politics

Texas high court halts ruling allowing abortion under strict law

  • The Texas Supreme Court ordered a stay late Friday, according to a copy of the ruling released by Cox's lawyers, temporarily halting the district court's decision.
  • The Supreme Court of Texas late Friday temporarily blocked an emergency abortion for a woman whose fetus was determined to be not viable, in a closely watched case underlining the legal perils facing both doctors and patients when it comes to the procedure.
  • The Texas Supreme Court ordered a stay late Friday, according to a copy of the ruling released by Cox's lawyers, temporarily halting the district court's decision.
The Supreme Court of Texas late Friday temporarily blocked an emergency abortion for a woman whose fetus was determined to be not viable, in a closely watched case underlining the legal perils facing both doctors and patients when it comes to the procedure.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton petitioned the high court to block Kate Cox, a 31-year-old mother of two, from terminating her pregnancy after a district judge ruled a woman with a potentially life-threatening pregnancy can obtain an abortion.
Texas has some of the strictest abortion laws in the nation, prohibiting it even in cases of rape or incest.
District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble on Thursday said that Cox, who is 20 weeks pregnant, should be permitted to have an abortion under a medical exception provision of the Texas law that allows the procedure when a woman's health is at risk.
But Paxton, a conservative Republican, objected to the finding, saying the "activist" judge's order does "not insulate hospitals, doctors or anyone else, from civil and criminal liability for violating Texas' abortion laws."
The Texas Supreme Court ordered a stay late Friday, according to a copy of the ruling released by Cox's lawyers, temporarily halting the district court's decision.
CNN, the Houston Chronicle and the New York Times reported on the high court ruling.
"While we still hope that the Court ultimately rejects the state's request and does so quickly, in this case we fear that justice delayed will be justice denied," attorney Molly Duane from the Center for Reproductive Rights, which represented Cox, said in a statement following the high court's stay.
"We are talking about urgent medical care. Kate is already 20 weeks pregnant. This is why people should not need to beg for healthcare in a court of law."
The Centre for Reproductive Rights said it believed the Texas case was the first in which a woman was asking a court for an emergency abortion since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973.

District case

"All of her doctors have told her that the baby will be stillborn or will live for only minutes, hours or days," attorney Molly Duane said during the lower court emergency hearing held over Zoom.
Duane said the pregnancy poses multiple health risks to Cox and her future fertility and falls within the medical exception to Texas's abortion laws.
"In the state's eyes, Ms. Cox simply isn't sick enough, isn't close enough to death, to qualify for the exception," Duane said.
"It is clear that the attorney general of Texas thinks he is better suited to practice medicine than the physicians of his state."
Johnathan Stone, an attorney who represented Texas in the hearing, argued that the abortion should not be allowed until a full hearing of the medical evidence is held.
"The abortion once performed is permanent and cannot be undone," he said.
That was met with a blistering reply from Duane.
"I would just note that the harm to Ms. Cox's life, health and fertility are very much also permanent and cannot be undone," she said.

'Miscarriage of justice'

District Judge Gamble had granted Cox the right to an abortion, saying the risk her pregnancy posed to her fertility was such that blocking the termination would be "a genuine miscarriage of justice". 
Marc Hearron, senior counsel at the Center for Reproductive Rights, accused Paxton, the attorney general, of "fear-mongering" with his threats of legal action against a doctor or hospital that performs Cox's abortion.
Texas physicians found guilty of providing abortions face up to 99 years in prison, fines of up to $100,000 and the revocation of their medical license.
While the state's law does allow abortions in cases where the mother's life is in danger, physicians have said the wording is unclear, leaving them open to legal consequences.
Texas also has a law that allows private citizens to sue anyone who performs or aids an abortion.
The Texas Supreme Court heard arguments last week in a case brought on behalf of two doctors and 20 women who were denied abortions even though they had serious -- in some cases life-threatening -- complications with their pregnancies.
The lawsuit argues that the way medical exceptions are defined under the state's abortion restrictions is confusing, stoking fear among doctors and causing a "health crisis."
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Climate and Environment

Can factory chicken really help save the climate?

