Category Archives: headline

Victoria unveils location of proposed 'alternative quarantine' hub

The Victorian Government has revealed that its proposed "alternative quarantine hub" used to house international arrivals would be built in Melbourne's north, if the Commonwealth ticks off on the plan.

Acting Premier James Merlino announced Donnybrook Road in Mickleham as the preferred location for the 500-bed hub today, but warned the $15 million plan was "subject to Commonwealth agreement".

The chosen location for the hub neighbours an existing pet quarantine facility, sitting on the rural fringe of the city, about 40 minutes north of Melbourne's CBD.

LIVE UPDATES: Australia dodged 'lost generation' of jobless, Treasurer says

https://twitter.com/andrew_lund/status/1387555702659452931?s=21

The hub would mimic the open-air cabin model currently used by the Howard Springs facility in Darwin, in a bid to prevent any further leakages in the state's quarantine scheme.

The plan comes after Victoria's embattled hotel system led to a number of COVID-19 leakages, ultimately sparking the state's deadly second wave last year.

"The best way to keep our communities safe is by having a dedicated purpose-built quarantine facility modelled on Howard Springs, but having a Howard Springs in a Victorian context," Mr Merlino said today.

The facility would take four months to build, with the state government asking the Commonwealth to foot the mammoth $100 million bill to construct the 500-bed hub.

The cost to expand the facility to 3000 beds would be around $700 million.

The state government should know by September whether the Commonwealth is onboard with the plan.

"We're engaging with the Commonwealth, we will work closely with them, because ultimately this is a Commonwealth responsibility," Mr Merlino said.

"Whilst the Commonwealth is considering the proposal and business case … to ensure we don't waste any time, the Victorian Government will crack on and do the detailed design and planning."

"By September it will be the go or no-go decision. This is about giving us options, options to make our community even safer."

READ MORE: Plans underway for international students, workers to enter Victoria

Mr Merlino said if approved, the quarantine hub could be opened by the end of the year.

The final decision whether to proceed with construction would also depend on the progress of the state's vaccine rollout, the efficacy of the jabs in preventing transmission and Commonwealth decisions on travel and quarantine rules.

"Today's announcement is about encouraging the Commonwealth to work with us in a partnership, to look at this alternative quarantine proposal and making sure that by working together, we can make the plans that are required to make sure that we get this right," Acting Police Minister Danny Pearson said.

Earlier this year, Avalon Airport was considered to be the frontrunner business case for the hub.

Mr Merlino said the government considered a number of factors when selecting the location, including proximity to Melbourne Airport, public health centres and services, health hotels and the CBD.

He acknowledged local residents may be concerned about living nearby to a quarantine facility.

"I understand the views of communities wherever this site may have been identified as the preferred location," he said.

"There's always going to be a response and I understand that."

World View: Biden’s Sppech, Ethiopia Human Rights Abuse, China Space Station, More

April 29, 2021

Alternate text

President Joe Biden declared that “America is rising anew” as he called for an expansion of federal programs to drive the economy past the pandemic and broadly extend the social safety net on a scale not seen in decades. Biden’s nationally televised address to Congress, his first, raised the stakes for his ability to sell his plans to voters of both parties, even if Republican lawmakers prove resistant.

India set another global record in new virus cases with 375,000 people infected, for a total of more than 18.3 million cases, behind only the United States.

An AP investigation finds that Ethiopia has swept thousands of ethnic Tigrayans into detention centers across the country on accusations that they are traitors, often holding them for months and without charges, as the government enters its sixth month of fighting in the Tigray region.

China launches the main part of its first permanent space station.

Also this morning:

  •  Catholic bishops may press Biden to stop taking communion
  •  Feds raid Giuliani’s home in escalating probe
  •  Girl Scout cookies delivered to homes by drones

 

 

ANDREW MELDRUM

The Associated Press

Johannesburg, South Africa

The Rundown

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden declared that “America is rising anew” as he called for an expansion of federal programs to drive the economy past the pandemic and broadly extend the social safety net on a scale not seen in decades. Biden’s…Read More

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NEW DELHI (AP) — India set another global record in new virus cases Thursday, with another 375,000 people infected, as the country gears up to open its vaccination rollout to all adults Saturday. It now has reported more than 18.3 million cases,…Read More

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Tim Scott credited former President Donald Trump and Republicans on Wednesday with creating “a joyful springtime for our nation,” using his party’s official response to President Joe Biden’s first address to Congress to say…Read More

