Category Archives: headline

headline

Blockbuster video game highlights Cahill's legendary heading ability

The latest addition to the FIFA video game franchise has been revealed, with Aussie soccer star Tim Cahill featuring as an in-game hero.

Cahill didn't appear in the last four games, but he's back out of retirement (in a way) to feature alongside the best of the sport.

In an exclusive interview with 9News, Cahill opened up about his new role in the game and other exciting features we can expect.

READ MORE: Delayed Olympics video game releases in Australia

"Any balls swung into the box, you know, you've got a massive chance of me doing a header," he said.

"It is the next best thing to play."

Featuring in FIFA games is a prestigious plaudit, Cahill told 9news. The football star reminisced on speaking with the other legends of the game who also own the honour of featuring in the game.

"When I say I sit with these players, whether it's Roberto Carlos or 'the real Ronaldo', you talk about these sorts of things. The players love it, it means a lot to them," he said.

And while there are 19 other heroes that appear in FIFA 22, Cahill was staying tight-lipped about who they were.

READ MORE: Fears for teen star after cruel England 'gamble'

Tim Cahill competes for the ball with Eraj Rajabov of Tajikistan.

"I think when you put together a team, you want to be part of the best in the region. You want to be part of, you know, with the elite," he said.

"My whole life I've been obsessed with being the best trainer, you know, on and off the path. And when you get asked to do these sorts of things it's. It truly is a reflection of your career."

Heroes are new in-game items that represent the stories and triumphs of iconic players.

In Cahill's case, players can experience his iconic bicycle kick goal and his corner-flag-punching celebration.

Reflecting on his career, Cahill says until he retired he didn't even realise how much he had achieved.

As only he can, Cahill provided the answer in the 33rd minute.Tim Cahill celebrates his equaliser against Kuwait. (Getty)

"I think now I can really enjoy the retirement side of it, and take in all that I've done," he said.

"Twenty years of playing, mate. You don't actually realise what you've done. You're in a bubble."

FIFA 22 also features a new technical upgrade that utilises real-world football data.

The technology, named HyperMotion, captures real player movements and converts them into realistic gameplay, essentially creating new animations in real-time while you play.

"You're not just talking PlayStation and Xbox and all this, you're talking about PCs, you're talking about, the whole gaming world, eSports, how interested everyone is in it," Cahill said.

HyperMotion is only available on the newer gaming consoles and Google's streaming platform, Stadia.

FIFA 22 with HyperMotion technology is coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Stadia on October 1. The standard FIFA 22 game will also be available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.

headline

Spearfishers attacked in shark feeding frenzy

Two divers have recounted a terrifying encounter with a pack of hungry sharks while spearfishing off the coast of Western Australia.

Chris Hodgkinson and Nick Hoad were diving for mackerel 16km off the coast of Dirk Hartog Island, in the coincidentally named Shark Bay World Heritage Area.

In their video, shared exclusively with 9News, one of the men shoots a nice fish, attracting a shark instantly.

READ MORE: Parents of shark attack victim thank first responders

But as the shark pulls away with the fish in its mouth, the shooting line of Mr Hoad's gun becomes entangled around his neck.

As he furiously fights to release the tension on the line a second shark then comes and bites at his ankles as he kicks away.

Mr Hodgkinson was also fending off sharks, capturing on film the moment a bull shark bit into his speargun, sinking its teeth into the rubbers.

The pair managed to clamber into their boat unharmed, escaping a feeding frenzy of an estimated dozen sharks including bull sharks and tiger sharks.

READ MORE: Sharks circle surfers as they feed on fish in bait ball off Bondi

Veteran shark researcher Hugh Edwards told 9News that the two men could have been seriously injured.

"Because they bite on the leg, that's where the arteries are – and the victim can bleed to death before he or she gets out of the water," Mr Edwards said.

As for the two divers, they are reflective but unphased by the ordeal.

"Things could've gone a lot worse, but I guess things could've been a lot better as well," Mr Hoad said.

headline

Tokyo 2020: What it's like on the ground in Japan

Touching down in Tokyo for the Olympics Games it's clear there is one thing missing: excitement.

