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Millions must get COVID jab before borders can open, NSW Premier says

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says about five million people in the state need to be fully vaccinated before borders open, amid growing pressure to set a timeline.

Her comments came as Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka added her voice to those saying Australia would eventually need to learn to live with COVID-19, saying "some people may die but it will be way smaller than with the flu".

Ms Berejiklian said she was keen to see the borders reopen as quickly as possible, but only when safe to do so.

READ MORE: Australian cricketers touch down in Sydney after leaving India

"Certainly in NSW we need to do around 10 million jabs to get the majority of our population to be vaccinated," Ms Berejiklian said at a press conference today.

"We're edging towards a million jabs. We're working as hard as we can."

She said NSW was "bearing the brunt" of the virus, losing $1.5 billion a month due to the lack of international travel.

"I do think we need to be ambitious and New South Wales has prided itself in getting the right balance, keeping the community safe, but also pushing the boundaries on when we can start doing things in a COVID-safe way," she said.

People aged 50 and over can now receive the AstraZeneca jab through their GP, while about 110,000 people aged 40-49 have registered their interest in receiving the Pfizer shot.

At a business lunch in Brisbane on Monday, Ms Hrdlicka said COVID would "be part of the community".

"We will become sick with COVID and it won't put us in hospital, and it won't put people into dire straits because we'll have a vaccine," she said.

"Some people may die, but it will be way smaller than with the flu.

"We're forgetting the fact that we've learnt how to live with lots of viruses and challenges over the years, and we've got to learn how to live with this."

READ MORE: Top doctor denies conflict with PM over 'safe opening' of borders

COVID vaccine.

Virgin Australia issued a clarifying statement on Monday evening saying it was working with state and federal governments but the country's goal could not be the eradication of the coronavirus.

"The question is not if, but when we will be sufficiently vaccinated to protect our people and our hospital system to open our International borders," the company said.

"We must learn to live with COVID-19 in the community in a way that protects the health and safety of our people but also opens Australia up to the rest of the world."

An increasing number of business leaders and politicians have been calling for an acceptance that Australia must risk allowing some level of coronavirus transmission in order to reopen borders to international travel and returning Australians.

Ms Berejiklian called on other states to follow NSW's lead in repatriating Australians from overseas.

"Yes, it's important for us to keep our citizens safe, but we also believe you can keep your citizens safe but also welcome Aussies home as well," she said.

Ms Berejiklian said NSW was the only state to "consistently" meet its obligations to welcome back returning Australians.

"I just wish other states would have that same approach," she said.

She said it needed to be accepted that returning flights would bring some COVID-19 cases into the country.

"We already accept that. Even if they test negative when they're overseas by the time they get to Sydney, by the time they're in hotel quarantine, many of them are positive."

However, she said it was very different to be allowing people to travel back to Australia after having tested positive for COVID-19.

"It creates additional risks of others on the plane, of aircrew and all those risks need to be assessed," she said.

"I think that's why the system we have in place is safe, it's not perfect, but I think you'd have to work really hard to get a better system in place."

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PM Harris Makes Plea for Regional Vaccine Availability

CNW- Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis, Dr. Timothy Harris has called on the United States and other vaccine-producing countries to ensure the equitable distribution of the vaccine needed to curb the spread of the coronavirus (COID-19) that has killed thousands of people in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) grouping.

Harris, who also has lead responsibility for Health within the quasi-CARICOM cabinet, said greater effort is needed from larger countries with greater resources, like the United States, to ensure the equitable distribution of vaccines globally, and particularly within CARICOM.

“The US is the most important partner to the CARICOM member states, and St. Kitts and Nevis in particular. It supplies us with the largest intake of tourists, and it is the market for most of what we export,” Harris said on the US-based Bloomberg QuickTake, a global streaming news network.

“What we really would have loved to see is that the US would have shown early leadership in terms of support to the region as we fight a most dangerous pandemic. The US at this moment has excess vaccines.

“The Caribbean region needs vaccines desperately and in the short term, we would require the United States of America to make a portion of those excess vaccines available to CARICOM member states, including St. Kitts and Nevis,” Prime Minister Harris said during the programme

Harris told the programme that his twin-island Federation’s vaccination process is progressing reasonably well, despite some levels of vaccine hesitancy amongst the population.

“We have about 42 percent of our target population covered; covered meaning they at least had their first shot of the vaccine. The vaccine of choice here is the AstraZeneca vaccine and that is of course a two-dose regime.

“So, we are moving on the path of getting to the target population which is 70 percent of our population. We still have a significant journey to go but we are satisfied to date that in the short of some 10 weeks we have been able to cover 42 percent of the target,” he added.

Prime Minister Harris said that as the Federation moves towards its vaccination target of 70 percent he will continue his advocacy on behalf of the wider Caribbean region for the equitable distribution of vaccines.

