERRED TO BRUTAL PRISON IN BELARUS "These people promoted the Belarusian regime and were also involved in legitimizing and su...

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Monday his son is resigning as his executive policy secretary to take responsibility for using the prime minister’s residence for a private party at which the merrymaking was exposed in magazine photos that triggered public outrage. Shotaro Kishida, his father’s executive secretary for political affairs and eldest son, invited a group of people including relatives to a year-end party on Dec. 30 at the Prime Minister’s Official Residence. Photos published by the weekly Shukan Bunshun magazine showing Kishida's son and his relatives posing on red-carpeted stairs in an imitation of the group photos taken of newly appointed Cabinets, with his son at the center — the position reserved for the prime minister. Other photos showed guests standing at a podium as if holding a news conference. JAPAN’S PRIME MINISTER RAISES ALARM OVER HISTORIC POPULATION DECLINE; IT’S ‘NOW OR NEVER’ TO REVERSE TREND "As secretary for (the prime minister'...

Seven men appeared in court Monday on charges of attempted murder related to the February attack on a senior Northern Ireland police officer who was shot after his son’s soccer practice. The suspects, ranging in age from 28 to 72, appeared by video link at Dungannon Magistrates’ Court about 45 miles west of Belfast. They were ordered to remain in custody. Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell was seriously wounded when gunmen opened fire on him at a sports complex in Omagh as he put soccer balls into the trunk of his car after coaching an under-15 team. OFF-DUTY POLICE OFFICER SHOT, INJURED IN NORTHERN IRELAND A dissident splinter group of the Irish Republican Army claimed responsibility for the Feb. 22 attack on Caldwell, who has led investigations into killings, organized crime and paramilitary groups. The shooting came less than two months before the 25th anniversary of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which largely ended the sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland. Although ...

Uganda's president has signed into law tough new anti-gay legislation supported by many in the East African country but widely condemned by rights activists and others abroad. The version of the bill signed by President Yoweri Museveni doesn't criminalize those who identify as LGBTQ, a key concern for campaigners, who condemned an earlier draft of the legislation as an egregious attack on human rights. But the new law still prescribes the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality," which is defined as cases of sexual relations involving people infected with HIV, as well as with minors and other categories of vulnerable people. WHITE HOUSE FLOATS CUTTING UGANDA HEALTH AID OVER ANTI-HOMOSEXUALITY ACT A suspect convicted of "attempted aggravated homosexuality" can be imprisoned for up to 14 years, according to the legislation. Parliamentary Speaker Anita Among said in a statement that the president had "answered the cries of our people" in sig...

Nigeria’s Bola Tinubu has been sworn in as president of Africa’s most populous country at a period of unprecedented challenges, leaving some citizens hopeful for a better life and others skeptical that his government would perform better than the one he succeeded. The former governor of Lagos, Nigeria’s economic hub, Tinubu, 71, was sworn in as Nigeria’s president in Abuja, the capital city, in the presence of thousands of Nigerians and several heads of governments. He succeeds President Muhammadu Buhari to lead a country that by 2050 is forecast to become the third most populous nation in the world, tied with the United States after India and China . He has promised to build on Buhari's efforts to deliver democratic dividends to citizens in a country where deadly security crises, widespread poverty and hunger have left many frustrated and angry. And with his election still being contested in court by opposition parties and among many young Nigerians, Tinubu has also pledged to r...

MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has been accused of coming to the aid of the Cuban dictatorship by importing doctors and paying the communist regime for their services.  The move not only infuriated many in the Mexican health industry, but it's also seen as another example of how Lopez Obrador is thumbing his nose at Washington.  " I think this is something that is of most concern for U.S. national security. These medical missions have proven already to violate labor standards, to violate human rights and also to be used as operations for intelligence missions and potentially military missions," Joseph Humire, executive director of the Center for a Secure Free Society, told Fox News Digital. Using Lopez Obrador's nickname, Humire said, "AMLO never admitted this, but it is pretty clear that if his political party, Morena, had won the midterms in Mexico, they would have tried to make reforms to the constitution, they would have tried...

