Category Archives: headline

Migrants wait as they hope to receive help from the Mexican government to obtain humanitarian visas to transit Mexican territory, in Tapachula, Mexico December 1, 2021. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez

TAPACHULA, Mexico, Dec 1 (Reuters) – Several thousand Haitian migrants have camped outside a stadium in the southern Mexican city of Tapachula, pleading to be transferred to other states and given authorization to travel freely through Mexico and seek employment.

Mexican officials last week began moving hundreds of migrants to other states after they had endured lengthy waits for asylum and visas requests in Tapachula, aiming to head off migrant caravans heading north to the U.S. border.

Yet thousands more people remain in limbo in Tapachula, which is located near Mexico’s southern border with Guatemala.

Many on Wednesday told Reuters they were camping out at the stadium, which had been turned into a makeshift migration processing center, to be able to land spots on buses out of town offered by migration authorities.

Mexico’s migration institute did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“We can’t leave the camp, we want to secure our place,” said Eliot John, from Haiti, who said he has slept at the camp several nights. “We do not want to go in a caravan because there are children and pregnant women with us, it is much more dangerous.”

Reuters photos show a ramshackle encampment of blankets hung between metal fences in a concrete parking lot under direct sun, with trash strewn about the ground.

Inside the stadium, dozens of migrants sat on the grass or in spectator seats.

Haitian migrant Roldy, who asked to not disclose his last name, said he has been waiting in Tapachula for four months and spent the last five nights outside the stadium with his wife and daughter.

“My family and I can’t keep putting up with hunger and thirst and sleeping on the street,” he said.

Marceline Pierre, also from Haiti, beseeched Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to take note of the unsanitary conditions and help him and his fellow migrants get paperwork to move freely through the country and find jobs.

“We’re not animals,” he said.

Reporting by Jose Luis Gonzalez and Lizbeth Diaz; Writing by Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Leslie Adler

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Mexico, U.S. to Launch Joint Plan to Contain Central America Migration

2021-12-02 FreeNews

MEXICO CITY, Dec 1 (Reuters) – The Mexican and U.S. international development agencies will work together on a project in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador aimed at alleviating the root causes of migration, Mexico’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

Dubbed “Planting Opportunities,” the project will bring together the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (Amexcid) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to target the so-called Northern Triangle countries of Central America.

Migration from the three countries has fueled record numbers of people being apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border, and both Mexico and the United States have vowed to tackle the deeper problems behind higher migration levels.

Mexico’s foreign ministry did not detail how much funding will be allocated for the scheme in its statement.

The U.S.-Mexico collaboration will begin in Honduras, with an effort to teach job skills to more than 500,000 at-risk youth, the ministry said.

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Court dismisses UK tabloid's appeal in Meghan Markle privacy case

2021-12-03 FreeNews

A British court has dismissed an appeal by a newspaper publisher seeking to overturn an earlier ruling that it breached the privacy of the Duchess of Sussex by publishing portions of a letter she wrote to her estranged father.

The Court of Appeal in London on Thursday upheld a February High Court ruling that publication of the letter Meghan Markle wrote to her estranged father, Thomas, after she married Prince Harry in 2018 was "manifestly excessive and hence unlawful".

The publisher of the Mail on Sunday and the MailOnline website challenged that decision in a hearing last month.

In a statement on Thursday night, Meghan said the appeals court ruling was "a victory not just for me, but for anyone who has ever felt scared to stand up for what's right".

"While this win is precedent-setting, what matters most is that we are now collectively brave enough to reshape a tabloid industry that conditions people to be cruel, and profits from the lies and pain that they create," she said.

Associated Newspapers disputed Meghan's claim she didn't intend the letter to be seen by anyone but her father.

The publisher said correspondence between Meghan and her then communications secretary, Jason Knauf, showed the duchess suspected her father might leak the letter to journalists and wrote it with that in mind.

The publisher also argued the publication of the letter was part of Thomas Markle's right to reply following misleading media reports that alleged he was "cruelly cold-shouldering" his daughter in the run-up to her royal wedding.

But a judge ruled Thursday that the article, which the Mail on Sunday described as "sensational," was "splashed as a new public revelation," rather than focusing on Thomas Markle's response to those reports.

Thomas Markle Snr Fox News interview Archie and Lilibet

In its appeal, Associated Newspapers also argued Meghan made private information public by cooperating with Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, authors of Finding Freedom, a sympathetic book about her and Harry.