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NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Ethiopia has swept up thousands of ethnic Tigrayans into detention centers across the country on accusations that they are traitors, often holding them for months and without charges, the AP has found. The detentions, mainly…Read More

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BEIJING (AP) — China on Thursday launched the core module for its first permanent space station that will host astronauts long-term. The Tianhe, or “Heavenly Harmony,” module blasted into space atop a Long March 5B rocket from the Wenchang Launc…Read More

OTHER TOP STORIES

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is using his first address before a joint session of Congress to make the case that his administration has made progress during …Read More

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal investigators have executed a search warrant at the Manhattan home of former President Donald Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani, a law enforcement o…Read More

When U.S. Catholic bishops hold their next national meeting in June, they’ll be deciding whether to send a tougher-than-ever message to President Joe Biden and other Cat…Read More

Missing out on Thin Mints in the pandemic? A Google affiliate is using drones to deliver Girl Scout cookies to people’s doorsteps in a Virginia community. The town of C…Read More

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Haiti Road Carnage: 21 Dead, 30 Injured in Head-On Bus Crash

At least 21 people were killed and more than 30 injured as a result of a road accident in Haiti between two buses loaded with passengers.
The accident happened when a minibus trying to overtake another vehicle collided head-on with a bus coming from the opposite direction, according to Haitian officials.
The accident was in central Haiti, about 50 kilometers northwest of the capital city of Port-au-Prince. The injured were transferred to nearby hospitals. At least 21 people died on the spot.

According to preliminary information, the accident took place due to the fact that the driver of one of the buses could not complete overtaking in the oncoming lane.

The wounded were transferred to hospitals in the Arcahaie region, by rescue teams from the civil protection and the Red Cross.

According to testimonies collected by civil protection, a minibus trying to overtake collided head-on with a bus coming from the opposite direction.

The minibus traveled between Port-au-Prince and Saint-Marc, while the other public transport vehicle traveled between Gonaïves and Port-au-Prince.

The Arcahaie municipal committee has activated a crisis unit for further interventions.

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Police rescue deaf man from apartment fire in Queensland

Police have rescued a deaf man from his burning apartment in Queensland.

Officers were patrolling in Mount Isa on Monday at midnight, when they heard a smoke alarm coming from the back of an apartment building.

Police officer Constable Jasmine Waller, said they don't normally go down that street – but when they did, they noticed the unit building was on fire.

Mount Isa fireMount Isa fire

READ MORE: Child suffers critical burns in Sydney unit fire

"We had to jump to action pretty quickly. We could see through the curtain, the flames were starting to get pretty high up," Constable Waller said.

"We don't ever usually go down that street, it's a dead end, it's super quiet."

Bodycam footage shows Constable Waller smash a glass window and yell; "Police! Anyone inside?"

Mount Isa fire

READ MORE: Man dead after fire in disability share home

The video shows the room filled with smoke, with flames burning at one end.

The officers realised there was somebody inside, so smashed open the front door, to find the 68-year-old deaf resident asleep in bed.

They woke him up and got him out safely, as fire crews moved in.

Constable Walker said they were in the 'right place at the right time."

"We just did what any of us would have done if they saw the same thing," she said.

The officers and the man were checked by medics, but were not injured.

Young boy 'will not recover' after freak accident with penguin toy

A devastated Gold Coast family has been told their six-year-old boy will not recover from injuries sustained in a freak accident with a toy on Anzac Day.

Deklan Babington-MacDonald was playing with a penguin toy bought from Sea World just days earlier when he suffered critical injuries and was flown to Queensland Children's Hospital.

His family were today told by doctors that Deklan is "beyond recovery" and his "life support will be withdrawn in the next 48 hours".

READ MORE: Thief breaks into home of family who lost three children in crash tragedy

The penguin toy on a cord was similar to these.

"Devastated doesn't begin to describe how the family is right now," cousin Lea Williams said.

In a statement, Village Road Show Theme Parks said it is "distressed to learn about the tragic accident involving Deklan" and that it "needs to understand the circumstances around what has occurred".

Sea World has temporarily taken the toy in question off shelves and will reach out to the family.

A fundraiser to help the family with costs and a memorial has raised more than $10,000.

Last Week: 25% of COVID Deaths in the Americas

(CNN) The coronavirus’s uncontrolled spread through the Americas accounted for a major part of all global Covid-19 deaths last week, according to Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director Carissa Etienne.