Earlier this week, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, speaking at the Grantley Adams International Airport during a handover ceremony of 33,600 COVID-19 vaccines under the COVAX Facility, reiterated the need for a global summit on the availability of COVID-19 vaccines.

“If ever there was a need for the world to stand up and recognise that we need a global summit for coordinated action with respect to how we treat to the COVID pandemic, how we treat to the equitable distribution of vaccines, how we treat to the restricted movement of people and countries in a coordinated way to give the global community the best chance of putting this behind us, it is now,” Mottley said.

“In the spring meetings that just concluded for the World Bank and the IMF, we were clear that there is going to be no serious global recovery economically, until we wrestle COVID-19 to the ground. We cannot wrestle COVID-19 to the ground unless there is vaccine equity and unless there is coordinated actions across countries and not by single countries one by one,” she added.

Prime Minister Mottley insisted that at the global level, there was nothing stopping leaders from hosting a global summit, other than themselves.

The post PM Harris Makes Plea for Regional Vaccine Availability appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

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World View: Israel-Gaza War Week 2, Afghan US Collaborators Fear Future, Blinken at Climate Talks, More

May 17, 2021

Alternate text

Here’s the news to start the week.

  • As the fourth war between Israel and Hamas enters its second week, the Israeli military has unleashed airstrikes on the Gaza Strip targeting militant tunnels and the homes of alleged Hamas commanders.
  • Residents of Gaza awakened by the overnight barrage described it as the heaviest since the war began. Meanwhile, the AP’s top editor is calling for an independent investigation into the Israeli airstrike that targeted and destroyed a Gaza City building housing the AP, broadcaster Al-Jazeera and other media.
  • And in Afghanistan, interpreters and other civilians who served the U.S. and NATO fear Taliban reprisals with the looming withdrawal of troops from their country after two decades of war.

Also today

  • U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Denmark for talks on climate change, Arctic policy and Russia
  • A dip in the number of coronavirus cases in Mumbai is offering a glimmer of hope for India
  • Sanofi-GSK reports success in virus vaccine, after earlier setback

VANESSA GERA

The Associated Press

Warsaw, Poland

The Rundown

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GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Israeli military unleashed a wave of heavy airstrikes on the Gaza Strip early Monday, saying it destroyed 15 kilometers (nine miles) of militant tunnels and the homes of nine alleged Hamas commanders….Read More

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Associated Press’ top editor on Sunday called for an independent investigation into the Israeli airstrike that targeted and destroyed a Gaza City building housing the AP, broadcaster Al-Jazeera and other media, …Read More

I'm an image

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — For Mon PMs; XMZ501-516; video (blv LON is filing the video); Spotlight He served as an interpreter alongside U.S. soldiers on hundreds of patrols and dozens of firefights in eastern Afghanistan, earning a g…Read More

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BENGALURU, India (AP) — For the first time in months, Izhaar Hussain Shaikh is feeling somewhat optimistic. The 30-year-old ambulance driver in India’s metropolis of Mumbai has been working tirelessly ever since the city became the e…Read More

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MOORESTOWN, New Jersey (AP) — Shannon Keeler was enjoying a weekend getaway with her boyfriend last year when she checked her Facebook messages for the first time in ages. A name popped up that stopped her cold. …Read More

OTHER TOP STORIES

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Denmark for talks on climate change, Arctic policy and Russia as calls grow for the Biden admin…Read More

PARIS (AP) — Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline’s potential COVID-19 vaccine triggered strong immune responses in all adult age groups in preliminary trials, boosting optimism …Read More

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s oldest-ever man has included eating chicken brains among his secrets to living more than 111 years. Retired cattle rancher Dexter…Read More

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) — Pounding beats? Check. Uplifting lyrics? Check. Huge, backlit white wings? Check. After last year’s Eurovision Song Contest was canceled a…Read More

The post World View: Israel-Gaza War Week 2, Afghan US Collaborators Fear Future, Blinken at Climate Talks, More appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

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Truck driver's daughter feared he would 'kill someone'

The daughter of the truck driver jailed over the deaths of four police officers in Melbourne's Eastern Freeway tragedy feared he would kill someone on the road that day.

Mohinder Singh's daughter, Harpreet Bajwa, 21, told him he needed to see a psychiatrist after hearing him rant about seeing ghosts and aliens.

But in the hours before the freeway tragedy, she knew something was terribly wrong.

"The way he was acting that day scared me and I thought he was going to kill someone if he drove," she told Melbourne Magistrates' Court today.

READ MORE: Man arrested in suspected murder of Melbourne woman

Melbourne crash Mohinder Singh Bajwa

"His pupils were dilated, he seemed pretty terrified and he couldn't stop speaking."