The duchess' lawyers had previously denied she or Harry collaborated with the authors. But Knauf said in evidence to the court he gave the writers information, and discussed it with Harry and Meghan.

Knauf's evidence, which hadn't previously been disclosed, was a dramatic twist in the long-running case.

In response, Meghan, 40, apologised for misleading the court about the extent of her cooperation with the book's authors.

The duchess said she didn't remember the discussions with Knauf when she gave evidence earlier in the case, "and I apologise to the court for the fact that I had not remembered these exchanges at the time."

"I had absolutely no wish or intention to mislead the defendant or the court," she said in a written statement.

Meghan, a former star of the American TV legal drama Suits, married Harry, a grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, at Windsor Castle in May 2018.

Meghan and Harry announced in early 2020 that they were quitting royal duties and moving to North America, citing what they said were the unbearable intrusions and racist attitudes of the British media.

They have settled in Santa Barbara, California, with their two young children.

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Paraguay: Epidemic of Childhood Pregnancy Fueled by Widespread Sexual Abuse

2021-12-02 FreeNews

(CNN) An epidemic of childhood pregnancy in Paraguay is being fueled by widespread sexual abuse and restrictive abortion laws, according to a new Amnesty International report.

At least 1,000 girls aged 14 or younger gave birth in the country between 2019 and 2020, the report says. It adds that more than 12,000 teenage girls between the ages of 15 and 19 gave birth in 2019.

The report, titled “They are girls, not mothers,” highlights a crisis of sexual violence against children, who are then forced to carry resulting pregnancies to term under Paraguayan law.

The South American nation’s abortion laws are some of the most extreme in the region, with the procedure criminalized in almost every circumstance, except when the life of the mother is recognized to be in danger.

Paraguay has one of the highest child and teenage pregnancy rates in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

Early childbirth can pose significant health risks. Girls under the age of 15 are four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications, according to the Latin American Consortium against Unsafe Abortion.

Want to help survivors of child sex trafficking? Stop using these terms

In Paraguay, girls and teenagers between the ages of 10 and 19 account for one in ten maternal deaths nationwide, as well as 13% of maternal deaths caused by unsafe abortions, according to Amnesty.

Paraguay adopted a law in 2018 to prevent sexual abuse and guarantee comprehensive care for child and teenage survivors of sexual abuse. However, the report describes the law’s implementation as insufficient, highlighting holes in the protection of young people, “such as the absence of appropriate public policies and the failure to enforce existing laws to prevent abuse and provide redress when it does occur.”

Abortion rights activists demonstrate in Asuncion, Paraguay in 2018.

“By action and omission, Paraguay is turning its back on its girls and teenagers as they face unimaginable abuses,” Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International said.

“Girls have the right to a life free of violence. Forcing someone to continue with a pregnancy, particularly when it is the result of rape, is a form of ill-treatment that can be considered torture,” she added.

In 2019 alone, the country’s Public Prosecutor’s Office received an average of 12 reports of sexual violence against children and teenagers every day, which in some cases resulted in pregnancy, according to the report.

Paraguay’s restrictive stance on abortion has drawn international attention before. In 2015, an 11-year-old gave birth after Paraguayan authorities denied her an abortion. The girl had become pregnant by her stepfather at the 10.

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Pfizer Boss: Annual Covid Shots Needed for Years to Come

2021-12-02 FreeNews

By Fergus Walsh
Medical editor

BBC- People will be likely to need to have annual Covid vaccinations for many years to come, the head of Pfizer has told the BBC

Dr Albert Bourla said he thought this would be needed to maintain a “very high level of protection”.

The UK has now secured an extra 114 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to be delivered over the next two years.

A year ago the UK was the first country to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

Pfizers’s chief executive was speaking to the BBC before the emergence of the Omicron variant, first identified in South Africa and also before the announcement that the UK government had signed contracts to buy the 54 million additional Pfizer-BioNTech and 60 million Moderna doses for 2022 and 2023.

These deals include access to modified vaccines if needed to combat Omicron and future variants of concern, the Department of Health has said.

Dr Bourla said Pfizer had already made updated vaccines in response to the Beta, also first identified in South Africa, and Delta, first identified in India, variants but that they had not been needed.

The company is now working on an updated jab in response to the Omicron variant that could be ready in 100 days.

