Category Archives: headline

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Western Sydney father receives 'revived' donor kidney

A western Sydney father-of-seven has become the first person in the country to receive a donor kidney that was "revived" before implant.

This time last year Folio Emilio was on dialysis, taking over the job of his failing kidneys to keep him alive. It's a process the 64-year-old endured for seven years.

"The suffering that I've been through… in those seven years," Mr Emilio told 9News.

Then the Auburn grandfather's wait for a kidney transplant came through. But it was no ordinary procedure.

The transplant involved the use of this perfusion machine, tasked with reviving donated kidneys.

"For me, this is the first major change in 25 years," Westmead Hospital Senior Transplant Surgeon Dr Henry Pleass told 9News.

"You can take a kidney that looks damaged, purpled and mottled and you put it on the machine and within minutes it looks like a perfect, healthy pink kidney."

The machine pumps blood and oxygen through the kidney at body temperature one hour before it's transplanted in the operating theatre.

Two patients have so far benefited from the technology.

"Both kidneys have worked straight away, which we're excited about," Dr Pleass said.

Westmead researchers spent three to four years investigating its use.

"We are still conducting a number of studies that allows us to understand some of the mechanisms as to why it's improving the function of the organ," Westmead Institute of Medical Research Dr Natasha Rogers told 9News.

More than 800 Australians each year receive a transplant due to kidney failure often caused by disease such as diabetes. It's hoped this new approach can improve patient outcomes.

"We hope it improves the long-term function of the kidney as well as possibly increase the number of kidney transplants," Dr Pleass said.

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Texas Weather: Residents Told to Boil Tap Water

BBC- Nearly seven million people in the US state of Texas have been told to boil tap water before consuming it after a deadly winter storm caused power blackouts at treatment facilities.

The huge storm sweeping across the southern US has killed at least 30 people and left millions without power.

Texas has seen widespread blackouts.

Freezing temperatures have also caused water pipes to burst, despite attempts by some homeowners to insulate them from the cold using blankets.

The state’s energy grid has been overwhelmed by a surge in demand as people try to keep warm in some of the coldest temperatures there in more than 30 years – hitting 0F (-18C) earlier this week.

On Wednesday, the head of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Toby Baker, said that issues with water systems were affecting more than 260,000 people in the state.

The mayor of Houston, Sylvester Turner, urged people to switch off their water supplies to prevent pipes from filling with water and bursting when it freezes.

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Canada: No National Handgun Ban

Ottawa (CNN) The Canadian government proposed legislation Tuesday that would allow local communities to ban handguns, but stopped short of supporting a national handgun ban, which many gun control advocates had called for.

“These are the strongest measures to fight gun violence our country has ever seen,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a news conference Tuesday in the capital, Ottawa.

Trudeau’s Liberal government is making good on both a 2019 election promise for stricter gun control and an announcement last May, when Canada banned the sale of military-style assault weapons and promised more legislation would follow.

That pledge came after the deadliest mass shooting in Canada’s history, in which a heavily armed gunman dressed as a police officer killed 22 people in a shooting spree that terrorized residents of rural Nova Scotia.

The legislation, which would still take months to become law, also introduces a voluntary buyback program for the estimated 150,000 to 200,000 legally-owned assault-style weapons in Canada. Owners of the now-prohibited firearms can still choose to keep them, although they could no longer use them as guns and they would be subject to strict licensing and storage laws.

Mayors seek solution for worsening gun violence

Trudeau acknowledged there would be political fallout from both sides of the gun control debate. The mayors of Canada’s two largest cities, Toronto and Montreal, have advocated for a national handgun ban as gun violence worsens in those cities.

In a statement obtained by CNN, Toronto Mayor John Tory said city staff are reviewing the new set of proposed laws and that the city welcomes the federal government’s efforts to curb gun violence. But Tory also restated his city’s support for a national handgun ban.

“Toronto City Council has been clear that it supports a national handgun ban. The federal government has said the changes announced today would allow municipalities to ban handguns and include federal penalties for those who violate local bylaws. The City looks forward to receiving details from the Government of Canada on how such a ban would work and what its impact would be on gun violence,” Tory said in the statement.