BY MYRIAM LEMETAYER

  • Dahirel insisted that intensive farming is "the most efficient and rational system" for producing meat "from an economical and ecological perspective". 
  • Stephane Dahirel doesn't exactly say eat chicken and save the planet, but that is what he's hinting at as he opens a shed door at his intensive farm in Brittany, western France.
  • Dahirel insisted that intensive farming is "the most efficient and rational system" for producing meat "from an economical and ecological perspective". 
Stephane Dahirel doesn't exactly say eat chicken and save the planet, but that is what he's hinting at as he opens a shed door at his intensive farm in Brittany, western France.
The 90,000 "broilers" -- chickens bred for their meat -- flapping around inside his three sheds, will more than triple in size in less than a month and their meat will have a low carbon footprint.
"The objective is to produce the best meat possible, in the least amount of time, with the least amount of food," Dahirel said.
The two million snow-white chickens he produces every year -- bred mostly for McDonald's nuggets -- will reach their slaughter weight in less than half the time it takes on a traditional farm. 
At 20 days they already weigh one kilo (two pounds) -- 20 times heavier than at birth. By the time they are slaughtered at 45 days, they will weigh over three kilos.
Chicken has the smallest carbon footprint of any meat, according to the UN's Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO).
Their latest figures reveal that chicken generates on average less than one kilo of CO2 equivalent per kilo of meat -- pork is responsible for three times that amount, while beef produces 52 times the emissions thanks to cows' potent methane burps.   
Dahirel insisted that intensive farming is "the most efficient and rational system" for producing meat "from an economical and ecological perspective". 

Animal welfare

But there are big drawbacks too. Despite the low emissions he claims for his chickens, producing the grain to feed them requires large amounts of land, synthetic fertilisers and pesticides.
All have effects on biodiversity and water quality. Indeed green algae blooms on beaches in Dahirel's native Brittany -- partly caused by intensive pork, poultry and dairy production -- has caused an environmental outcry and been linked to several deaths.
Intensive farming is also in the dock on animal well-being.
Dahirel raises 20 chickens per square metre (20 chickens per 10 square feet), which are kept on a litter where droppings are absorbed by wood shavings and buckwheat hulls. 
Sick or abnormal chickens are killed to avoid further suffering and because the automated slaughterhouse requires a homogenous product.
"They are not robots of course, but we're looking for homogeneity," the farmer said from his veranda overlooking one of his three sheds, covered in solar panels.

We must 'eat less meat'

Chickens may be an optimal animal protein for carbon emissions, but not necessarily for nature, experts say.
"If we think only in terms of CO2 emissions per kilo of meat, we'd all start eating chicken. But thinking that's the solution would be a massive mistake," said Pierre-Marie Aubert, of France's IDDRI sustainable development think tank.
"If you only think in terms of carbon, a heap of things would backfire on us in the long run," he added.
Aubert said there had been a "crazy" rise in consumption of chicken in recent years, making it one of the most widely consumed meats in the world, with none of the religious and cultural taboos associated with pork and beef.
The world has become so focused on methane emissions from ruminants like cattle and sheep "that many people think substituting beef with chicken is enough, but really, we need to reduce all meat consumption," said Lucile Rogissart, of the Institute for Climate Economics (I4CE).
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ultra-processed

How unhealthy are ultra-processed foods?

BY DANIEL LAWLER

  • According to the NOVA scale, nearly 60 percent of the calories eaten in the United States and UK are from UPFs. - 'Confused' - In recent years, dozens of studies have found that people who eat lots of UPFs have a higher risk of heart disease, cancer, asthma, depression and other illnesses.
  • Ultra-processed foods are commonly portrayed as a modern health scourge: a threat lurking on the shelves of every supermarket linked to obesity, heart disease, cancer and early death.
  • According to the NOVA scale, nearly 60 percent of the calories eaten in the United States and UK are from UPFs. - 'Confused' - In recent years, dozens of studies have found that people who eat lots of UPFs have a higher risk of heart disease, cancer, asthma, depression and other illnesses.
Ultra-processed foods are commonly portrayed as a modern health scourge: a threat lurking on the shelves of every supermarket linked to obesity, heart disease, cancer and early death.
Researchers warning of their dangers have called for taxation and even bans of products which make up a huge proportion of the food eaten worldwide.
However some nutrition experts have started to push back against such all-encompassing claims, saying the definition can be vague. They say more research is needed and that some ultra-processed foods, or UPFs,  can actually be healthy.
The concept was first introduced in 2009 by Carlos Monteiro, a nutrition and health researcher at Brazil's University of Sao Paulo.
His NOVA classification system for UPFs was unusual in nutrition because it ignored the level of nutrients such as fat, salt, sugar and carbohydrates in food.
Instead, it splits food into four groups, ranked by the level of processing involved in their creation. Everything in the fourth group is considered ultra-processed.
Monteiro said that UPFs "aren't exactly foods".
"They're formulations of substances derived from foods," he told AFP.
"They contain little or no whole foods and are typically enhanced with colourings, flavourings, emulsifiers, and other cosmetic additives to make them palatable."
Examples include crisps, ice cream, soft drinks and frozen pizza. But items not traditionally considered junk food are also included, such as non-dairy milks, baby formula and supermarket bread.
According to the NOVA scale, nearly 60 percent of the calories eaten in the United States and UK are from UPFs.