“One in four Covid deaths reported worldwide last week took place right here, in the Americas,” she said at a virtual press conference on Wednesday. “Nearly every country in Central America is reporting a rise in infections.”
Canada’s infection rates have surpassed the US infection rates for the first time, Etienne also said.
New coronavirus variants are helping drive the surge in infections across the region, while slow vaccination rollouts — due in part to lack of vaccine availability — pose additional setbacks for a number of countries in the Americas. The robust US vaccination campaign has been an exception.
Across South and Central America, many health systems are struggling to cope with the influx of patients, and are increasingly seeing younger patents, she said, noting that hospitalizations are “at an all-time high” in Costa Rica; Guatemala’s hospitals have reached maximum capacity; and hospitals in several major Colombian cities are running out of intensive care beds.
Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Uruguay are also reporting rising infections.
Brazil has long been among the worst hit nations in the Americas, with the second-highest number of Covid-19 deaths in the world after the US, and the third highest number of cases after the US and India, according to the latest Johns Hopkins University data. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a longtime coronavirus skeptic, is now facing a government probe over his handling of pandemic.
As of this week, more than 317 million vaccine doses have been administered across 49 countries and territories in the region, according to Etienne. Nearly 7 million of those were purchased via COVAX, the vaccine distribution facility backed by the World Health Organization and the Vaccine Alliance known as GAVI.
Countries should receive their second COVAX shipments in the next few weeks, she said.

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Inquest into death of woman caused by dye used in CT scan

A coronial inquest is underway investigating the death of a Melbourne mother who suffered an anaphylactic reaction to dye used in a heart test.

Peta Hickey had no medical history of cardiac problems she was invited to take part in a Cardiac Health Assessment by her employer, Programmed in March, 2019.

On May 1 that year, the 43-year-old mother went to Future Medical Imaging Group in Moonee Ponds for the scan.

READ MORE: Site in Melbourne's north chosen for Victoria's 'alternative quarantine' hub

Contrast Dye was administered intravenously and a scan was performed.

Shortly after, she began vomiting and losing consciousness.

A radiologist, Dr Gavin Tseng, was called back into the room and treated her, administering medicine but not adrenaline and asked for an ambulance to be called.

Paramedics tried to resuscitate Ms Hickey and she was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital Intensive Care Unit.

There she experienced complications and had her right leg amputated.

READ MORE: 'Brazen' alleged sexual assault on Melbourne street 'very deliberate'

She never regained consciousness and died eight days later.

Ms Hickey left behind her partner Richard and two young children.

The coroner will investigate what information the radiologist had about Ms Hickey before the scan.

The policies and procedures in place at the various companies involved in the heart check program will also be investigated.

READ MORE: Melbourne man charged for allegedly spitting at police, doing burnout in front of station

The court heard the push to provide employees with cardiac checks came after a senior executive at Ms Hickey's workplace suffered a heart attack while on an overseas trip.

Chris Sutherland, who was the Managing Director of Programmed at the time, said he never directly received any medical advice about the appropriateness of that particular test for someone with no symptoms of heart issues.

The inquest is expected to run for three weeks.

Thief breaks into home of family who lost three children in crash tragedy

A mother was looking at photographs of her children killed in an awful car accident in the Sydney suburb of Oatlands when a thief allegedly broke into her house and stole precious items.

An intruder smashed his way into the Telopea home of the Abdallah family just before midday yesterday.

Leila Abdallah, whose three young children were killed when they were struck by a drunk driver, was at home at the time with a friend.

READ MORE: Driver jailed for killing four children in Oatlands crash

Police are hunting this man who broke into the home of the Abdallah family.

She had been looking at photos of her children in the kitchen around lunchtime when she noticed a stranger running out, carrying bags of her personal things.

"I was too focused on my kids' pictures, Anthony and Angelina's and Sienna's videos, I didn't feel it, I just felt him leaving," Mrs Abdallah told 9News today.

When confronted, the thief fled with a bag packed with jewellery and other personal items.

He got into the front seat of a stolen Audi and drove away.

READ MORE: Last photo of four children killed in Oatlands crash

https://twitter.com/sophie_walsh9/status/1387607591769960449

Speaking to 9News, Mrs Abdallah said she felt silly appealing to the public over the burglary.

"They're just material things," she said.

But some of the items hold sentimental value. She believes the mobile phone of her late son Antony may have been stolen.

Mrs Abdallah also said a watch belonging to her daughter was taken.

"He took a watch, but it's not about the watch, I remember walking with Angelina to the store to buy the watch.

Detective Superintendent Darryl Jobson said Mrs Abdallah and her friend were "shaken and unsettled" by the home invasion.