Ms Bajwa told the court that her father feared he was going to be fired from his trucking company job if he didn't attend a meeting with his boss Simon Tuteru.

"I told him he shouldn't go to that meeting because he wasn't fit to drive and needs to see a psychiatrist," she said.

Mr Tuteru, 49, who is the Victorian manager of Connect Logistics, has been charged with four counts of manslaughter over the deaths of the police officers.

But he is facing 82 charges in total, with police alleging he also failed to ensure the safety of other drivers at the trucking company by exceeding their permissible hours behind the wheel.

READ MORE: 'Cascade of missed opportunities' before Aishwarya Aswath's death

It is alleged he knew about Singh's deteriorating mental state but continued to get him to drive the heavy vehicle.

After their meeting, police allege the pair prayed together before the manager insisted Singh – who was high on drugs – do a single load delivery for him.

The court also heard Singh, 48, will also be called to give evidence against his former boss.

Singh was jailed for 22 years last month after pleading guilty to four counts of culpable driving causing the deaths of officers Lynette Taylor, Glen Humphris, Josh Prestney and Kevin King.

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Jamaicans Top Immigrants to Canada

JAMAICANS top the number of migrants making their way to Canada from the Caribbean region, data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has revealed. St. Kitts and Nevis is next to last.

Some 21,215 Jamaicans have acquired permanent resident status in the North American country, accounting for 45 per cent of the 47,265 Caricom nationals who have immigrated there since 2015.

Haiti followed with 12,885 nationals immigrating, Guyana 2,605; Trinidad and Tobago 2,525; St Vincent and the Grenadines 2,310; St Lucia 1,970; Barbados 985; The Bahamas 845; Grenada 615; Antigua 455; Belize 380; Dominica 215; St Kitts and Nevis 185; while Suriname accounted for 55.

The IRCC data, requested by the Jamaica Observer, showed that in 2015, 3,415 Jamaicans packed for Canada; 3,560 left in 2016; 3,830 in 2017; 3,875 in 2018, 3,980 in 2019, 2,030 in 2020; and 525 between January and March 2021.

It is believed that economic challenges in addition to the country’s high crime rate are the push factors behind the steady exodus.

The IRCC data showed that most Jamaicans immigrated through sponsorship from a spouse or partner under the Federal Skills Trade Program or the Federal Skilled Worker Program.

The Federal Skilled Worker Program is for skilled workers with foreign work experience who want to immigrate to Canada permanently, while the Federal Skilled Trades Program (Express Entry) caters to skilled workers who want to become permanent residents based on being qualified in a skilled trade.

Since 2015, the majority of Jamaicans (785) invited to apply to provinces under the country’s Federal Skilled Trades Program (Express Entry) acquired permanent resident status in New Brunswick, one of the least populated provinces in the country. Vancouver and Ontario accounted for the lowest.

Immigration consultant Renee Braham-Gordon singled out health-care and economic stability as the two most common reasons for Jamaicans resettling in Canada.

The Jamaican, who is managing director of MEIA Immigration Consulting Inc, explained that the country offers universal health care to citizens and permanent residents through a public health insurance scheme. With it, the two groups do not have to pay for most health-care services.

Braham-Gordon, who lives and operates out of Canada, noted also that education and cultural diversity are other factors that account for relocation.

“Canada needs immigrants. They need people to work and people are willing to come and do that. There is always employment here. It may not be in the field that you want, but employment is always here. We’re the second-largest country in the world by land mass and the government needs people to occupy and work in these different areas and spaces.

“So, even though the population is now estimated at 37.5 million, people are needed. When you go to the countrysides you get a better understanding of how much human capital is needed. We need people to farm, we need people for construction and so much more. At one point they were paying people to move to certain areas in the country,” Braham-Gordon told the Sunday Observer in an interview last week.

“People come here also to secure their kid’s future, because here, where education is concerned, what an international student will pay for tuition is sometimes three, four or five times [more] than what a domestic student will pay. So to give their children that opportunity persons migrate,” she added.

 

 

 

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E. Caribbean Earthquake Felt in Federation

A magnitude 4.3 earthquake was felt in three Eastern Caribbean states, including St. Kitts & Nevia, early this morning. There have been no reports of damage or injuries.

The Seismic Research Centre at the University of the West Indies (UWI) said the quake occurred just after 8:00 a.m. (local time) and was felt 126 kilometres (km)  north of St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda ; 131 km north east of Basseterre, St Kitts and Nevis  and 226 km north north-west  of Point-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe.

The earthquake had a focal depth of 10 km the seismic scientists say.

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Son charged with murder following death of Melbourne woman

A son has been charged with the murder of his mother after her body was found in a home in Melbourne's south-east

Homicide Squad detectives arrested Thomas Bednar, 53, today near his home.

