Category Archives: headline

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Harris: Making STEP Workers Permanent Is Our Commitment for 2022

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS — Prime Minister and Minister of Finance the Hon. Dr. Timothy Harris, who also has responsibility for the Skills Training Empowerment Programme (STEP), has announced that the Team Unity Government is committed to making permanent, in 2022, all STEP workers in the government service.

Prime Minister Harris made the announcement on Tuesday December 14 when he laid before the National Assembly, at a special sitting held at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort’s Ballroom, the Appropriation (2022) Bill, 2021, under the theme ‘Investing in Our People – Putting St. Kitts and Nevis back on track’.

During the presentation of the EC$952,200,453 budge, the Prime Minister announced the payment of double salary for all government employees including the approximately 2,800 STEP workers this December. He then posed: “Mr Speaker, what else can we do at this particular time?”

He answered by saying: “We can stay firm to our commitment, and in the last General Election the people on Skills Training Empowerment Programme (STEP) said that they no longer want to continue indefinitely to be part of a workforce in no man’s land.”

According to the Honourable Prime Minister, when STEP workers go for a loan to a financial institution they are turned down as they are not permanent. He also added that the same thing happened when they would go to apply for a visa where they would also be denied as they did not have permanency in their jobs.

“So, for 2022 we will move forward in our commitment to make STEP workers permanent,” assured Prime Minister Harris, who is also the Minister of Human Resource Management and Information. “Permanent, Mr Speaker, part of the government employee base, but we will do so in a phased basis.”

The Prime Minister recognised the Accountant General Mr Levi Mr Bradshaw who was present as he is the chairman of the STEP Regularisation and Pensions Reform Committee.  Members include Forensic Auditor and Director of Audit, Mrs Carla Pike; Chief Personnel Officer, Ms Sheridane Warner; and Permanent Secretaries Ms Sharon Rattan, Mr Ron Collins, and Mr Andrew Skerritt.

Others in the committee are Mrs Versilie Francis, representative of the Ministry Finance; Mrs Nisharma Rattan-Mack, Representative of the Legal Department; and Mr Emile Greene, Director of the Skills Training Empowerment Programme (STEP).

“Our first phase will involve those in the government service, Customs, the ministries, prisons, wherever they work, because we have immediate control,” stated Dr Harris. “Our first phase would look at those who have been doing a wonderful job, and we will give them the benefit of moving forward. That is our commitment for 2022.”

He observed that there are STEP workers in the private sector, who are not within the reach of the government. While government cannot direct private companies to employ the STEP workers attached to their establishments, it can only make such request.

“In addition, the Government Auxiliary Employees, our commitment to them will continue to be satisfied in 2022,” further announced the Prime Minister. “We said that we will allow them to continue to receive the honorarium until they were regularised. It was a promise made by the past administration which it never fulfilled. Team Unity is doing it. So, in addition to getting their double, they will also receive their honorarium this year, thanks to Team Unity Government.”

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Former Pres. Lula Maintains Dominant Lead in Brazilian Election, Poll Shows

BRASILIA, Dec 14 (Reuters) – Brazilian former leftist leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has a comfortable lead in the polls heading into next year’s October presidential election, with right-wing incumbent Jair Bolsonaro nearly 30 percentage points down, according to a poll released on Tuesday.

If the vote were held today, 48% percent of respondents said they would vote for Lula, as the former president is widely known, while 21% would vote for Bolsonaro, according to the survey by pollster Inteligencia em Pesquisa e Consultoria (IPEC), which was published on news website G1.

Sergio Moro, a former anti-corruption judge who helped put Lula in jail before joining Bolsonaro’s administration only to fall out with the conservative leader, came in third with 6% of the vote.

In a second scenario in which minor candidates were not listed as options, Lula received 49% of the hypothetical vote versus 22% for Bolsonaro. Moro came in third with 8%.

The poll is largely in line with an IPEC poll released in June and shows Bolsonaro struggling to regain traction with voters after his popularity tanked earlier this year, in part due to his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed over 600,000 Brazilians.

It also highlights Lula’s striking reversal of fortunes in recent years. In jail when Bolsonaro was elected in 2018, Lula, who governed Brazil from 2003 through 2011, has since had his corruption convictions thrown out by the Supreme Court, allowing him to run for another term.