He said vaccines had helped save millions of lives during the pandemic, and without them the “fundamental structure of our society would be threatened”

By the end of the year Pfizer expects to have supplied three billion doses of its messenger ribonucleic-acid (mRNA) vaccine with four billion planned for next year.

There had been a global race to protect people protected, Dr Bourla said, but in 2022, countries would have “as many doses as they need”.

Share price

Several global health charities see the money Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna are making out of the pandemic as immoral.

Pfizer will generate at least $35bn of Covid vaccine sales this year and has seen its share price soar.

But while most people in the world have now had at least one Covid jab, in parts of Africa it is less than one person in 20.

Vaccination in Cape Town — Many people in Africa remained unvaccinated

Dr Bourla was unapologetic about making a profit, saying “the bottom line is millions of lives were saved.”

He continued; “We have saved the global economy trillions of dollars.

“It is a strong incentive for innovation for the next pandemic.

“But people will see that if they step up to the game, to bring something that saves lives and saves money, there is also a financial reward.”

He denied profiteering – saying the jab was the “cost of a takeaway meal” for richer countries but sold at no profit to low-income ones – but accepted rich countries such as the UK had placed orders early and availability had initially been limited.

Having to be stored at -70C, the Pfizer vaccine has been tricky to deploy in countries with limited health services.

But within a month or so, Pfizer says it will roll out a new formulation of the vaccine that can be stored for three months in a fridge, which Dr Bourla said, would make a “huge difference” for sub-Saharan African countries.

Pfizer has also developed an antiviral pill, Paxlovid, which in trials cut hospital admissions and deaths by nearly 90%.

It should be approved in the US shortly and the UK government has agreed to buy enough for 250,000 patients.

‘Severe symptoms’

Pfizer is also conducting Covid-vaccine trials in the under-fives.

And in October, the United States Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer jab for five to 11-year-olds.

Immunising that age group in the UK and Europe would be a very good idea, Dr Bourla said.

“Covid in schools is thriving,” he said.

“This is disturbing, significantly, the educational system, and there are kids that will have severe symptoms.

“So there is no doubt in my mind that the benefits, completely, are in favour of doing it.”

The mRNA vaccines, from Pfizer and Moderna have now taken over almost completely from the UK developed Oxford-AstraZeneca jab.

‘Right thing’

And Dr Bourla had a strong message for those who did not want to have vaccines.

“For those that are just afraid, the only emotion of human beings stronger than fear is love,” he said.

“So I am using always this argument that the decision to get another vaccine is not going to influence only your health, it is going to affect the health of others and particularly the health of the people you love the most, because they are the ones that you will interact with.

“So take the courage to overcome your fears and do the right thing.”

He has recently been the target of some bizarre fake news stories, alleging the US Federal Bureau of Investigation had arrested him for fraud and his wife had died as a result of side-effects from the Pfizer vaccine – both untrue.

“In the first news, that I was arrested by the FBI, of course I laughed,” he said.

“On the second news, that my wife died, with a picture of her, I was really [angry].

“I worried about my kids, so I tried to call them and I could not get my son on the phone.

“What we had to go through, it is nothing compared to the lives that will be lost because of the rubbish that those people published, because people will really think that my wife died because of the vaccine… and she is fine – she is wonderful.”

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Ground-breaking cancer treatment trials show promising results

2021-12-03 FreeNews

A new cancer treatment which uses radioactive agents to seek and destroy tumours could soon benefit a large number of patients.

Sydney researcher Professor Philip Hogg has been awarded more than $3.7 million from the Cancer Institute to broaden the use of theranostics.

Theranostics has shown the most promise in diagnosing and treating advanced prostate cancer and neuroendocrine tumours.

A new cancer treatment which uses radioactive agents to seek and destroy tumours could soon benefit a large number of patients.

Professor Hogg heads the new theranostics project at Sydney's Centenary Institute and the new funding will be used to apply this technique to all solid tumours that have spread.

Theranostics uses PET scan imaging to see if specific markers on the surface of the tumour are present.

A radioactive drug is then injected to seek and destroy the tumours identified on the scan.

Sydney researcher Professor Philip Hogg.

Professor Hogg said they've invented a molecule that latches onto dead and dying tumour cells which the radioactive agent can target.

"The theranostic we've developed should target all types of tumours, not just specific ones, and it's also designed so it becomes substantially more effective with each administration rather than less effective," Professor Hogg said.