He was later charged with one count of murder.

The arrest was made after the discovery of 78-year-old Judy Bednar's body inside her Chelsea home about 10.30am yesterday.

Ms Bednar was found dead by police during a welfare check at her property on Drinan Road.

Mr Bedner is due to appear in Melbourne Magistrates' Court this evening.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report.

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Ecuador Indigenous Party Wins National Assembly Presidency, backed by Lasso

Ecuador’s National Assembly on Saturday evening elected a representative of the Pachakutik indigenous political party as its president for the next two years, with the support of allies of conservative President-elect Guillermo Lasso.

Lawmaker Guadalupe Llori won the National Assembly presidency with 71 votes in the 137-seat chamber. She previously served as a local official in Orellana province in the Amazon region and was jailed during former President Rafael Correa’s government on terrorism and sabotage charges after organizing protests against oil companies.

Llori was later granted amnesty and calls the charges politically motivated.

The alliance between Pachakutik and Lasso’s CREO party effectively sidelined the left-wing UNES party. UNES won the most seats in the congress in elections earlier this year but fell short of an outright majority.

“Even though CREO is a party of the right, on this occasion it has given us a great opportunity for all political parties to work together to seek a true reconciliation,” Llori, who was also supported another left-wing party called Democratic Left, said in her first speech as National Assembly president.

Lasso, a former banker, will take office in the oil-producing South American country on May 24 after beating out UNES candidate Andres Arauz, a Correa protege, in an April runoff. Pachakutik candidate Yaku Perez placed third in a first-round vote in February. read more

Indigenous activists in Ecuador protested heavily against current market-friendly President Lenin Moreno’s austerity policies, but also had major disagreements with Correa, who they accused of prioritizing oil production over the environment and indigenous communities.

Lasso has pledged to revamp crude production contracts to attract more investment to the sector but has also promised to review the need for more drilling in the environmentally sensitive Amazon region. r

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Brazil: Sao Paulo Mayor Survived COVID, Dies of Cancer

Bruno Covas, the 41-year old mayor of Brazil’s largest city and financial hub Sao Paulo, has died of cancer, the Sirio-Libanes Hospital where he was being treated confirmed on Sunday.

Tributes poured in from across the political spectrum for Covas, who followed in the political footsteps of his grandfather Mario Covas, who served as both mayor and governor of Sao Paulo.

“Bruno Covas’ strength came from his character and the example he set. He was loyal to his family, friends, the people of Sao Paulo and the members of his party, the PSDB,” said Sao Paulo state Governor Joao Doria in a statement, referring to the Brazilian Social Democratic Party.

“His determination and work are an inspiration to us all,” he said.

Covas was Doria’s running mate in the 2016 Sao Paulo race for mayor and replaced him in April 2018 when Doria became governor.

He had already been diagnosed with cancer when he won re-election in November last year. He tested positive for COVID-19 last year and made a full recovery.

Covas’ win in November boosted Doria, an increasingly thorny adversary of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro. The two have repeatedly clashed over the COVID-19 pandemic and Doria plans to seek his party’s nomination for president in 2022.

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Olympic swimmer has 60 stolen medals returned after good samaritan act

A good samaritan from outback Queensland has helped reunite a former Australian champion swimmer with some of his stolen medals.

Dual Olympic silver medallist Brenton Rickard had more than 100 medals taken from his Gold Coast home last year.

He was reunited with 60 of the medals earlier this month after Dalby antique dealer Christie Warby messaged him on Facebook, saying she'd just bought some of his medals in an online auction.

READ MORE: Man charged with attempted murder over Brisbane house fire won't apply for bail

Dual Olympic silver medallist Brenton Rickard had more than 100 medals taken from his Gold Coast home last year, thinking that he'd never see them again.

"It was a huge relief," Mr Rickard told ABC Gold Coast.

"Just to get some of them back to show the kids when they're old enough to understand is fantastic."

Ms Warby, a former swimmer herself, was looking to make a big windfall on the medals after buying them for just $300 from Lloyds Auctions.

But after learning they were stolen, she instantly reached out to Mr Rickard.

"When I came across the lot, I was expecting to make a profit of $5000," she told 9News.

Christie was looking to make a big windfall on the medals after buying them for just $300 from Lloyds Auctions.Christie Warby messaged Rickard on Facebook, saying she'd just bought some of his medals in an online auction.

"But when I saw they were stolen, there was no way in all good graces could I do that to somebody.

"It's sad; why would you steal medals to begin with?"

Mr Rickard's now back in possession of 64 of his beloved medals, but still has about 40 missing.

He says he's just glad to get some of his medals back.

"I was really lucky and am really thankful for (Christie's) honesty."