No big mascots at the airports dancing when you step off the plane, no bands playing, no media throng descending on the athletes as they walk through the gates.

In its place there are reams of paperwork to navigate, a COVID-19 saliva test upon arrival and apps you must download on your phone so authorities can trace your every move.

Welcome to the Olympics in the pandemic era.

READ MORE: Olympic Village workers test positive for COVID-19 in Tokyo

I have been fortunate enough to cover five previous Olympic Games, and every one of those had their own challenges.

Athens almost didn't get finished on time, Beijing and London had threats of terrorism, while crime ran rampant in Rio.

Sydney had its obstacles too, but staged before the events of 9/11, it was one giant care-free street party we can only dream of today.

Tokyo though will be a Games like no other.

READ MORE: Delayed Olympics video game releases in Australia

On the day we arrive the city is plunged back into its fourth state of emergency as it battles another surge in COVID cases.

Restaurants, bars and clubs are forced to shut at 8pm and the sale of alcohol in many businesses is banned. The party is over before it even began.

After touching down in Tokyo, It takes us three hours to get through the airport and past all the strict protocols before we can finally head to the hotel.

No one is exempt from these procedures, including the athletes.

Japan is doing everything it can to keep more cases from coming into the country.

Just like the athletes we have to head straight to our accommodation.

READ MORE: Palaszczuk not travelling to Tokyo 'would be a disaster'

For the next two weeks we can only be in our hotel or at a designated Olympic site.

Lunch and dinner is from the nearby mini-mart we are allowed to frequent for 15 minutes. Covid tests are daily.

Athletes are confined to the village, and will fly out straight after their events.

But despite all the rules and regulations, they are just happy the Games are on, one year after they were postponed.

READ MORE: Professor says upcoming Olympics will be 'very different'

Australian sailor Nia Jerwood, competing in her first Olympics at 23, is on our near-empty plane into Tokyo.

"They are there to keep us safe, and I'm just here to do the best I can in the sport" she says of the protocols.

Jerwood says she is not bothered by competing in front of empty stands.

"I'm a sailor so I don't really mind … I'm just relieved to be here competing" she says.

There might be no crowds, no parties, no clubs, no fun, but for these athletes just being here in Tokyo is a victory in itself.

headline

World View: Pfizer COVID Booster?, Branson in Space, Haiti in Chaos, More

Learn more about RevenueStripe...

July 12, 2021

Alternate text

Here’s a selection of top stories from The Associated Press to start the week.

  • Pfizer says it plans to meet with top U.S. health officials Monday to discuss the drugmaker’s request for federal authorization of a third dose of its COVID-19 vaccine.
  • President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser has acknowledged that “it is entirely conceivable, maybe likely” that booster shots will be needed.
  • Swashbuckling billionaire Richard Branson hurtled into space aboard his own winged rocket ship, bringing astro-tourism a step closer to reality and beating out his exceedingly richer rival Jeff Bezos.
  • Haiti is struggling to recover from last week’s brazen slaying of its president with its government in disarray; no parliament, a dispute over who is prime minister, a weak police force, but gangs that seem more organized and powerful than ever.
  • And in Britain, three Black players who missed penalty kicks for England in the decisive European Championship shootout against Italy on Sunday night were subjected to racist abuse online, prompting the English Football Association to issue a statement condemning the language used against the players.

Andrew Meldrum

Africa News Editor

Johannesburg

The Associated Press

The Rundown

I'm an image

WASHINGTON (AP) — Pfizer says it plans to meet with top U.S. health officials Monday to discuss the drugmaker’s request for federal authorization of a third dose of its COVID-19 vaccine as President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser acknowledged that…Read More
I'm an image

TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, N.M. (AP) — After a lifetime of yearning to fly in space, Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson was poised to blast off aboard his own rocket ship Sunday in his boldest, grandest adventure yet. …Read More
Learn more about RevenueStripe...
I'm an image