Sydney patients have taken part in diagnostic trials which have been promising.

"That data looks terrific," Professor Hogg said.

There are plans to test the treatment on patients within two years.

Hard-to-treat tumours of the pancreas, liver and bowel are likely to be targeted first.

Professor Philip Hogg was awarded more than $3.7 million from the Cancer Institute to broaden the use of theranostics.

The funding announcement is part of the state government's $21 million boost for cancer research through the Cancer Institute NSW.

"One person continues to die of cancer in our state every 30 minutes," NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said.

"This funding promises new clinical trials for emerging cancer treatment within five years."

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Omicron Likely to Spread Globally, First US Omicron Case Detected in California

2021-12-02 FreeNews

Omicron likely to spread beyond Canada and Brazil, says regional health agency

By Anthony Boadle

Reuters

Syringes with needles are seen in front of a displayed stock graph and words “Omicron SARS-CoV-2” in this illustration taken, November 27, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

BRASILIA, Dec 1 (Reuters) – The new Omicron variant of the coronavirus is likely to soon spread to other countries in North and South America after being detected in Canada and Brazil, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Wednesday.

World Health Organization (WHO) officials said 24 countries have reported cases of the variant, prompting many nations to tighten their borders. read more

“It is not yet clear whether Omicron is more transmissible than other variants, or if it causes more severe disease,” said PAHO Director Carissa Etienne, adding that it will take time to test the variant.

“Speed and transparency are especially critical at this time. But above all, we urge people not to be frightened.”

Until the neutralization tests and other laboratory assays are completed, experts will not have enough evidence to determine the degree of transmissibility or severity of the Omicron variant, or to assess the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines against it, Etienne told reporters on a webcast news conference.

Over the last week in North America, COVID-19 cases in Canada and the United States remained steady but high, while infections and deaths have dropped by over 20% in Mexico, the regional health agency said.

In Central America, every country except Panama has seen a reduction infections and deaths, PAHO reported.

In South America, cases in Southern Cone countries have increased steadily for the past several weeks, while in the Andean region and in Brazil, infections are plateauing.

Omicron was designated a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization on Friday. read more

Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Mark Porter and Lisa Shumaker

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First US omicron case detected in California

By Nathaniel Weixel and Morgan Chalfant

The U.S. has detected the nation’s first case of the omicron variant of the coronavirus in California, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Wednesday.

The individual is a fully vaccinated San Francisco resident who returned from South Africa on November 22, the CDC said. The person had mild symptoms, which are improving, and is self-quarantining.

All close contacts have also tested negative, the CDC added.

During a press briefing shortly after the case was disclosed, chief White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci urged Americans to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and said that those who are eligible should get their booster shots, describing the vaccines as the best protection against the virus and the omicron variant.

“We know what we need to do to protect people,” Fauci told reporters while encouraging Americans to wear masks in congregate settings to prevent the spread of the virus.

“[T]he fact is that people should wind up getting vaccinated and boosted if they’re eligible for a boost. I keep coming back to that because that’s really the solution to this problem,” Fauci said.

He said the infected individual had not received a booster.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki also told reporters that President Biden has been briefed on the omicron variant, noting that he meets with his medical team on a daily basis. Biden is slated on Thursday to outline plans to combat the coronavirus, and particularly the omicron and delta variants, during the winter months.

The person entered the U.S. four days before South Africa announced the discovery of the variant, and tested positive on Nov. 29, the same day the Biden administration’s ban on travelers from eight African countries took effect.

The ban has come under fire from prominent health experts and former administration officials who say it is ineffective and punitive against African countries, especially as Western countries have failed to deliver needed vaccine supplies and logistics to the continent.

Fauci, however, defended the policy as necessary to buy time to better understand the new variant but said it was only temporary.

“We did struggle with that,” Fauci said on Wednesday in response to a question from a reporter for Today News Africa. “We wanted to see if we could buy time, temporarily, so I do hope that this gets sorted out and lifted before it has any significant impact on your country.”

Fauci also said he doesn’t think Americans should be doing anything differently with their lives, and emphasized the importance of the mitigation strategies that are known to be effective — getting vaccinated, masking in crowded public spaces and physical distancing.

In a joint statement, California and San Francisco public health officials said the case was identified “thanks to California’s large-scale testing and early detection systems.”

The agencies said they are increasing testing at airports for arrivals from several countries identified by the CDC.