Leila Geagea Abdallah (middle) and daughter (left) are seen during the funeral for her children Antony Abdallah, 13, Angelina Abdallah, 12, and Sienna Abdallah, 8, at Our Lady of Lebanon Co-Cathedral in Sydney

"In the last 12 months the victims have endured an incredible ordeal and I appeal to the conscience of the people responsible for this crime to hand themselves in to the police," he said.

"I also appeal to them to return the property of those victims. If you don't have a conscience, we will get your names and we will be knocking on your door."

Mr Jobson said the burglary appeared to be opportunistic.

"It is absolutely disgusting. It is absolutely abhorrent to enter a home while people are there," he said.

The front door was not locked at the time.

READ MORE: Family of children killed in Oatlands crash focused on forgiveness

Abdallah siblings Sienna, 8, Angelina, 12, and Antony, 13, died at the scene in Oatlands alongside their 11-year-old cousin Veronique Sakr.

Police aerial and dog units were dispatched but were unable to find the suspects.

The Audi is believed to have been stolen from a home in North Rocks between 10pm Monday and 6am Tuesday.

Police describe the thief as blond, Caucasian, about 183cm tall, between 20 and 25 and skinny.

He was wearing a black baseball cap, a black face mask, black track pants and a blue hooded jumper.

The getaway driver is described only as having blond hair.

Earlier this month Samuel Davidson was jailed for a minimum of 21 years for four counts of manslaughter.

He was drunk and speeding when he fatally struck Abdallah siblings Antony, Angelina and Sienna, along with their cousin Veronique Sakr.

Venezuela Says 8 Soldiers killed in Fighting Para Military Groups Along Colombian Border

Reuters- Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said on Wednesday that eight soldiers were killed in combat amid continuing clashes between the armed forces and illegal armed groups along the border with Colombia.

In a brief post on the ministry’s website, Padrino listed the names of the eight soldiers, without providing details about how they died. On Monday, Padrino said Venezuela’s armed forces had suffered deaths and injuries in fighting along the border in the prior 72 hours, but did not specify how many had died.

Earlier on Wednesday, Army Commander General Domingo Hernandez wrote on Twitter that four sergeants were killed on the battlefield while fighting “in defense of the fatherland,” without elaborating when, where or under what circumstances they died. Those four were also included on Padrino’s list.

Venezuela’s information ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Fighting began in the border areas of western Apure state in late March, prompting thousands of civilians to flee into Colombia, according to rights groups.

Authorities have not specified which groups they are battling, but opponents have long accused Maduro of harboring members of Colombian guerrilla groups including the National Liberation Army (ELN) and dissident members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) who disavowed a 2016 peace deal.

Representatives of the Catholic Church recovered the corpses of some of the dead soldiers, according to opposition activist Walter Marquez and another source who asked not to be identified. The Episcopal Conference of Venezuela did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Brazil Nears 400,000 COVID-19 Deaths, To Get Pfizer Vaccine

Brazil is on the verge of registering 400,000 coronavirus deaths this week, after the Health Ministry on Wednesday reported 3,163 new COVID-19 deaths in 24 hours, bringing the official death toll to 398,185.

Brazil is quickly catching up with the world’s worst death toll in the United States, which has seen more than 570,000 casualties in total but less than a thousand deaths per day in recent weeks.

Brazil’s COVID-19 crisis has spiraled out of control in recent months, with patchy restrictions on circulation and a highly contagious new virus variant driving infections.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right former army captain, has drawn harsh criticism for playing down the dangers of the virus, shunning masks and pushing unproven remedies.

Younger Brazilians are increasingly being affected by COVID-19, with those in their 20s showing the greatest increase in deaths so far this year, according to a report published by government biomedical institute Fiocruz last week. read more

Brazil’s Health Ministry also reported on Wednesday 79,726 new confirmed coronavirus cases, which now total 14,521,289.

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Brazil to receive 1 million Pfizer vaccine doses, health minister says

Reuters
A vial of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine is seen on a table at Ankara City Hospital in Ankara, Turkey, April 2, 2021. REUTERS/Cagla Gurdogan/File Photo

A vial of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine is seen on a table at Ankara City Hospital in Ankara, Turkey, April 2, 2021. REUTERS/Cagla Gurdogan/File Photo

Brazil’s Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga said the country would receive 1 million doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday, as supplies of immunizations dwindle and risk further delaying an already slow rollout.

Over the weekend, the health ministry announced that 30% fewer vaccines had been received between January and April than expected. Queiroga said the Covax facility, an international cooperation to assist countries secure vaccines, had moved up the expected delivery of 2 million doses to May.

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