IPEC interviewed 2,002 people from Dec. 9-13 in 144 towns throughout Brazil. The survey has a margin of error of 2 percentage points.

Reporting by Maria Carolina Marcello in Brasilia and Gram Slattery in Rio de Janeiro; Editing by Leslie Adler

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US Sports Bodies in $380m Settlement of Gymnastics Sex Abuse Claims

USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee have agreed to pay $380 million and meet several other nonmonetary provisions to settle lawsuits filed by the survivors of former Olympic team doctor Larry Nassar.

The settlement agreement came after the latest round of mediation in Indianapolis and closes a major chapter in a legal battle that started more than five years ago when former Olympian Jamie Dantzscher filed the first civil lawsuit against the convicted serial sexual predator. More than 500 others eventually filed similar claims against Nassar’s former employers.

Coupled with the $500 million settlement from Michigan State University in May 2018, the total of $880 million in settlements is the largest involving a single perpetrator in a sexual assault case, according to plaintiff’s attorney John Manly.

“This settlement is the result of the bravery of hundreds of survivors who, despite legal obstacles, long odds and the best corporate legal talent money can buy, refused to be silent. The power of their story eventually won the day,” Manly said.

While settlement talks had been ongoing for years, a formal agreement was reached Monday, according to a number of people — including Manly, who represents more than 180 Nassar survivors. He refused to discuss details of the mediation talks beyond the timing, but said, “I’ve done thousands of cases in my life. This is the one I’m most proud of.”

Nassar worked as a volunteer with USA Gymnastics for more than two decades, including serving as the national team’s medical coordinator starting in 1996. He pleaded guilty in 2017 to possession of child pornography and, in early 2018, pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting his former patients. He was sentenced to more than 100 years in prison for his crimes. Multiple investigations found that officials from USA Gymnastics, the USOPC and Michigan State University failed to stop Nassar’s abuse despite years of complaints and warning signs.

A source with knowledge of the mediation talks said a committee of survivors of Nassar’s abuse, which included former Olympians Aly Raisman, Kyla Ross and Tasha Schwikert as well as attorneys Rachael Denhollander and Sarah Klein, had rejected earlier settlement offers.

“This settlement occurred because of a five-year, bare-knuckled legal fight the USOPC and USA Gymnastics decided to initiate against me and 500-plus sister survivors,” Klein, who served as co-chair of the survivors committee, told ESPN Monday. “After thousands of hours of this survivors committee’s time, blood, sweat and tears, today we prevailed.”

Denhollander, the first woman to publicly accuse Nassar of sexual assault in late 2016, commented on the historic settlement on Twitter.

“This chapter is finally closed. Now the hard work of reform and rebuilding can begin. Whether or not justice comes, and change is made, depends on what happens next,” Denhollander tweeted.

Monday’s settlement includes litigation against former USA Gymnastics CEO Steve Penny and former national team coaches Bela and Marta Karolyi, who for decades led Team USA gymnasts to gold at multiple Olympic Games. Penny, who led USA Gymnastics from 2005 through 2017, was charged with evidence tampering as part of the Nassar investigation. He pleaded not guilty, and his case is pending.

“USA Gymnastics is deeply sorry for the trauma and pain that Survivors have endured as a result of this organization’s actions and inactions,” USAG president and CEO Li Li Leung said in a statement. “The Plan of Reorganization that we jointly filed reflects our own accountability to the past and our commitment to the future.

“Individually and collectively, Survivors have stepped forward with bravery to advocate for enduring change in this sport. We are committed to working with them, and with the entire gymnastics community, to ensure that we continue to prioritize the safety, health, and wellness of our athletes and community above all else.”

As part of the settlement, USA Gymnastics agreed to set up a restorative justice program that will give survivors significant influence over how the organization addresses sexual assault issues in the future.

“The restorative justice process that’s part of this plan, you can’t buy that,” said attorney Mick Grewal, who represents more than 100 women in the case. “It will be the gold standard for every institution that has a sexual assault problem.”