“We must remain vigilant against this variant, but it is not a cause for panic,” the agencies said.

It was widely expected that the variant would be detected in the U.S. It has already been identified in other countries, including the U.K. and Canada, even after many nations moved to restrict travel from southern African countries, where the first known case was discovered at the end of last week.

“As the President said last Friday, it was only a matter of time before the first case of Omicron was detected in the U.S. We are prepared to meet this challenge with science and speed,” White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said in a statement.

“The President’s medical team continues to believe that existing vaccines will provide some level of protection against severe illness from Omicron, and individuals who have gotten boosters have even stronger protection. As such, we urge all adults to get their booster shots and to get themselves and their kids vaccinated, if they haven’t already,” Zients continued.

Officials say it will take at least two weeks to have a better understanding of the transmissibility and severity of omicron and the degree to which vaccines protect against it.

In the meantime, the Biden administration is working with the three vaccine manufacturers to prepare for the possibility that vaccines will need to be adjusted in order to provide protection against the new variant, but any changes will take time.

Brett Samuels contributed.

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UK ministers secure 114m more Covid vaccines for next two years

Extra Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna jabs for 2022 and 2023 ordered to ‘future proof’ vaccine programme

Vial of the US manufactured Moderna Covid-19 vaccine

Some experts have warned that Covid-19 will have to be kept at bay by repeated vaccine campaigns, while others have said it is too early to tell whether annual vaccine boosters will be needed. Photograph: Mike Segar/Reuters

Ministers in the UK have secured new contracts to buy 114m more Covid-19 vaccines for the next two years.

The deals, for 2022 and 2023, were accelerated after the emergence of the Omicron coronavirus variant, officials said. Under the agreements, the UK will buy 54m more doses from Pfizer/BioNTech and 60m more doses from Moderna.

These purchases are in addition to the 35m extra Pfizer/BioNTech doses ordered in August for delivery in the second half of 2022, officials said. The UK is also still expecting 60m Novavax and 7.5m GSK/Sanofi doses in 2022.

Sajid Javid, the health secretary, said the new deals would “future proof” the UK’s vaccine programme and ensure protection for “even more people in the years ahead”.

There remains uncertainty about further health programmes. Some experts have warned that Covid-19 will have to be kept at bay by repeated vaccine campaigns, while others have said it is too early to tell whether annual vaccine boosters will be needed.

Officials at the Department of Health and Social Care said the new contracts included access to modified vaccines if needed to combat Omicron and future variants of concern.

A vaccination site at the 125th Devon County Show at the Westpoint Arena and Showground in Clyst St Mary near Exeter this summer.

The government said it had enough supplies of both Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech doses for the current expansion of the booster programme.

Ministers said this week that all adults in the UK would be offered a booster shot before the end of January, amid growing concerns about the Omicron variant. Vaccination experts advising the government have expressed preference for the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna.

Trial data suggest booster doses are generally well tolerated and provide a substantial increase in vaccine-induced immune responses, in particular, and that mRNA vaccines provide a strong booster effect.

Javid said: “These new deals will future proof the Great British vaccination effort, which has so far delivered more than 115 million first, second and booster jabs across the UK, and will ensure we can protect even more people in the years ahead.

“This is a national mission, and our best weapon to deal with this virus and its variants is to get jabs in arms. So when you are called forward, get the jab and get boosted.”

us different. When it’s never been more important, our independence allows us to fearlessly investigate, challenge and expose those in power.

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Children, teen rescued as Queensland flood crisis continues

2021-12-02 FreeNews

A Queensland police officer has been praised for his efforts, after running into floodwaters to save four children.

Matt Owen had just pulled three kids from the floodwaters, when minutes later he saw a teenage girl crying for help.

Police vision captured the rescue, which occurred in the south-east Queensland town of Dalby yesterday.

Mr Owen is seen running through the water to reach the teenager, who reportedly jumped in to the water without realising the danger.

Weighed down by his heavy and soaked police uniform, Mr Owen stripped down to his underwear to reach her, with the pair carried by the current before grabbing a nearby tree.

An hour later, reinforcements arrived.

Mr Owen's partner can be heard yelling for him to watch the current, and the young girl is then pulled by the policeman to safety.

Mr Owen said he was just doing his job, and though not specifically trained in swift water rescue, didn't think twice before running in.

"When I got to her I asked how she was doing, she was hysterical but I tried to calm her down," Mr Owen said.