Sixty years before Juan Mora’s Florida condo building came crashing down, killing him and at least 89 others, he was among hundreds of Cuban exiles who signed up for a covert, CIA-funded operation to overthrow Fidel Castro’s Soviet-backed dictatorshi…Read More
Learn more about RevenueStripe...
I'm an image

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Gangs in Haiti have long been financed by powerful politicians and their allies — and many feel they may be losing control of the increasingly powerful armed groups who have driven thousands of people from their homes as …Read More
Learn more about RevenueStripe...
I'm an image

The old Nicaraguan revolutionary, with his receding hairline and the goatee that he had finally let turn grey, spoke calmly into the camera as police swarmed toward his house, hidden behind a high wall in a leafy Managua neighborhood. …Read More

OTHER TOP STORIES

LONDON (AP) — Three Black players who missed penalty kicks for England in the decisive European Championship shootout against Italy on Sunday night were subjected to ra…Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden was at a public transit station in Wisconsin, talking about repairing roads and bridges, when he shifted gears and began defending…Read More

DALLAS (AP) — An unopened copy of Nintendo’s Super Mario 64 has sold at auction for $1.56 million. Heritage Auctions in Dallas said that the 1996 game sold Sunday, brea…Read More

IRVINGTON, N.Y. (AP) — This time, the weather gods were smiling on Kerby Jean-Raymond and his label, Pyer Moss. So too were the fashion gods. Two days after torrential …Read More

The post World View: Pfizer COVID Booster?, Branson in Space, Haiti in Chaos, More appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

headline

One Million in UK Could Eventually Die from Coronavirus-Scientists, World Stats


Metro
A medic transports a patient from the ambulance to the emergency department at the Royal London Hospital on 01 February, 2021 in London, England and Danielle Stanley, 21 from South Africa receives the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine at a new 'Pop Up' vaccination service on June 22, 2021 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
Professor Lucy Easthope says ministers aren’t being open about the long term impact of Covid (Picture: Getty Images)

The nation’s coronavirus death toll could rise to one million as the pandemic is far from over, a Government adviser has warned.

As Boris Johnson is poised to give the green light for so-called ‘Freedom Day’ on July 19, cases are continuing to soar across the country.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show one in 160 people in England, and one in 100 in Scotland, are thought to have Covid-19 — a 58% rise in one week.

An estimated 332,900 people had the virus in the week ending July 3, which is similar to mid-October levels, one month before the PM declared a second national lockdown.

The vaccine has ‘weakened’ the link between infections and hospitalisations, according to chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance.

But Johnson was criticised for suggesting it had been ‘broken’ or ‘severed’ when the number of patients is rising, albeit at a slower rate than in previous waves.

Yesterday the Department of Health confirmed another 26 people had died within 28 days of taking a test, bringing the official Covid death toll to 128,425.

But Professor Lucy Easthope, who advises the Cabinet Office and specialises in disaster response, believes the toll will ultimately rise to one million.

Commuters wearing a face mask or covering due to the COVID-19 pandemic, walk past a London underground tube train at Victoria station, during the evening 'rus hour' in central London on September 23, 2020.
Concerns have been raised about all restrictions being lifted at once as cases rise (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)

She says it is generally accepted that the effects of a pandemic will last between 10 and 15 years but that ministers have shied away from being open about this with the public.

The University of Durham professor told the Times: ‘The issue was about public tolerance of reality and last March it was decided that the public couldn’t handle the truth.’

She added: ‘The problem with a pandemic is that it’s not like a tap and you can’t just turn it off.

‘I don’t think we have been very honest with the public about this. When you are swimming for the shore, it is important to tell people how long the swim is.’

Professor Easthope said the decision to end lockdown on July 19 – including opening nightclubs and lifting capacity caps at large events – is in part political.

Danielle Stanley, 21 from South Africa receives the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine at a new 'Pop Up' vaccination service on June 22, 2021 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
The vaccine has weakened the link between cases and hospitalizations, but it hasn’t ‘broken’ it as the Prime Minister suggested (Picture: Getty Images)

As well as having to consider people’s health and the burden faced by hospitals, she said the Government also wants to avoid civil disobedience after well over a year of restrictions.