Grewal said the two parties initially proposed a $400 million settlement in October, but USA Gymnastics had not secured funding for that full amount. He said part of the compromise that led to Monday’s settlement was making sure that the nonmonetary provisions helped bring about future change in the sport.

“I am proud of the nonmonetary reform commitments in particular — this represents so much hard work from members of the committee and I am eager to see these changes through,” Denhollander said on Twitter.

Grewal and Manly said their clients plan to continue to fight to hold others accountable for failing to stop Nassar’s abuse sooner. In October, the Department of Justice said that it would be reviewing the possibility of bringing charges against former FBI agents who received complaints about Nassar in 2015. A report from the Justice Department’s inspector general, published this summer, found that the agents made several egregious mistakes in how they handled the case, allowing Nassar to continue abusing patients for more than a year before he was arrested by university police at Michigan State.

“Yet again, we have done our jobs. However, Attorney General Garland has not done his job,” Klein said Monday. “Not one of the officials at USOPC or the FBI, who allowed Nassar to molest us as children, has been criminally charged. I will not rest until that happens.”

The post US Sports Bodies in $380m Settlement of Gymnastics Sex Abuse Claims appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

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Haiti: Death Toll in Gasoline Truck Explosion Now at 75

CAP-HAITIEN, Haiti (AP) — A gasoline tanker overturned and exploded in northern Haiti, unleashing a fireball that swept through homes and businesses on its way to killing at least 75 people Tuesday, according to local authorities, in the latest tragedy to befall the Caribbean nation.

The blast occurred shortly after midnight in Cap-Haitien, Haiti’s second-largest city, along the northern coast. Hours later, buildings and overturned vehicles were still fuming as firefighters covered the burned bodies of the young victims in white sheets and loaded them onto the back of a construction truck.

Hundreds of Haitians — who aren’t easily shocked amid their country’s multiple misfortunes — looked on from rooftops in disbelief at the loss of so much life. Prime Minister Ariel Henry, himself a physician, visited a hospital where victims bandaged head to toe were fighting for their lives amid a shortage of medical supplies and health workers.

“It’s horrible what happened,” said Patrick Almonor, deputy mayor of Cap-Haitien, who said late Tuesday that 75 people had died.. “We lost so many lives.”

Among survivors who spoke with the prime minister was Riche Joseph, who spent hours on the floor of Justinien University Hospital, the city’s largest, connected to an IV while he waited for a bed.

His sister, Bruna Lourdes, said her brother stepped out of the house late at night where they lived together with their mother to look for something to eat. When she heard the explosion, she rushed down from the hillside shantytown in panic.

“I’m praying to God that he won’t take his life,” said Lourdes, who is studying to be a nurse and plans to spend the night by her brother’s beside to offer whatever assistance she can to the overstretched medical staff.

Early reports indicate that the tanker was trying to avoid an oncoming motorcycle when it flipped. Onlookers then rushed to the scene with buckets to scoop up what they could of the tanker’s valuable cargo, likely for resale on the black market, as the fuel spilled toward a nearby pile of smoldering trash.

“It was after midnight and I heard a loud noise so I asked one of my boys to go and look. He told me a gasoline truck exploded,” said Abraham Joanis, 61, as he carried around a guitar rescued unscathed from the charred remains of his home, one of 50 gutted by the blaze.

“Right away, I left with my family, and I headed the other way to the bridge,” he added.

Contributing to the high death toll is the desperation that has forced impoverished Haitians in recent months to scramble for gasoline due to severe shortages that have shuttered gas stations, sent fuel prices on the black market spiraling and forced businesses to close as the U.S. and Canadian governments warn their citizens to leave while they still can.

The shortages are the latest manifestation of a society that has been on the brink since the July 7 assassination of President Jovenel Moise and a 7.2 magnitude earthquake a few weeks later that killed more than 2,200 people and destroyed tens of thousands of homes.

The country of more than 11 million people also has been hit by a spike in gang-related kidnappings, including 17 people with a U.S. missionary organization who were abducted in mid-October. Five of them have been released but another 12 are still being held.

“It’s terrible what our country has to go through,” said Dave Larose, a civil engineer who works in Cap-Haitien.

Hospitals in Haiti’s second-largest city seemed ill-equipped to deal with the disaster and 15 victims had to be evacuated by air to hospitals in the capital, Port-au-Prince.