"Definitely not a hero, anyone in that station would have done the same thing."

Elsewhere in Queensland, flooding is still a massive concern despite the sun coming out tonight.

Two hours south-west of Dalby, in the town of Warwick, a dam has flooded for the first time in 10 years.

The Leslie Dam spilled over due to heavy rainfall, inundating the town.

In the town of Texas, also the state's south-east, police rode in search and rescue boats to ensure the safety of residents.

Rescues continued across the south-east, with emergency services receiving hundreds of calls for assistance.

Some drivers were fined for knowingly entering floodwaters, including a man issued a $500 fine after requiring rescue in Lowood.

In Oxley, a vehicle was washed away through a car park and in Yalangur a man was killed in the floods.

The 73-year-old Roma man's car was washed off the road as he tried to cross a flooded causeway.

At the same causeway – a council worker who was putting up flood warning signs was hit by an unexpected torrent of water that swept him and his ute 250m downstream.

The man managed to get onto the roof of his car and reach the safety of the bank.

https://twitter.com/BOM_Qld/status/1466295098765824000

Across the state today, river levels continued to rise with the Bureau of Meteorology warning flood threats are far from over.

Although parts of the south-east saw sun and blue skies, residents are warned floodwaters could peak again tomorrow.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Steve Smith said there is "a lot more water moving through the systems".

"The town of Goondiwindi is still to reach its peak, so later today and into Friday," he told Today.

LIVE UPDATES: Victoria records highest number of COVID-19 cases in a month

The main street of Inglewood, tucked in a bend of a rising Canning Creek in the Darling Downs, was underwater this morning.

"We have had significant rainfalls over the last 24 hours. Whilst those conditions are easing, there is a lot of water in the catchments and there is a lot of water moving through.

"So levels will go up and down through areas and we are urging caution for everyone out in those areas to be very conscious of their environment, stay informed and just respond to the conditions that they are experiencing."

Northern NSW is also set to experience its own floods in the coming days.

The Queensland town of Inglewood has been inundated with floodwaters.

Some parts of Queensland received falls of more than 100mm in 24 hours overnight on already wet ground.

Two towns have undergone emergency evacuations as flood records tumble.

QFES Commissioner Greg Leach issued a stern warning for those continuing to put themselves, and rescue crews in danger.

"We've been getting this message out for a long time and people still aren't taking heed, if it's flooded forget it," he said.

"It might look calm and shallow and you might have a powerful vehicle but the reality is it's dangerous to drive through waters.

"A modern motor vehicle can float in as little as 15cm of water."

While towns remain flooded, residents must remain cautious.

"In the majority of rescues they've driven into floodwater and stalled or been washed away and they've been able to self evacuate. It still requires the attendance of emergency services," Mr Leach said.

"I think it's inexcusable that people drive into floodwaters putting not only their own lives but first responders at risk."

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New digital tool for homeowners provides easy planning

2021-12-02 FreeNews

Imagine a virtual model of a real city where you can plonk a proposed renovation next door to your home and see the impact it will have on your sunlight.

Or if you want to put a new kitchen into your home, you can see exactly how it will fit.

The cost? It's free.

The NSW government's Spatial Digital Twin will soon provide a 4D model for the entire state after receiving a $40 million funding injection from the NSW Digital Restart Fund.

Digital and Customer Service Minister Victor Dominello said the technology is an evolutionary leap in shaping communities and boosting productivity, allowing customers, developers and planners to see into the future.

"This digital architecture makes it possible to visualise a development digitally before it is physically built, making it easier to plan and predict outcomes of infrastructure projects, right down to viewing how shadows fall, or how much traffic is in an area," Mr Dominello said.

"In the last 12 months, the Spatial Digital Twin has received 18 million requests for access to 3D datasets.

"We are creating a digitally cutting-edge state that will benefit from all the productivity advantages and job creation this technology brings."

The NSW government's Spatial Digital Twin will soon provide a 4D model for the entire state after receiving a $40 million funding injection from the NSW Digital Restart Fund.

The Spatial Digital Twin brings together data sources from across government, including spatial, natural resources and planning, and integrates it with real-time feeds from sensors to provide insights for planners, designers and decision-makers across industry and government.

At the moment, the twin hosts a virtual representation of eight high-growth council areas: Blue Mountains, Camden, Campbelltown, Fairfield, Hawkesbury, Liverpool, Penrith and Wollondilly.