On top of this, Downing Street also wants to give the economy room to recover and fend off a mental health crisis among young people.

To make matters worse, Professor Easthope, a fellow at the Centre for Death and Society at Bath University, thinks another pandemic could be closer than we think.

She warned that there are ‘much worse things out there’ than Covid-19 and pointed to 21 more serious diseases on the national risk register.

It comes after a recent Opinium poll showed 50% of people wanted to see the lifting of restrictions delayed, compared to 31% who thought it should still go ahead.

A medic transports a patient from the ambulance to the emergency department at the Royal London Hospital on 01 February, 2021 in London, England.
Hospitalisations are now rising, although at a slower rate than in previous waves (Picture: Getty Images)

The data also showed 73% of respondents thought face-coverings should still be worn on public transport, but they are expected to be made non-compulsory from July 19.

Johnson has been warned it would be ‘dangerous’ to drop all restrictions at once while cases rise, but at a press conference last Monday, he said: ‘If not now, then when?’

Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, chairwoman of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Saturday: ‘We’ve only just heard in this bulletin about the rising numbers of cases, the rising numbers of people requiring hospital treatment, in intensive care and sadly deaths are starting to rise again, too.

‘There seems to be a misapprehension that life will return to normal from then (July 19), and that we can throw away all the precautions, and frankly, that would be dangerous.’

Warning of the pressures already faced by medical staff, she added: ‘It feels in hospitals and GP surgeries as like the middle of winter in terms of how busy we are, rather than July, which would normally see a very low number of infections.’

A No 10 spokesman said: ‘The prime minister will review the latest data tomorrow and set out our plans for step four. We need to learn to live with the virus, but caution remains key.

‘The prime minister will urge the public to continue to use their freedoms responsibly, so we do not put at risk the progress we have worked so hard for

===========================

WORLD STATS

Coronavirus Cases:

187,682,953

Deaths:

4,050,208

Recovered:

171,631,154
Highlighted in green
= all cases have recovered from the infection
Highlighted in grey
= all cases have had an outcome (there are no active cases)

[back to top ↑]

Latest News

July 12 (GMT)

Updates

  • 1,167 new cases and 12 new deaths in Oman [source]
  • 2,032 new cases and 7 new deaths in Japan [source]
  • 873 new cases and 3 new deaths in Fiji [source]
  • 25,140 new cases and 710 new deaths in Russia [source]
  • 8,656 new cases and 80 new 

The post One Million in UK Could Eventually Die from Coronavirus-Scientists, World Stats appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

headline

Superyacht crew caused Queensland COVID scare after coming from Sydney

Four people have been fined more than $4000 each after travelling from Sydney to Queensland and providing false information when entering the state.

Maritime Safety Queensland has told 9News they investigated the "serious breach" on the Gold Coast last week, which involved the superyacht 'Dreamtime'.

The vessel and its four crew members had previously been in Sydney's COVID-19 hotspot-declared Northern Beaches before travelling to Southport last Wednesday, initially claiming it was just a stopover.

READ MORE: Queensland to ease restrictions after zero new local COVID-19 cases

Four people have been fined over $4000 each after travelling from Sydney to Queensland and providing false information when entering the state.

The crew also attended the Australia vs France rugby test match at Suncorp Stadium on the day of their arrival.

Queensland authorities became suspicious of the crew and obtained CCTV footage from their origin point in Sydney – revealing the crew getting on and off the docked boat for two weeks.

9News understands the vessel is used as a charter boat at the cost of $70,000 a week.

"The four people on board the vessel gave false and misleading information before and after entering Queensland from a New South Wales COVID-19 hotspot," Maritime Safety Queensland General Manager Angus Mitchell said.

Maritime Safety Queensland General Manager Angus Mitchell told 9News that the people are now in hotel quarantine.The vessel and its four crew members had previously been in Sydney's COVID-19 hotspot-declared Northern Beaches before travelling to Southport last Wednesday.

The four people included the 44-year-old superyacht owner, his 59-year-old personal assistant, the superyacht's 54-year-old captain and a 55-year-old engineer.