Canada will list the Proud Boys movement as a terrorist group

Canada will list the Proud Boys movement as a terrorist group

Federal government officials said cities cannot act alone and that provincial governments, several of which have indicated they do not support banning handguns, would have ultimate jurisdiction.

Law enforcement officials say random gun violence in Canadian cities continues to worsen, with deaths increasingly linked to gang violence.

A teenage girl was killed in a drive-by shooting earlier this month in Montreal, prompting the mayor to again call for a national handgun ban.

“Obviously there are political elements in this but the core of why we are doing this, the core of why Canadians want this done, is to keep our communities safe. In Canada people can use guns for hunting and for sport shooting, not for personal protection. And there is no need (for) military-style assault weapons anywhere in this country,” said Trudeau.

In his news conference, Trudeau highlighted a key component of the new set of laws, the “red flag” and “yellow flag” provisions. He said they would help combat intimate-partner and gender-based violence by allowing people to apply to the courts to order the removal of a person’s firearm or to suspend their gun license.

Neither side happy

Gun control advocates noted that while the proposed legislation is comprehensive, it does not go far enough.

“This is imperfect legislation but a very Canadian approach to addressing a complex issue,” Dr. Philip Berger, senior adviser to Canadian Doctors for Protection from Guns, said in a statement. He added, “To make the further changes still necessary, the 80% of Canadians who support gun control need political parties other than the Liberals to step up and be accountable.”

If passed, the new law would also forbid the altering of the cartridge magazine component of a firearm and would ban depictions of violence in firearms advertising. There would be tighter restrictions on imports of ammunition and a ban on the import, export, sales and transfers of all replica firearms.

Canada working with the US to close travel 'loophole'

Canada working with the US to close travel ‘loophole’

Canada’s Conservative Party denounced the proposed legislation, saying it penalizes lawful gun owners and does not adequately address the issue of guns being smuggled into Canada from the United States.

“I think that Mr. Trudeau misleads people when he tries to suggest that buying things back from hunters and other Canadians who are law-abiding is somehow going to solve the problem of shooting and criminal gang activity in the big cities. It’s ignoring the real problem and it’s dividing Canadians,” Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole said in a news conference Tuesday.

In a detailed technical briefing, the government outlined that it would continue to combat gun smuggling and trafficking by stepping up enforcement and increasing penalties. The Trudeau government has also said it will reach out to US President Joe Biden’s administration to find new ways to cooperate on gun smuggling issues along the border.

Update: This story has been updated to add more detail regarding the proposed legislation.

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Peru: Anger Grows Over Secret Vaccinations for Nation’s Wealthy

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Public indignation over secret coronavirus vaccinations for the wealthy and well-connected in Peru grew Wednesday, a day after the Vatican’s ambassador to the South American nation admitted he was inoculated ahead of health care workers and the poor.

The surreptitious vaccination of nearly 500 people, including a then-president, his wife and brother, has roused anger over inequality in a country that has been badly battered by the pandemic, which has taken the lives of at least 310 doctors.

Doctors and nurses in an impoverished neighborhood in the capital of Lima on Wednesday protested the secret vaccination effort and hung signs from the windows of a hospital’s intensive care unit that read, “Getting a vaccine is our right.”

The city’s archbishop, meanwhile, criticized the Vatican ambassador for accepting the vaccine.
Archbishop Carlos Castillo said on state television that he had contacted Pope Francis’ representative, Nicola Girasoli, and told him that he is part of a “list of privileged people who have acted behind the backs of the life of the people, of the suffering of the people. It is a list of unsupportive people.”

Girasoli, a 63-year-old Italian, confirmed in a statement Tuesday that he was vaccinated while serving as a consultant on “ethical issues” related to the Phase 3 trial that the Chinese state pharmaceutical company Sinopharm carried out in Peru starting in September.

The 487 people who received secret inoculations with the Chinese vaccine were not part of the 12,000 volunteers enrolled in the clinical trial to determine the vaccine’s efficacy before it began to be officially rolled out to the public.

The diplomat received his second dose on Feb. 11, a day after the press revealed that former President Martín Vizcarra, his wife and brother had been vaccinated in October while his administration was negotiating the purchase of the vaccines.

