World
Phuket Gazette World News: Sin city shooting leaves 3 dead

– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community
PHUKET: Three people died in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip yesterday when one or more gunmen in a Range Rover sport utility vehicle opened fire on a Maserati, killing the driver and touching off a fiery multi-car crash.
The driver of the Maserati died in the pre-dawn shooting, and his car veered out of control and smashed into a taxi carrying two people, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police spokesman Officer Jose Hernandez said.
The cab exploded into flames in the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Flamingo Road, a popular tourist area in front of several casino resorts, killing the driver and a passenger.
“There was a loud bang and I hear two other booms. I looked out my window at Caesars Palace … and could see the fireball,” witness John Lamb was quoted as saying on the website of Las Vegas KLAS-TV’s 8News Now.
The gunfire and collision in the busy intersection near the Bellagio and Caesar’s Palace hotels triggered another crash involving four other vehicles, in which at least four people were injured, Hernandez said. The Range Rover sped from the scene.
Authorities said the shooting was believed to have stemmed from a fight in the valet area of the Aria Resort and Casino on the Strip, but investigators had not established a motive.
Representatives for MGM Resorts International, which owns the Aria, declined to comment on specifics of the incident.
“Each of our resorts employs fully trained, full-time, professional security departments and our extensive surveillance systems provide law enforcement with valuable assistance, often helping them close cases quickly,” Gordon Absher, vice president of public affairs, said in a written statement. “We continue to work closely with Metro on this investigation.”
An injured passenger in the sports car and three people hurt in the crashes were taken to University Medical Center. A hospital spokeswoman said three had been treated and released, though declined to provide information about the fourth person.
Clark County Sheriff Douglas Gillespie told reporters at an afternoon news conference that police had few leads on the Range Rover or its occupants, who were considered “armed and dangerous,” but had launched a multi-state search and were seeking help from the public.
— Phuket Gazette Editors
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Coronavirus (Covid-19)
Norway adjusts advice after 28 possible vaccine-related deaths of elderly people

The deaths of 23 elderly people are being investigated after dying a short time of receiving their first Covid-19 vaccine in Norway. Apart from the 23 deaths, medical officials are also reporting several people falling ill after receiving their first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.
At this stage there has been no direct correlation between the people’s deaths and inoculation wit the Pfizer vaccine, but medical officials report that 13 out of 23 people who died showed “common side effects of mRNA vaccines” such as “diarrhea, nausea and fever”.
mRNA vaccines are a new type of vaccine to protect against infectious diseases. To trigger an immune response, many vaccines put a weakened or inactivated germ into our bodies. Not mRNA vaccines. Instead, they teach our cells how to make a protein—or even just a piece of a protein—that triggers an immune response inside our bodies. That immune response, which produces antibodies, is what protects us from getting infected if the real virus enters our bodies – cdc.gov
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health has taken the action of cautioning against vaccinating elderly people above 80 years of age saying “those with a short life span may not benefit much from the jab”.
“For those with the most severe frailty, even relatively mild vaccine side effects can have serious consequences.”
“The agency listed fever and nausea as side effects which may have led to the deaths of some frail patients.”
Earlier this week, the Public Health authority noted that “any side effects of the vaccine will be outweighed by a reduced risk of becoming seriously ill with Covid-19 for elderly, frail people.”
Steinar Madsen, the medical director of the Norwegian Medicines Agency, says that it may be a coincidence, “but we aren’t sure”.
Pfizer and BioNTech are actively working with the Norwegian authorities to investigate the death.
“The regulator discovered the number of incidents so far is not alarming and in line with expectations.”
But experts are of “the strong opinion” that doctors need to exercise caution in vaccinating people in the wake of the deaths of the 23 elderly people. The Norwegian Medicines Agency also reported that 21 women and 8 men reported side effects. Apart from the 23 deaths, 9 people have reported “serious side effects” without fatal outcomes such as “allergic reactions, strong discomfort and severe fever. Seven people reported less serious side effects such as severe pain at the injection site”.
Norwegian medical staff had administered at least the first dose of the Pfizer or Moderna coronavirus vaccines to approximately 33,000 people as of the end of December.
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World
Covid-19 projected to reduce Americans’ life expectancy – USC/Princeton study

With Covid-19 linked to more than 336,000 deaths in the United States, American’s life expectancy will decline, especially among black and latino people, according to researchers from the University of Southern California and Princeton University.
The study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that life expectancy at birth for Americans will shorten by 1.13 years to 77.48 years, while blacks and latinos life expectancy is expected to shorten by more.
For blacks, their life expectancy would shorten by 2.10 years to 72.78 years, and for Latinos, by 3.05 years to 78.77 years. This is said to be the lowest life expectancy estimated since 2003. The disproportionate impact on the 3 groups of populations is believed to relate to social and economic advantages.
The study author Theresa Andrasfay, a postdoctoral fellow at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, says that why the study analyses the number of deaths and how it affects the life expectancy at birth, it also shows the consequences for marginalized groups.
“The Covid-19 pandemic’s disproportionate effect on the life expectancy of Black and Latino Americans likely has to do with their greater exposure through their workplace or extended family contacts, in addition to receiving poorer health care, leading to more infections and worse outcomes.”
The researchers say life expectancy is an important indicator of a population’s health and a tool for examining the impact of COVID-19 on survival.
SOURCE: USA Today | University of South California
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Indonesia
UPDATE: At least 34 dead and 600 injured after Indonesia earthquake

UPDATE: At least 34 people were killed after a 6.2 magnitude earthquake shook Indonesia’s Sulawesi island just after midnight today. As of this evening, reports say more than 600 people were injured during the earthquake which caused buildings to collapse and residents to flee their homes in the dark.
Original story below…
Indonesian island Sulawesi was shook by a 6.2 magnitude earthquake shortly after midnight today, toppling over buildings and injuring hundreds. Reports are continuously being updated as rescuers search through rubble. As of early this afternoon, at least 10 people were killed.
Thousands evacuated their homes in West Sulawesi. The earthquake impacted the coastal city Majene where at least 3 people died and neighbouring Mamuju where at least 7 people died. Several buildings, including hotels, were severely damaged and many homes were flattened. A hospital was partially damaged and reports say more than a dozen patients and staff were trapped under the rubble. Others are trapped in rubble after their homes collapsed. A rescuer says “We are racing against time to rescue them.”
Videos have been released of those crying for help. A father crying, calling out for help to save his children under their home’s wreckage. In another, a girl’s voice cried out from a collapsed home, saying “please help me, it hurts.” The video was released by the National Disaster Mitigation Agency. Rescuers say they need an excavator to say the girl and other people who are trapped under the collapsed buildings.
The area was first hit by a 5.9 magnitude undersea quake on Thursday. It damaged several buildings, but no deaths were reported.
Since the most recent earthquake is inland, the district’s disaster agency chief says it does not have the potential to cause a tsunami, but people in coastal areas ran to higher ground just to be safe.
The vast archipelago is located on the “Ring of Fire” of volcanoes and fault lines, prone to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis.
SOURCE: Associated Press
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