"The crew underwent urgent COVID-19 testing and thankfully returned negative results, particularly given their significant interactions within the Queensland community on arrival," Mr Mitchell said.

All four crew members have since been ordered into hotel quarantine on the Gold Coast and have issued Penalty Infringement Notices for $4135 by Maritime Safety Queensland for failing to comply with a public health direction giving information that is not true and correct.

Authorities have also told 9News this isn't an isolated incident, with two other boats travelling from Sydney being caught in the state illegally within the past two weeks.

headline

Majority of Brazilians Want President Impeached

RIO DE JANEIRO, July 10 (Reuters) – For the first time, a majority of Brazilians support impeaching President Jair Bolsonaro, according to a poll released on Saturday, as serious graft allegations related to vaccine procurement hit the right-wing leader’s already battered image.

According to the survey by Datafolha, 54% of Brazilians support a proposed move by the country’s lower house to open impeachment proceedings against Bolsonaro, while 42% oppose it. In the last Datafolha survey on the issue, released in May, supporters and opponents of impeachment were essentially tied.

In a separate Datafolha poll, released on Thursday, 51% of Brazilians said they disapproved of Bolsonaro, the highest figure since he took office in January 2019.

In recent weeks, Brasilia has been rocked by allegations that federal officials solicited bribes to fast-track and overpay for the Covaxin vaccine developed by India’s Bharat Biotech. In late June, Brazil’s Health Ministry suspended the 1.6 billion-real ($304 million) procurement deal.

A Health Ministry official and a congressman have said they shared their concerns about the Covaxin deal with Bolsonaro, but that no action appeared to have been taken. Last week, a Supreme Court judge authorized an investigation into the president for dereliction of duty.

In a radio interview on Saturday, Bolsonaro said he had taken measures after the officials shared their concerns about the Covaxin deal, but he did not elaborate further.

“I meet with 100 people per month about the most varied topics imaginable,” he told Radio Gaucha in southern Brazil. “I took measures in this case.”

In addition to the vaccine scandal, uncovered amid an ongoing Senate investigation, a pair of deadly coronavirus waves this year have chipped away at the popularity of the former army captain, who has consistently downplayed the pandemic’s severity and sown doubts about the safety of vaccines.

Datafolha surveyed 2,074 Brazilians face-to-face on July 7 and 8. The poll has a margin of error of 2 percentage points, meaning results could vary by that much either way.

($1 = 5.2579 reais)

Reporting by Gram Slattery in Rio de Janeiro and Eduardo Simões in Sao Paulo; editing by Jonathan Oatis

The post Majority of Brazilians Want President Impeached appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

headline

Eerie images of US plane resting in pieces on ocean floor

A plane that crashed into the ocean off Hawaii has been found, with photos revealing the destruction the impact wreaked.

Both pilots escaped the Boeing 737 when it crashed last week as they were trying to return to the airport in Honolulu.

The pilots had reported losing power in one engine and being concerned about the other engine also failing.

READ MORE: Pilots rescued, one critical after plane crashes into ocean off Hawaii

After a search, the National Transportation Safety Board on Monday released some images of the plane torn to pieces on the bottom of the ocean.

The 46-year-old plane was operated by Rhoades Aviation as Transair Flight 810.

It was scheduled to fly from Honolulu to Kahului, Hawaii, but went into the ocean several kilometres offshore, according to authorities.

READ MORE: 'No survivors' as wreckage of missing plane carrying 28 found in Russia

Both pilots, the only people on board, were seriously injured and were clinging to packages and the tail of the plane when they were rescued by the US Coast Guard.

The investigation is continuing, with the pilots being interviewed.

With Associated Press.

headline

Haiti: Main Suspect in President’s Killing Arrested, US Security Team on Way

PORT-AU-PRINCE, July 11 (Reuters) – Haitian police said on Sunday they had arrested one of the suspected masterminds in the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, a Haitian man whom authorities accused of hiring mercenaries to oust and replace Moise.