Vizcarra was removed by congress in November for alleged corruption in an unrelated case.

Girasoli has been apostolic nuncio in Peru since 2017 and worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See for 36 years.

Pope Francis has repeatedly said the rich should not get priority for the vaccine. In a speech in August, he said it would be sad if “vaccine priority is given to the richest.”

“The pandemic has laid bare the difficult situation of the poor and the great inequality that reigns in the world,″ the pope said. ”And the virus, while it doesn’t make exceptions among persons, has found in its path, devastating, great inequalities and discrimination,” Francis said, adding “and it has increased them.

Peru has bought 1 million vaccines from Sinopharm, but they are not enough to inoculate the group deemed high priority — some 1.1 million doctors, nurses, police, firefighters, streetsweepers and others.

Foreign Minister Elizabeth Astete, Health Minister Pilar Mazzetti and two vice ministers involved in the country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic have been forced to step down in recent days. Astete acknowledged in her letter of resignation Sunday that she had secretly received the shot in late January, adding that “I could not allow myself the luxury of falling ill.”

Meanwhile, Mazzetti frequently lied in front of television cameras, including days after receiving thousands of vaccines bought from Sinopharm, when she said she was going to be the last to be vaccinated because “the captain is the last to leave the ship.”

The Andean nation has tallied more than 1.2 million cases of coronavirus and 44,056 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University in the United States.′

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Venezuela: Maduro Wants Fresh Start with US, Levels Spying Claims

In Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a ceremony marking the start of the judicial year at the Supreme Court in Caracas, Venezuela.

CARACAS, Venezuerla (AP) — Venezuela’s president said Wednesday he is open to dialogue with the new U.S. administration on calming tensions between the two governments and easing his nation’s economic crisis, even while doubling down with fresh accusations that six American oil executives jailed in Caracas spied for the CIA, a claim rejected by relatives and a defense lawyer in the case.

Nicolás Maduro, who spoke at a news conference with international reporters at the Miraflores presidential palace, refused to say whether he has had any direct contacts with the Biden administration, which took office nearly a month ago.

Maduro repeated a phrase he commonly uses, saying he is ready for a dialogue with the U.S. at any moment. The two nations broke ties two years ago when the Trump administration and dozens of other governments backed Maduro’s leading adversary, Juan Guaidó, arguing that Maduro’s presidency was illegitimate because his reelection was fraudulent.

The Trump administration heavily sanctioned Maduro and the Venezuelan oil sector as well as brought an indictment levying narcotrafficking charges against Maduro that carry a $15 million reward for his arrest.

Maduro is leading a campaign to resurrect his once-wealthy oil nation’s decimated economy after more than two decades of socialist rule. Maduro seeks relief from sanctions, blaming them for Venezuela’s problems.

“Is there room for dialogue?” Maduro said in response to a question from The Associated Press on whether he has started conversation with of U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration. “There’s always room for dialogue.”

But the new accusations of spying against Citgo, a U.S.-based subsidiary of Venezuela’s state oil company, will likely complicate efforts to win sympathy in Washington, where officials in Biden’s State Department have already branded him a “dictator” who should not be engaged with in direct talks.

While Venezuela’s economic and political crisis deepened, the six Citgo executives were lured back to Caracas from the firm’s headquarters in Houston and jailed on financial charges. Their trial ended in November, with a judge finding them all guilty and sentencing them to prison.

Maduro’s allegation of spying came in response to a question from AP on whether he could consider releasing U.S. citizens jailed in the U.S., including the so-called Citgo 6, as a goodwill gesture to the new U.S. administration.

He said that while diplomatic efforts are always available, he wouldn’t get involved with criminal cases that had been tried in a Venezuelan court.

“I’m not a judge or prosecutor, and I shouldn’t get involved in this subject,” Maduro said, but he then accused the CIA of infiltrating Citgo. “They started to work as agents of the Central Intelligence Agency. … This is the truth.”

Maduro did not offer proof of his claim, which drew immediate pushback from Venezuelan attorney Jesus Loreto, who represented one of the six Citgo executives.