'Confused'

In recent years, dozens of studies have found that people who eat lots of UPFs have a higher risk of heart disease, cancer, asthma, depression and other illnesses.
But these studies have almost entirely been observational, which means they cannot show that UPFs directly cause these health problems.
Monteiro pointed to a US-based randomised-controlled trial, which is considered the gold standard of research.
For the 2019 trial, 20 people were fed either ultra-processed or unprocessed food for two weeks, then the opposite for the following two weeks.
The diets were matched for things like fat, sugar and overall calories. Those eating UPFs gained an average of nearly a kilo (2.2 pounds), while those on the unprocessed diet lost the same amount.
However, there was no limit on how much the trial participants ate, including snacks. Those on the UPF diet ate much more food, and their weight gain roughly matched how many more calories they consumed, the researchers said.
Monteiro said the study showed how big companies make food "hyperpalatable" in a way that "leads to overconsumption and even poses risks of addiction".
But one of the study's co-authors, Ciaran Forde of Wageningen University in the Netherlands, rejected the idea that there is something unique about UPFs that makes them irresistible.
Forde, a critic of NOVA who has disclosed he worked for food giant Nestle nearly a decade ago, said it was not just the public who was "confused".
In a French study published last year nearly 160 nutrition experts were asked to put 231 different foods into the four NOVA categories -- they only unanimously agreed about four.

A healthy UPF diet?

This potential for confusion was why US researchers brought in NOVA experts to help them develop a healthy diet in which 91 percent of calories were from UPFs.
Their week-long menu scored 86/100 on the US Healthy Eating Index -- far higher than the average American diet of 59/100.
Julie Hess, a nutritionist at the US Department of Agriculture who led the study, told AFP they sought out fruits and vegetables such as dried blueberries or canned beans deemed ultra-processed because of additives like preservatives.
"There may really be something here, but right now the scale puts gummy candies and sodas in the same category as oranges and raisins," she said.
Both Hess and Forde pointed out that many people do not have the time or money to cook every meal from fresh ingredients. 
"Taxing processed foods in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis will be regressive and is likely to affect the most vulnerable groups," Forde said.
Robin May, the chief scientific adviser at the UK's Food Standards Agency, earlier this year warned against a "knee-jerk reaction" that treats all UPFs the same, "when we clearly know that everything is not the same".
Monteiro dismissed criticism of the NOVA scale.
"Those who profit from the sale of ultra-processed foods naturally dislike the NOVA classification and often sow doubts about its functioning," he said.
He called for ultra-processed foods to be treated like tobacco, praising a recent ban on UPFs in schools in Rio de Janeiro.
So where does this debate leave people who simply want to have a healthy diet?
Hess felt that most people already know what food is good for them: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, some lean protein and low-fat dairy.
Even "some delicious, full-fat cheeses" are allowed sometimes, she added.
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crime