Some of the burn victims were being treated by teams from Doctors without Borders.

“Surviving and recovering from a severe burn is a difficult process that requires specialized medical care, often for weeks or months,” Jean-Gilbert Ndong, the group’s medical coordinator. “We will continue to receive patients according to the needs and our capacity.”

Burn victims at Justinien hospital screamed in agony as they pleaded for basic supplies and more medical staff.

Henry, wearing a biohazard suit, clasped his hands and leaned over to console one man collapsed on the hospital’s concrete floor because there were not enough beds in the historic city’s largest hospital.

The prime minister promised more help in the form of field hospitals and a contingent of medical professionals. But minutes after he left the facility, five more patients died.

“The entire Haitian nation is grieving,” Henry said on Twitter while declaring three days of national mourning. “It is with a torn heart that I see the critical condition of some of our compatriots admitted to this facility.”

Haiti has been crippled by a severe fuel shortage that has led to power outages and protests.

Cap-Haitien is the country's second-largest city.

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Pfizer Pill Dramatic Results, Omicron Growth in US, Covid Passes for England, World Stats

Pill lowers risk of hospitalization, death: study

Pfizer logo provided by Pfizer Media Relations on Jan. 7. 2021.
 

© Pfizer Media Relations via AP

Pfizer announced Tuesday that a study found that its oral, antiviral COVID-19 pill Paxlovid reduced the risk of hospitalization or death by 89 percent in high-risk patients.

Pfizer said that the 2,246 patients in the study were given the pill within three days of symptom onset, adding that they had mild to moderate symptoms as well as an underlying medical condition or an increased risk of becoming severely infected by COVID-19.

The company said the results have been shared with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a part of the company’s request for emergency use authorization. Pfizer requested emergency use authorization from the FDA for Paxlovid in mid-November.

Takeaway: Health officials stress the pill is not a substitute for the vaccine, but it does have the potential to significantly cut down on hospitalizations and deaths, assuming people start taking the pill within three days of their symptoms starting.

Pfizer added that it believes that the pill will work on the new omicron variant, but additional studies are underway.

“This news provides further corroboration that our oral antiviral candidate, if authorized or approved, could have a meaningful impact on the lives of many,” said Albert Bourla, Pfizer’s chairman and chief executive officer. “Emerging variants of concern, like Omicron, have exacerbated the need for accessible treatment options for those who contract the virus, and we are confident that, if authorized or approved, this potential treatment could be a critical tool to help quell the pandemic.”

Supply is expected to be extremely limited at first. The company is expected to deliver only enough of its pills to cover 300,000 Americans before the end of February

CDC: Omicron now 3 percent of US cases

 

The omicron variant now represents about 3 percent of domestic COVID-19 cases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Tuesday, showing the new variant is starting to rise in the U.S.

The CDC estimated omicron was 2.9 percent of sequenced U.S. cases for the week ending Dec. 11, up from 0.4 percent one week earlier. In New York and New Jersey, the CDC said omicron is already at 13 percent of sequenced cases.

The number is expected to rise quickly given the sharp spikes in omicron in other countries. For example, officials in Britain have estimated omicron will be the dominant variant there within days. The U.S. trajectory appears to be somewhat behind.

How we got here: Omicron is highly transmissible, helping fuel its rapid rise and displacing some of the delta variant, which has been fueling a spike in the U.S. even before omicron’s foothold.

There is some early evidence that omicron could be less severe, though. On the other hand, it does significantly weaken the power of two shots of the vaccine in preventing infection, though protection against severe disease could hold up better.

That is why health officials are urging all American adults to get a booster shot.

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England: Covid Pass Needed to Enter Certain Venues

BBC- Adults in England must now show a Covid pass to enter nightclubs, big sports matches and other large events – despite nearly 100 Conservative MPs voting against the government’s plans.

The new rules – which kick in today – require proof of double-vaccination, or a recent negative test, to enter certain venues.

MPs approved the measure in Tuesday’s vote on England’s new Covid rules.

Despite the revolt by 99 Tory MPs, the plans passed thanks to Labour support.