Moise was shot dead early on Wednesday at his Port-au-Prince home by what Haitian authorities describe as a unit of assassins formed of 26 Colombians and two Haitian Americans, plunging the troubled Caribbean nation deeper into turmoil. read more

National Police Chief Leon Charles told a news conference the arrested man, 63-year-old Christian Emmanuel Sanon, flew to Haiti on a private jet in early June, accompanied by hired security guards, and wanted to take over as president.

He did not explain Sanon’s motives beyond saying they were political, but added that one of those in custody had contacted him upon being arrested. Sanon, in turn, contacted two other “intellectual authors” of the assassination, Charles added.

“The mission of these attackers was initially to ensure the safety of Emmanuel Sanon, but later the mission was changed…and they presented one of the attackers with an arrest warrant for the president of the republic,” Charles said.

Public records online show a man with Sanon’s name worked as a doctor in Florida, but it was not immediately clear if it was the same man.

Nor was it clear why Sanon would want to topple Moise, whose murder is the latest in a string of reverses for the struggling country, which has sought international help. read more

Washington has rebuffed Haiti’s request for troops, though a senior U.S. official said on Sunday it was sending a technical team to assess the situation. read more

Haitian police have arrested 18 Colombians and 3 Haitian Americans, including Sanon, over the murder, Charles said. Five Colombians are still at large and three were killed, he added.

The suspected assassins told investigators they were there to arrest him, not kill him, the Miami Herald and a person familiar with the matter said earlier on Sunday.

A source close to the investigation said two Haitian Americans, James Solages and Joseph Vincent, told investigators they were translators for the Colombian commando unit that had an arrest warrant. But when they arrived, they found him dead.

The news follows reports that some of the Colombians had said they had gone to work as security personnel on Haiti, including for Moise himself. read more

The Miami Herald reported that the detained Colombians said they were hired to work in Haiti by Miami-based company CTU Security, run by Venezuelan emigre Antonio Enmanuel Intriago Valera.

Suspects in the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, who was shot dead early Wednesday at his home, are shown to the media in Port-au-Prince, Haiti July 8, 2021. REUTERS/Estailove St-Val
Suspects in the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, who was shot dead early Wednesday at his home, are shown to the media, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti July 8, 2021. REUTERS/Estailove St-Val

Suspects in the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, who was shot dead early Wednesday at his home, are shown to the media, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti July 8, 2021. REUTERS/Estailove St-Val

Charles indicated that CTU had been used to hire at least some of the Colombian suspects, but gave no details.

Neither CTU nor Intriago could immediately be reached for comment.

One phone number associated with the company in public records sent calls to an answering machine that made a reference to the fictional TV character Jack Bauer, who fought terrorism in the series “24.”

The recorded message ran, “Thank you for calling CTU Security. For Tony Intriago, please leave a message or send a text. For Jack Bauer, wait for the next season. Thank you for calling and have a great day.”

Social media profiles that appeared to belong to Intriago included a Facebook photo showing a man in tactical gear pointing a high-powered rifle. Instagram pictures showed ammunition, guns, and people engaged in tactical training.

VIOLENT END

Photos and X-ray images posted on social media at the weekend said to be from Moise’s autopsy showed his body riddled with bullet holes, a fractured skull and other broken bones, underscoring the brutal nature of the attack.

Reuters could not independently confirm their authenticity.

Via social media, Haitians in parts of the capital Port-au-Prince were planning protests this week against the interim prime minister and acting head of state Claude Joseph.

Joseph’s right to lead the country has been challenged by other senior politicians, threatening to exacerbate the turmoil engulfing the poorest country in the Americas. r

On Saturday, one of Haiti’s top gang leaders, Jimmy Cherizier, a former police officer known as Barbecue, said his men would take to the streets to protest the assassination.

Cherizier, boss of the so-called G9 federation of nine gangs, said police and opposition politicians had conspired with the “stinking bourgeoisie” to “sacrifice” Moise. read more

Gunfire rang out overnight in the capital, which has suffered a surge in gang violence in recent months, displacing thousands and hampering economic activity.