French police arrest two for bedbug scam of elderly

  • Police investigated after receiving nine complaints for suspected fraud.
  • French police on Thursday said they had arrested two men for fraud after they sold bedbug pest control services to elderly people who did not need them, charging them hefty sums for the service.
  • Police investigated after receiving nine complaints for suspected fraud.
French police on Thursday said they had arrested two men for fraud after they sold bedbug pest control services to elderly people who did not need them, charging them hefty sums for the service.
The two men, operating in eastern France, telephoned their victims, usually women over 90, telling them there had been a bedbug infestation in their neighbourhood.
Preying on widespread fears of bedbugs that gripped France this autumn, they gained access to their targets' homes passing themselves off as health officials.
They then pretended to inoculate the space against bedbugs with an aerosol. They also provided an ointment they said would keep the bugs away from human skin, which was in fact a simple eucalyptus-scented cream.
Accepting only credit card payments, they charged between 300 and 2,100 euros ($324-2,265) per visit.
Police investigated after receiving nine complaints for suspected fraud. In total, at least 48 people were scammed, authorities said.
Once alerted, police identified the suspects, put them on surveillance and arrested them as they were leaving the home of their latest victim in Strasbourg, eastern France.
In October, France shut several schools over what was thought to be an infestation of bedbugs as the government held a series of emergency meetings.
The blood-sucking insects were reportedly spotted in the Paris metro, high-speed trains and at Paris's Charles De Gaulle Airport.
But the individual cases were not confirmed by the authorities.
This did not stop London's mayor, Sadiq Khan, from calling the alleged French bedbug invasion a "real source of concern", amid fears that the insects could spread to Britain.
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Britain

Ex-PM Johnson hits out at 'version' of Partygate which prompted his downfall

BY JOE JACKSON

  • Johnson, 59, was forced from office last year after public anger at revelations about the series of Covid lockdown-breaching parties dubbed "Partygate".
  • Former UK prime minister Boris Johnson on Thursday hit out at "absolutely absurd" portrayals of partying in Downing Street during the Covid pandemic, as he faced a second day of questioning at a public inquiry.
  • Johnson, 59, was forced from office last year after public anger at revelations about the series of Covid lockdown-breaching parties dubbed "Partygate".
Former UK prime minister Boris Johnson on Thursday hit out at "absolutely absurd" portrayals of partying in Downing Street during the Covid pandemic, as he faced a second day of questioning at a public inquiry.
Johnson, 59, was forced from office last year after public anger at revelations about the series of Covid lockdown-breaching parties dubbed "Partygate".
But he insisted to the inquiry that perceptions of the scandal were "a million miles from the reality of what happened".
It follows the ex-leader apologising on Wednesday for "the pain and the loss and the suffering" caused by the pandemic on his much-anticipated first day in the witness box, and accepting "mistakes" had "unquestionably" occurred.
Nearly 130,000 people died with Covid in Britain by mid-July 2021, one of the worst official per capita tolls among Western nations.
Johnson has faced a barrage of criticism from ex-aides for alleged indecisiveness and lack of scientific understanding, as well as for the Downing Street culture that facilitated Partygate.  
"I continue to regret very much what happened," Johnson said on Thursday when asked about the scandal, before branding "dramatic representations" of it "a travesty of the truth".
"The version of events that has entered the popular consciousness about what is supposed to have happened in Downing Street is a million miles from the reality of what actually happened," he added.
His aides and officials "thought they were working very, very hard -- which they were -- and I certainly thought that what we were doing was... within the rules," Johnson added.
Police last year fined the former leader -- and his current successor Rishi Sunak -- as well as dozens of staff for flouting the Covid restrictions they set by attending boozy gatherings in Downing Street.
A parliamentary inquiry concluded Johnson had repeatedly misled parliament over the parties, and he resigned as a lawmaker shortly before its findings were published earlier this year.

'Simply not right'

Johnson's pushback came as the lawyer for the inquiry -- created to learn lessons from the country's response to the health emergency -- grilled his contentious decision-making as the virus repeatedly re-emerged in 2020. 
The ex-leader defended his choice to delay a national lockdown during a second wave of Covid, and his internal use of the phrase "let it rip" to refer to a possible so-called herd immunity strategy.
Johnson claimed "plenty of people" were using the phrase to describe the potential strategy of shielding the vulnerable and allowing the rest of the population to acquire immunity.
He also disputed suggestions that offering financial inducements for people to eat out after the first lockdown was lifted -- then-finance minister Sunak's signature policy -- had caused a rise in infections.
"I can't see anything that conclusively shows that it made a big difference," he said.
"If it was safe to open hospitality, then it must be safe for people to go to hospitality."
In his first day of evidence, Johnson repeatedly insisted he and officials did their "level best" and that his priority was always to save lives and the state-run National Health Service (NHS).
On Thursday, he appeared close to tears as he pushed back on claims of "indifference" towards those with Covid, recalling his own hospitalisation with the virus.
"The NHS... did an amazing job and helped me survive but I knew from that experience what appalling a disease this is," he said.
"To say that I didn't care about the suffering that was being inflicted on the country is simply not right."
But relatives of the bereaved have been highly critical.
Four women were evicted from the inquiry room on Wednesday after holding up signs stating "the dead can't hear your apologies".
Later, a crowd that had gathered outside the venue heckled loudly as he left for the day.
Sunak will face the inquiry on Monday.
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trade