The Commons also backed – with smaller Conservative rebellions – the continuation of mandatory mask-wearing in most indoor settings, and compulsory vaccination for NHS workers in England.

The scrapping of self-isolation for fully vaccinated Covid contacts – in favour of daily lateral flow tests – passed unanimously without a vote.

The rebellion on Covid passes was by far the biggest since Boris Johnson took office.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said it was a “very significant blow to the already damaged authority of the prime minister”.

“It confirms that he’s too weak to discharge the basic functions of government,” he claimed.

One Tory rebel, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, said the scale of the revolt meant a leadership challenge to Mr Johnson had “got to be on the cards” next year.

And former Tory chief whip, Mark Harper MP, said: “You either listen and you respond and you do things differently – or you ignore what you have been told and you plough on regardless, and then this will happen over and over again.”

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What are the new Covid pass rules for England?

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On Tuesday, England’s chief medical officer, Prof Chris Whitty warned senior ministers that hospitals were facing a significant increase in the number of people being admitted with the Omicron variant.

Speaking at the same virtual cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned of a “huge spike” of infections – but Downing Street has insisted no further Covid restrictions are being planned.

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Not just a slap on the wrist

Boris Johnson didn’t lose. But no prime minister wants to feel they’re losing the argument in much of their own party.

And the scale of the rebellion is even worse than predicted. Not just a slap on the wrist for Mr Johnson, but a very serious rejection of his plan.

Something that can’t be dismissed, despite his own personal appeals to his ranks.

  • Read more from Laura here
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On Tuesday, the UK recorded 59,610 new Covid cases, the highest number since January, along with 150 deaths within 28 days of a positive Covid test.

The UK Health Security Agency said 633 further UK Omicron cases were reported on Tuesday, taking the total number of confirmed cases of the variant to 5,346.

Meanwhile, a total of 513,722 booster and third doses were given across the UK on Monday.

In Scotland have been urged to limit socialising to three households at a time, with shops and hospitality venues to be told to reinstate physical distancing and protective screens.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the advice would not apply on Christmas Day and that plans should not be cancelled.

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WORLD STATS

Coronavirus Cases:

271,781,704

Deaths:

5,337,994

Recovered:

244,375,126
Highlighted in green
= all cases have recovered from the infection
Highlighted in grey
= all cases have had an outcome (there are no active cases)

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Latest News

December 15 (GMT)

Updates

  • 9,076 new cases and 54 new death

The post Pfizer Pill Dramatic Results, Omicron Growth in US, Covid Passes for England, World Stats appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

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Farewell to the 'happiest man on Earth'

A state funeral was held today for the self-titled "happiest man on earth" and Holocaust survivor, Eddie Jaku.

Guests celebrated the life of Mr Jaku, the Sydney Jewish Museum founder, at Sydney Town Hall today.

"A man who came face to face with the worst of humanity but departed by the loving faces of families and friends," NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said.

READ MORE: Every NSW COVID-19 restriction that just changed

Eddie Jaku was 101 and was best known for his book, The Happiest Man on Earth.

Mr Jaku passed away in October this year, aged 101.

Family and friends spoke today of Mr Jaku's long and incredible life.

"And just like those many from all over the world that were touched by him, we miss him," Michael Jaku, Mr Jaku's son, said.

READ MORE: 'Exceptionally hot air' will cause temperatures to soar

Memorial for Holocaust survivor Eddie Jaku at Town Hall. POOL Photo Nick Moir 15 dec 2021

The state memorial service heard how Mr Jaku dedicated himself to spreading goodwill and understanding despite his experiences.

"His best revenge for the trauma of his past was to enjoy life to the fullest," Danielle Jaku-Greenfield said.

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Truck driver jailed over fatal crash that 'cut young family in half'

A truck driver who caused a crash that killed a Victorian mum and her young son because he was distracted by his phone has been jailed.

Michael Knowler, 60, has been sentenced to 31 months' jail before the County Court, having pleaded guilty to two charges including dangerous driving causing death.

Knowler was driving a prime mover truck just after midday on December 29, 2019 when he did not stop at a give way sign and slammed into a car carrying a family of four at the intersection of Allandale-Kingston Road and Churcher Parade in Kingston.