Loreto told AP that Venezuelan state officials presented no allegations of spying at trial of the six men.

“They were never tried for any spying related offenses. They were not convicted on any charge in any way related to spying,” Loreto said. “That’s the very first time I heard about spying, regarding my client.”

The U.S-based family of Tomeu Vadell, one of the six jailed men, also rejected Maduro’s claims that he spied on his native Venezuela.

The family urged U.S. leaders to do all they can to help bring an end to Vadell’s imprisonment so he can return home to them.

“We ask the Biden administration to expedite the release of our loved one, Tomeu, and other Americans unjustly held in Venezuela,” said one of Vadell’s daughters, Veronica Vadell Weggeman.

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Brazil: No Shortage in Citywide Vaccination Program

SERRANA, Brazil (AP) — As Brazil’s mayors and governors start sounding the alarm over dwindling supplies of coronavirus vaccines, there are no such complaints in Serrana, a city that Sao Paulo’s state government selected to test city-wide vaccination.

The city is small, but the task is sizeable: administering shots over eight weeks to the entire population aged 18 and up 30,000 people. The study, known as Project S, entails follow-ups with each participant to shed light on the extent to which vaccination with the CoronaVac shot reduces spread of the virus.

Inês Aparecida Giolo, 61, was among among the first participants in the study, receiving her shot Wednesday morning at a school near her home.

People wait in line outside a public school to get a shot of the CoronaVac vaccine in Serrana. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

“It’s a lot of joy, because it’s not just me, it’s for the whole city. So we are very happy,” said Giolo.

The idea of vaccinating an entire city came about last year, during the pandemic’s peak, as a means to obtain answers to countless questions in an organized manner, according to Dimas Covas, director of Sao Paulo’s Butantan Institute, which is distributing the CoronaVac vaccines and is a partner in the experiment.

“This will allow us to know in depth what is happening with vaccinated people, but also with the pandemic: the number of people affected, hospital needs,” Covas said at the opening ceremony Wednesday.

The Butantan Institute’s director Dimas Covas, left, and Sao Paulo’s Gov. João Doria give a news conference at a vaccination center set up inside a public school in Serrana. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Serrana — with about 45,000 inhabitants, one quarter the population of Providence, Rhode Island — was one of the worst-hit cities in Sao Paulo state, with about 5% of its population contracting the virus, said Marcos Borges, director of the State Hospital of Serrana, also part of Project S.

Borges said the town had to be prepped before the study could start, as cases needed to be monitored closely. All residents with COVID-19 symptoms for at least two days were given a quick PCR test, with results in less than 24 hours. A broad communications campaign, with support from messaging application WhatsApp, aimed to ensure high levels of participation.

Following reports that Brazilians had rented or bought property in Serrana to wangle their way into the study, Butantan’s Covas said last week that a history of residence would be required for registration.

Sao Paulo state has recorded the highest number of COVID-19 deaths in Brazil, but it has also been a leader in efforts to secure vaccines, while federal authorities have been accused of dragging their feet.

Butantan contracted with Chinese firm Sinovac for 46 million doses of its CoronaVac vaccines in September, as well as a transfer of technology for future domestic production.

Butantan last month shared slightly disappointing results for CoronaVac tests in Brazil, showing an overall efficacy of 50.38%. While lower than other vaccines, global health authorities have said any vaccine at least 50% effective is useful. CoronaVac was 78% successful in preventing mild illness, and completely eliminated death.

Project S begins just a month after the country started vaccinating and as several cities are running out of shots for their elderly citizens.

Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday halted new vaccinations for a week. City officials said they will continue to deliver second doses to those who have already been injected once, but have paused new shots for the elderly.

Rio officials say vaccines for new recipients ran out partly because they had pushed forward their schedule by one week after receiving a fresh lot of doses. Mayor Eduardo Paes on Monday said additional shots won’t be delivered before next week.

Other state capitals have had to adopt similar strategies, such as Salvador, in Bahia state, and Cuiaba in Mato Grosso. Looming shortages have also been reported in at least four other capitals, according to Brazilian newspaper O Globo.