US targets network for fentanyl import as Yellen visits Mexico

BY BEIYI SEOW

  • The cartel is one of the most powerful drug trafficking groups globally, and is "heavily involved in the transportation and distribution" of drugs like cocaine and fentanyl to the United States, Treasury added.
  • The United States is imposing sanctions on 15 Mexican individuals accused of involvement in importing fentanyl into the country, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Wednesday, as Washington seeks to further the fight against the deadly substance.
  • The cartel is one of the most powerful drug trafficking groups globally, and is "heavily involved in the transportation and distribution" of drugs like cocaine and fentanyl to the United States, Treasury added.
The United States is imposing sanctions on 15 Mexican individuals accused of involvement in importing fentanyl into the country, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Wednesday, as Washington seeks to further the fight against the deadly substance.
"Today, more people in the United States aged 18 to 49 die from fentanyl than from any other cause," Yellen told an event in Mexico City.
The latest sanctions take aim at 15 individuals and two entities affiliated with the Beltran Leyva Organization cartel, to disrupt the supply of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid.
They include Oscar Manuel Gastelum Iribe and Pedro Inzunza Noriega, who are among the group's leadership, Treasury said.
The cartel is one of the most powerful drug trafficking groups globally, and is "heavily involved in the transportation and distribution" of drugs like cocaine and fentanyl to the United States, Treasury added.
Yellen's trip comes after US President Joe Biden and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador pledged last month to work together to tackle the fentanyl crisis.
China is also taking action against illicit suppliers in the industry, following talks between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Yellen said most precursor chemicals for illegally making the drug come from China and are synthesized in Mexico before the fentanyl is smuggled into the United States.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the actions, taken in coordination with Mexico, "underscore the need for continued international cooperation."

Infrastructure needs

Yellen met central bank governor Victoria Rodriguez Wednesday and hosted a discussion on illicit finance with financial institution representatives.
She also met Mexican business executives as Washington renews a push to shift supply chains towards its trusted partners.
While Yellen told a roundtable of executives that Mexico is "well-positioned" to gain from the move, dubbed "friend-shoring," she added that government efforts are also needed to attract investment.
She acknowledged on the sidelines of the trip that she has heard discussions and concerns about infrastructure, such as water and energy supplies, when it comes to investing in Mexico.
On expectations of future Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, she said "markets anticipate future Fed moves based on their readings of incoming data."
This can be a "complement to monetary policy," she added, noting the Fed will act as it deems appropriate while the state of markets feeds into that.
On the trip, Yellen also is expected to discuss Mexico's investment regime, to ensure investment in the country "doesn't become a channel for threats to US national security."
She is due to meet President Lopez Obrador and Finance Minister Rogelio Ramirez de la O on Thursday.
bys/tjj

UN

COP28 head presses nations to reach climate 'compromise'

BY LAURENT THOMET AND BENJAMIN LEGENDRE

  • But the first week of negotiations ended on Wednesday with delegations unable to produce an updated version of a draft agreement that was published the previous day.
  • The Emirati head of the UN's climate conference pressed countries on Wednesday to strive for common ground and reach a "historic" deal by early next week, giving negotiators days to untangle disagreements over the fate of fossil fuels.
  • But the first week of negotiations ended on Wednesday with delegations unable to produce an updated version of a draft agreement that was published the previous day.
The Emirati head of the UN's climate conference pressed countries on Wednesday to strive for common ground and reach a "historic" deal by early next week, giving negotiators days to untangle disagreements over the fate of fossil fuels.
It is rare for UN climate talks to end as scheduled but COP28 president Sultan Al Jaber set the ambitious goal of having a deal in place by 11:00 am (0700 GMT) on Tuesday, the last official day of the conference.
He urged the nearly 200 nations represented at COP28 to work with a "spirit of compromise", step out of their "comfort zones and find common ground to deliver a high ambition and balanced outcome".
COP28 kicked off last week with the landmark launch of a loss and damage fund for nations devastated by climate change.
But the first week of negotiations ended on Wednesday with delegations unable to produce an updated version of a draft agreement that was published the previous day.
The text includes language on phasing out fossil fuels, which the European Union, the United States, island nations and African countries support.
But it also has an option to leave the issue off the final text, a position backed by China, Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations.
Scientists warn that greenhouse gas emissions -- the bulk of which come from burning fossil fuels -- must fall by 43 percent by 2030 from 2019 levels for the world to reach the ambitious goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
"I will continue to ask parties to bring bridging proposals on fossil fuels, renewables and energy efficiency, in line with the science," Jaber said at the end of a plenary session capping the first week.
Climate campaigners have viewed Jaber with deep suspicion due to his position as the head of UAE national oil firm ADNOC, but he has sought to ease concerns by stating that a phase down of fossil fuels was "inevitable".