============================================

Pentagon says U.S. team going to Haiti to assess needs

People line-up at a gasoline station to buy gas following the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti July 10, 2021. REUTERS/Ricardo Arduengo
Haitians gather outside the U.S. Embassy after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti July 9, 2021. REUTERS/Estailove St-Val
People ride on a local transport known as tap tap following the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti July 10, 2021. REUTERS/Ricardo Arduengo

1/5

Haitians gather outside the U.S. Embassy after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti July 9, 2021. REUTERS/Estailove St-Val

WILMINGTON, Del., July 11 (Reuters) – A team of U.S. security and law enforcement experts is traveling to Haiti to determine what assistance Washington can provide following the assassination of the Haitian president last week, the Pentagon said on Sunday.

“Today, an inter-agency team largely from the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI are heading down to Haiti right now to see what we can to do help in the investigative process,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told “Fox News Sunday.”

“That’s really where our energies are best applied right now – in helping them get their arms around investigating this incident and figuring out who’s culpable … and how best to hold them accountable,” Kirby said in the interview.

President Joe Biden will be briefed by the team when it returns and “then make decisions about the way forward,” a senior Biden administration official told Reuters separately.

Haiti has sought U.S. aid in securing the country and investigating the attack that killed President Jovenel Moise on Wednesday at his Port-au-Prince homeand plunged the impoverished island nation further into turmoil. Haitian authorities have said two Haitian Americans were among the suspected assassins. read more

It was not immediately clear how long the U.S. team would remain in Haiti. The administration official saidon Sunday that Washington would also consult with its regional partners and the United Nations.

The United States has so far rebuffed Haiti’s request for troops, while the United Nations would need Security Council authorization to send armed forces.

Kirby said: “We’re analyzing it just like we would any other request for assistance at the Pentagon. It’s going through a review.”

Reporting by Andrea Shalal and Susan Heavey; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Peter Cooney
Reporting by Andre Paultre in Port-Au-Prince and Sarah Marsh in Havana; Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal in Wilmington, Delaware, Linda So and Chris Prentice in Washington and Peter Szekely in New York; Writing by Anthony Esposito; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Clarence Fernandez

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The post Haiti: Main Suspect in President’s Killing Arrested, US Security Team on Way appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

headline

Advice could change on AstraZeneca jab amid Sydney COVID-19 outbreak

Australia's vaccine advisory body is considering changing its advice on the AstraZeneca jab, given the worsening situation in Sydney.

Mass vaccination clinics in New South Wales will start giving the AstraZeneca vaccine to people under 40.

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) had previously recommended the jab be limited to people over 60, due to concerns of very rare blood clots.

READ MORE: Six-day coronavirus exposure alert for two Fairfield businesses

Australian authorities say they were left short of 3.1 million expected doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine by the EU.

In a statement to 9News, the Department of Health said ATAGI had met today to discuss the vaccine.

"(ATAGI) continues to review its advice around AstraZeneca, along with updating materials and advice for health practitioners," the statement read.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg also met with Federal Cabinet ministers on Monday night to talk about providing more financial and mental health support for Australians subject to lockdowns which last more than two weeks.

The New South Wales treasury is designing an "easy to access" business cash flow boost which the Commonwealth will jointly fund.

READ MORE: Two COVID-positive people entered Victoria from NSW

"We're expecting some final proposals to come up later this evening, and then of course the Premier and I and Treasurers will meet again, I think we're getting pretty close," Mr Morrison said.

"We're moving swiftly but you've got to make sure you get that design right so that it's simple, very simple for businesses, and it's rapid."

An emergency health support package was announced by the Federal Government today.

READ MORE: Rudd says letter to Pfizer not part of 'botched' vaccine program

It will deliver one million surgical masks, 250,000 gloves and 250,000 gowns to seven primary health networks across Sydney, the Central Coast, Blue Mountains, the Hunter Valley and New England.

"The stresses that families, workers, businesses are facing are really significant," Health Minister Greg Hunt said.

"These are supports to assist people through the difficult, challenging lockdown period.

"We've done this before, we've done this nationally, we've done this in other states and territories."

Minister Hunt said 6.8 million people have had a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, translating to 33 per cent of the nation.