READ MORE: Unvaccinated people allowed into Victorian retail stores but mask mandate to remain

The court heard that as Knowler was approaching the intersection he had seen a sign announcing the crossroad, so he had looked at his phone on the dashboard to check the GPS to see which direction he should take.

His inattention meant he failed to stop at the intersection.

The crash caused the family's car to roll several times before it stopped on the roof.

Jess West and her son Deighton, 5, were killed.

Her other son, Oakley, 9, was seriously injured and airlifted to hospital, while father Anthony West suffered minor injuries.

In a statement read to the court, Mr West told the court the sound of his wife screaming before the collision still haunts him.

"The sound of my wife screaming moments before impact is the last thing I heard her say," he said.

"That scream lives with me everyday … My beautiful family of four was tragically cut in half."

Knowler was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol and told police his view of the unfamiliar road was obstructed by a row of trees.

The court heard Knowler wrote a letter of apology to the West family and lost his own son in a car crash at just eight and a half months old.

Judge George Georgiou accepted Knowler was genuinely remorseful and that he was of otherwise good character.

The Judge also accepted the intersection's poor design and an inefficiency in the truck's braking system likely contributed to the crash, but told Knowler, "the single most important factor was the fact that you became distracted by looking at your phone".

He said Knowler's offending had caused a "tragic, profound and lasting impact".

"You were an experienced driver, and thus should have understood the risks associated with taking your eyes off the road," he said.

Knowler was handed a non-parole period of 14 months.

He has already served 316 days of the sentence.

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Her hands were 'hacked off' with an axe

A woman whose hands were hacked off with an axe by her husband is one of four domestic violence survivors who are set to collectively receive over $593,00 in compensation from Russia.

Handing down a ruling for a case between Russia and the four women — Margarita Gracheva, Natalya Tunikova, Yelena Gershman and Irina Petrakova — the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) said Russian authorities did not do enough to stop domestic violence and needed to compensate the women.

Ms Gracheva was kidnapped by her then-husband in 2017 after she told him she was going to divorce him. She was taken to a forest where her husband proceeded to cut her hands off with an axe.

READ MORE: Family calls for change after young mother allegedly murdered in DV attack

Russian domestic violence survivor Margarita Grachyova

She was awarded the most compensation of the four, €370,660 ($586,717) for medical expenses, loss of income and non-pecuniary damage.

€20,000 ($31,658) was awarded to each of Ms Tunikova, Ms Gershman and Ms Petrakova. All four women were awarded an additional €5000 ($7914) for costs and expenses.

Ms Gracheva had told police about her husband's violent behaviour before the attack, but officers had allegedly ignored her claims.

READ MORE: 'Exceptionally hot air' will cause temperatures to soar

Her mutilated left hand was found in the forest and sewn back on.

But the same did not happen for her right hand, which is now fitted with a prosthetic provided through a crowdfunding campaign.

Ms Gracheva's now ex-husband was eventually convicted and sentenced to 14 years in jail.

Irina Petrakova is one of the four women set to receive compensation from Russia over handling of her domestic violence case.

Russia was ruled to have breached two articles of the European Convention on Human Rights, with the court arguing there are high rates of domestic violence incidents against women in the country.

The ECHR expressed the case highlighted that legislation in Russia enabled authorities to be blind to domestic abuse until it got to a grievous level.

READ MORE: Every NSW COVID-19 restriction that just changed

In the past, Russia has opposed the compensation claims, with Deputy Justice Minister Mikhail Galperin saying the country shouldn't be held accountable for acts of domestic violence committed by individuals.

In 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law that weakened penalties for domestic violence.

A woman holds a banner demanding Russia to change domestic violence laws.

It included that if a victim wasn't hospitalised from a first domestic violence offence, then it was not considered a criminal offence and punishments were softened.

The court is urging Russia to adopt a legal definition of domestic violence and to ensure that all perpetrators are criminalised.

To stop such attacks from happening in the future, the court told Russia it needed to make drastic changes.

In a Facebook post, Mari Davtyan, one of the lawyers representing the women, said "Each of these women was seriously injured as a result of the state's inaction in the situation of domestic violence".

Readers seeking help can call the National Domestic Violence Service: 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732). If you are in immediate danger call triple zero (000).