Some mayors and governors have blamed the administration of President Jair Bolsonaro for not seeking more vaccine contracts earlier. Only 2 million AstraZeneca doses of the 100 million contracted by his government have arrived so far.

Brazil’s Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello said Wednesday during an online meeting with representatives of 26 states and the federal district that Brazil will have nearly 231 million vaccines by July 31. Pazuello included batches provided by AstraZeneca and Sinovac, the two shots that have already reaching the arms of many Brazilians, but also said there will be jabs of Sputnik V and Covaxin, which are yet to be approved by Brazil’s health regulator.

In Serrana, there’s no risk vaccination will be interrupted, as a special batch of CoronaVac was made exclusively for the study, Butantan’s Covas said. Participation isn’t mandatory, but is expected to be high, with more than 23,000 registrations as of last week. Serrana won’t be isolated and people will be free to come and go.

Those who participate will be monitored for up to one year after their immunization, with researchers also evaluating the impact of the pandemic on the economy and vaccination acceptance rates. Initial results are expected in 12 weeks.

People wait in line outside a public school to get a shot of the CoronaVac vaccine in Serrana. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

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Mexico: 6 Charged With Selling Fake Corona Vaccines

A woman gets her shot of the AstraZeneca COVID vaccine at the Magdalena Contreras borough of Mexico City, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021, as Mexico begins to vaccinate people over the age of 60 against the new coronavirus. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)
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MEXICO CITY (AP) — Police in northern Mexico arrested six people Wednesday for allegedly trafficking in fake coronavirus vaccines.

The federal Public Safety Department said the arrests were made in the northern border state of Nuevo León, though they did not say what kind of fake shots were involved or whether they had been offered for sale.

“You don’t play around with health, and in these moments of pandemic, nobody should be profiteering,” said Public Safety Secretary Rosa Icela Rodríguez.

Assistant Health Secretary Hugo López-Gatell later said that the fakes were presented as Pfizer vaccines, which are only available in Mexico through government vaccinations teams. He said the suspects had offered the vaccines for sale for the equivalent of around $2,000 per dose.

The Health Department said the fake Pfizer vaccines were being offered for sale at a health clinic known as “Spine Clinic by Imperio” in a suburb of the northern city of Monterrey.

Analysts have long worried that criminal gangs in Mexico could seek to steal, hijack or counterfeit much-desired vaccines or medications during the pandemic. There have been hijackings or thefts of medicines and oxygen, but this is the first instance of criminal activity related to vaccines.

Also Wednesday, Mexico’s Defense Secretary, Gen. Luis Cresencio Sandoval, announced he had tested positive for COVID-19. Sandoval said he would isolate at home and continue working while receiving treatment.

Mexico’s Health Department reported 1,075 newly confirmed COVID-19 deaths Wednesday, bringing the total death toll to 177,061. The total number of cases rose by almost 9,000 to 2,013,563.

Mexico also announced that so far in the pandemic, 991 migrants in Mexico had caught the coronavirus and 49 had died of COVID-19. Most migrants in Mexico come from, or through, Central America. A total of 3,684 Mexican migrants have died of COVID-19 through Jan. 18, almost all of them in the United States.

The country has now administered over 1 million coronavirus vaccines, but has not yet fully vaccinated its 750,000 front-line health care workers.

However, many government vaccination teams began this week taking photographs of the elderly people who got their first vaccinations; combined with the fact the people had to show their voter ID cards to get the vaccines, the photographs drew criticism in a country where such practices have been used to pressure voters in the past.

Assistant Health Secretary Hugo López-Gatell said the vaccination teams should not take such photographs, and that people were within their rights to refuse to have their pictures taken.

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Q&A with the editors of Australia's Betoota Advocate

The editors of Australia's most popular satirical news site, The Betoota Advocate, say they are "back to earning peanuts" after their page momentarily became one of today's casualties in Facebook's shock ban on Australian news.

When Facebook began to block all Australian news sites, it also blocked a number of state health pages, the Bureau of Meteorology, domestic violence services, and satirical news pages like Betoota and The Chaser.

After the Betoota Advocate Facebook page was blocked to its audience of some 800,000 people, editors Clancy Overell and Errol Parker told nine.com.au they found themselves in a tricky situation.