Next, it will be rolled out to the rest of metropolitan Sydney and across the state over the next two years.

"By boosting access to the Spatial Digital Twin through smartphones and tablets, the NSW Government is making it easier for customers to collaborate and gain planning information about their streets, neighbourhoods and communities," Mr Dominello said.

The NSW government's Spatial Digital Twin will soon provide a 4D model for the entire state after receiving a $40 million funding injection from the NSW Digital Restart Fund.

This has been done in conjunction with the CSIRO's data and digital research team, Data61.

Dr Laurence Troy, a lecturer in urbanism at Sydney University's School of Architecture Design and Planning, agreed such tools are useful in helping people understand how development could affect their community or neighbourhood.

But he warned there are other concerns.

"One of the biggest fears or anxieties at the minute is the actual outcome of the buildings and making sure they are of high quality," Dr Troy said.

"And you know what you're walking into when you walk into a new apartment.

The NSW government's Spatial Digital Twin will soon provide a 4D model for the entire state after receiving a $40 million funding injection from the NSW Digital Restart Fund.

"That there's not going to be major defective issues and that's a very live issue at the moment in NSW."

Asked if access would result in more objections and delays to development applications, Mr Dominello said information is power and the technology would make planning faster, more accurate and more efficient.

He said the digital twin would help with decisions such as where to put a crane on a building site and help mums and dads picture suburban renovations.

The NSW government's Spatial Digital Twin will soon provide a 4D model for the entire state after receiving a $40 million funding injection from the NSW Digital Restart Fund.

The Spatial Digital Twin forms part of the newly launched Live.NSW program, which will create new avenues for residents to access data.

The $40 million investment in the Live.NSW program will include the development of a new customer platform early next year to deliver a simplified user experience that allows the community to search for information based on their needs and places of interest.

It will bring information together to inform people about local schools or a proposed hospital, creating a snapshot of what exists and what is planned.

The NSW government's Spatial Digital Twin will soon provide a 4D model for the entire state after receiving a $40 million funding injection from the NSW Digital Restart Fund.

"Now, no matter where you are in the State, Live.NSW will make it easy for the community to see infrastructure and its impact before it's built and ensure new projects keep the community at their heart," Mr Dominello said.

$2.1 billion will be invested over four years into digital transformation projects through the Digital Restart Fund.

More info on the Spatial Digital Twin is available on their website.

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Jail for Victorian P-plater who fatally hit a man and his dog

2021-12-02 FreeNews

A P-plater who hit and killed a blind retiree and his guide dog in regional Victoria, then lied about the crash and destroyed footage of it, has been jailed.

Billy-Jo Salter, 24, has been sentenced to three years and nine months' jail before the County Court, having pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death and destruction of evidence.

Salter was 21-years-old when he caused the death of 62-year-old Raymond Meadows and guide dog Gerry as he was driving along the Calder Highway at Wedderburn in North Western Victoria about 6.30am on June 2, 2019.

The court heard it was dark but Mr Meadows was wearing a high-vis vest and a backpack with flashing lights as he and his dog walked along the shoulder of the road, heading to the gym.

The dog died almost straight after being hit by Salter's car while Mr Meadows died on the way to hospital.

Salter stopped at the scene and was not found to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

He removed the memory card from his dashcam at the scene and later had his friend destroy it.

For months he told police Mr Meadows and his dog had been on the road, but analysis of the crash scene proved they had been on the bitumen shoulder by the road.

Investigations revealed Salter had not applied the brakes or steered the car in the five seconds before the crash, using cruise control to travel at 94km/h on the straight road where the speed limit is 100km/h.

Judge Rosemary Carlin said Salter's actions had shown "a total abdication" of his responsibility as a driver.

"To drive for five seconds at that sped in the dark without exerting any control at all over your car and without keeping a proper lookout for whatever reason is highly irresponsible and risky behaviour," she said.

Judge Carlin said Salter's lies about what had happened any destruction of the dash cam footage, making the reason for the collision "known only to him", had deprived Mr Meadow's family of know what had happened.

"You have refused to tell the truth about what happened and you destroyed the only evidence," she said.

Judge Carlin said the destruction of the footage "was serious, planned offending".

The court heard Salter had suffered an abusive childhood, was experiencing health issues and lived with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

He was sentenced to a non-parole period of two years and three months' jail.