North Korea informed neighboring Japan on Monday that it plans to launch a satellite in the coming days, despite the United Nations prohibiting it from engaging in such activity. Japan's coast guard said North Korean waterway authorities revealed that the launch window was between May 31 and June 11 and that the launch may affect waters in the Yellow Sea, East China Sea and east of the Philippines' Luzon Island. A safety warning was issued by Japan's coast guard for ships in the area on those dates due to the possible dangers of falling debris. The coast guard coordinates and distributes maritime safety information in East Asia, which is most likely why it received North Korea's notice. For North Korea to launch a satellite into space, it would need to use long-range missile technology banned by U.N. Security Council resolutions. The country's previous launches of Earth observation satellites were viewed as missile tests in disguise. NORTH KOREA COMMENDS RUSSIA...

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday declared victory in the presidential election, capping off a close race and extending his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade.  Erdogan’s victory comes on the heels of high inflation and the aftermath of an earthquake that leveled entire cities.  Speaking from on top of a bus in Istanbul after the polls closed, Erdogan addressed his supporters, thanking them for entrusting him with the presidency for five more years. "The only winner today is Turkey," Erdogan said. "No one can look down on our nation." DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS CONDEMNS GREECE'S TREATMENT, DEPORTATIONS OF MIGRANTS He ridiculed his challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, for his loss, saying "bye bye bye, Kemal," as supporters booed. With nearly 99% of ballot boxes opened, results from competing news agencies showed Erdogan with 52% of the vote, compared with 48% for Kilicdaroglu. Kilicdaroglu said the election was ...

Chief of Russia’s notorious Wagner mercenary force and self-proclaimed "butcher" for Russian President Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has once again come out swinging at Moscow's defense ministry, this time warning there will be a revolution like the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution if Russian elites do not get serious about the war in Ukraine.  According to a Reuters report Wednesday, Prigozhin in an interview posted to Telegram said that there are already "tens of thousands" of angry Russians who are sick of seeing loved ones come back in zinc coffins while the children of Moscow’s elite "shook their a---s." "This divide can end as in 1917 with a revolution," he said in reference to the revolution that ended the 300-year reign of the Romanov czar dynasty, prompting the infamous legend around Anastasia, daughter of Czar Nicholas II, who along with his family were murdered in 1918.  POLAND SAYS NO TO ANY ‘ARTIFICIAL PEACE PLAN’ BETWEEN UKRAI...

Russian forces pummeled the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv with "Kamikaze" drone attacks throughout the night as the city prepared to celebrate the anniversary of its founding Sunday. Russia launched 54 Iranian-made drones at Kyiv and elsewhere in Ukraine, but air defenses shot down 52 of the drones, according to Ukrainian officials. Two people were killed during Saturday night's attack, with falling debris landing on one 41-year-old man and another person dying of unspecified causes, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a statement. Kyiv is marking the 1,541-year anniversary since its founding on Sunday. The assault on Kyiv came in several large waves throughout the night, with air raid sirens blaring for roughly 5 hours. CHINA, RUSSIA, NORTH KOREA AND IRAN ARE INVESTING IN WAYS TO NUKE US. THE TIME IS NOW FOR MISSILE DEFENSE Ukraine has been largely successful in warding off Russian missile and drone attacks in recent weeks thanks to the deployment of U.S.-made Patriot...

The family of a 13-year-old Australian girl who died from "chroming" has urged action to prevent similar deaths from occurring.  "We want to help other children not fall into the silly trap of doing this silly thing. It’s unquestionable that this will be our crusade," Paul Haynes, the girl’s father, told Australian outlet the Herald Sun. "No matter how much you lead a horse to water, anyone can drag them away. It’s not something she would have done on her own. "The ripple effect is that this is absolutely devastating. We've got no child to bring home." Esra Haynes died after she inhaled fumes from a deodorant can, causing her to go into cardiac arrest March 31. She remained on life support eight days, at which point doctors determined her brain was "damaged beyond repair" and her family decided to turn off the machines. GRANDMOTHER, 95, DIES AFTER POLICE SHOCK HER WITH STUN GUN: ‘COMMUNITY IS OUTRAGED’ "[It was] just a regula...