READ MORE: How to follow 9News on digital and social media platforms

What was your reaction to the shut down?

"We got turned off and then turned back on again so it did get scary there for a moment," Mr Overell told nine.com.au.

"We thought we'd really have to lean our other social channels, but thankfully, by the grace of God, Facebook decided to let us get through the gates."

Despite the shock announcement, the editors of the Betoota Advocate had no trouble maintaining a sense of humour.

https://twitter.com/BetootaAdvocate/status/1362175409945604096

"When we did get turned back on, we thought that the late Kerry Packer was right in saying that social media and the internet is indeed just a passing fad," Mr Parker said.

"We were looking forward to going back to the old days of journalism, big days, company card, big lunches, long lunch breaks … But by a twist of cruel fate we've gone back to bloody writing online earning peanuts."

Did today's shutdown blur the lines of what is considered news?

"When the Bureau of Meterology got shut down that definitely blurs some lines about what is and isn't news," Mr Overell said.

"I thought when the BoM had their Facebook page closed down it was because of all the fake weather reports they've been doing.

READ MORE: Emergency Facebook pages returning after 'inadvertent' bans

https://twitter.com/BetootaAdvocate/status/1362279752103391233

"I hopped off my jet plane here in Sydney and they'd said no rain and it's bloody pissing down."

"Not to mention all this alarmist climate change nonsense, maybe the Bureau deserves to be closed down."

9News App

How important is social media in public interest journalism?

Mr Overell said while social media is an important part of their platform, they are confident news sites don't rely solely on Facebook to share their news.

"Social media does help because for whatever weird thing a journalist pulls out, it could be a kitten water skiing, social media is where you will find people who are interested in that. You're not going to get them through the traditional channels."

"As for the election results and the footy results, we have tried and true media (like) nightly news and papers, which people go to."

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'Deeply sorry': Defence Minister Linda Reynolds breaks down in the Senate

Defence Minister Linda Reynolds has broken down in the Senate and was unable to continue as questions continue to swirl over the Federal Government's response to Brittany Higgins' alleged rape.

Ms Higgins, a former Liberal staffer, alleged she was raped by a male staffer in Ms Reynolds' ministerial office in the early hours of March 23, 2019.

Ms Reynolds was Defence Industry Minister at the time of the alleged sexual assault.

During Question Time in the Senate today, the Western Australian Senator became emotional as she said she was deeply sorry Ms Higgins didn't feel supported.

Tears stream down the face of Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds during Question Time at Parliament House in Canberra today. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen

At one point she became so overcome with emotion she was unable to respond to questions unrelated to the alleged incident.

"If I… could ask, Mr President," she said before taking a moment.

"If I could have indulgence to answer this on Monday? I think I'd be in a better position to answer this one Monday.

"If… can you just give me a minute. Or can I take it on notice?"

It was revealed yesterday a steam-cleaning of Ms Reynolds' office was ordered by the Department of Finance in the hours after Ms Higgins' alleged rape.

The incident, first reported by news.com.au, has been confirmed by 9News but conflicting statements have been given by two departments.

Today, the Australian Federal Police released a statement confirming a senior member of the AFP met with Ms Reynolds and her chief-of-staff on 4 April 2019 in relation to Ms Higgins' allegations.

Brittany Higgins has alleged she was raped in Parliament by a colleague and was left with little support, prompting Prime Minister Scott Morrison to order a review of how workplace assault allegations are dealt with.

"The AFP has engaged with the Department of Parliamentary Services and Presiding Officers a number of times," the statement said.

"The matter is an open investigation and further commentary could be prejudicial. The AFP will not be making further comment on this matter."

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Scott Morrison today used Question Time to respond to comments made by Ms Higgins yesterday in which she accused him of victim blaming.

"I'm very sorry she feels that way Mr Speaker. She must be under tremendous stress," Mr Morrison said.

"She has shown great bravery. I have been listening to what she has been saying and Mr Speaker, I am seeking to put in place arrangements whether it is the support of staff who are here in this building here and now, and will be feeling, I think, increasingly fragile or vulnerable because of the nature of these events that have arisen this week."