'Heavy on posturing'

The COP28 conference takes an official day off on Thursday before resuming on Friday, with ministers taking over the final days of negotiations.
UN climate chief Simon Stiell complained that the draft text was a "grab bag of... wish lists and heavy on posturing".
"At the end of next week, we need COP to deliver a bullet train to speed up climate action. We currently have an old caboose chugging over rickety tracks," he added.
The Alliance of Small Island States, which includes some of the world's most climate-vulnerable countries, called for "major emitters to enhance their commitments".
"If we fail, the consequences will be catastrophic," the alliance's chairman Cedric Schuster said.
The latest text includes a new phrase calling for an "orderly and just" phase-out.
One person familiar with the talks said the word "orderly" came from Jaber.
The language could signal a consensus candidate as it would give countries different timelines to cut emissions depending on their level of development and reliance on fossil fuels.
During closed-door talks on Tuesday, Saudi Arabia again opposed any mention of fossils, saying it would avoid "the trauma of explaining our position... that is well noted and clear", according to meeting participants.

'Temperature will keep rising'

With flagrant divisions coming to the fore, Europe has called for a harder line.
"I want this COP to mark the beginning of the end for fossil fuels," European climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said on Wednesday.
Germany's climate envoy Jennifer Morgan told AFP that "it is necessary that every party move away from their red lines (and) into solutions".
"We need to roll up our sleeves and get it done."
US climate envoy John Kerry said there were still "complicated issues" to resolve but it was "time for adults to behave like adults and get the job done".
A new report by the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service provided a stark reminder of what is at stake as it reported that 2023 will be the hottest on record.
November became the sixth record-breaking month in a row.
It smashed the previous November heat record, pushing 2023's global average temperature to 1.46C warmer than the pre-industrial era, the service said.
Copernicus head Carlo Buontempo said that "as long as greenhouse gas concentrations keep rising we can't expect different outcomes".
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Britain

Ex-PM Johnson apologises to UK Covid victims' families but defends record

BY STUART GRAHAM

  • "I understand the feeling of the victims and their families and I'm deeply sorry for the pain and the loss and the suffering to those victims and their families," Johnson said.
  • Boris Johnson on Wednesday apologised for "the pain and the loss and the suffering" caused by the Covid-19 pandemic but defended his government at a public inquiry into its handling of the crisis.
  • "I understand the feeling of the victims and their families and I'm deeply sorry for the pain and the loss and the suffering to those victims and their families," Johnson said.
Boris Johnson on Wednesday apologised for "the pain and the loss and the suffering" caused by the Covid-19 pandemic but defended his government at a public inquiry into its handling of the crisis.
The former UK leader, who has faced a barrage of criticism from ex-aides for alleged indecisiveness and lack of scientific understanding during the pandemic, completed the first of two gruelling days in the witness box. 
Johnson -- forced from office last year over Covid lockdown-breaching parties held in Downing Street -- accepted "mistakes" had "unquestionably" been made but repeatedly insisted he and officials did their "level best". 
"I understand the feeling of the victims and their families and I'm deeply sorry for the pain and the loss and the suffering to those victims and their families," Johnson said.
"Inevitably we got some things wrong," he added, noting he took personal responsibility for all the decisions made. "At the time I felt... we were doing our best in very difficult circumstances."
The former premier arrived around three hours early for the proceedings, with some suggesting he was eager to avoid relatives of the Covid bereaved, who gathered outside later in the morning.
As he started giving evidence, four women were evicted from the inquiry room after holding up signs stating "the dead can't hear your apologies".
Later, a crowd gathered outside the venue heckled loudly as he left for the day.

Deleted WhatsApp messages

Nearly 130,000 people died with Covid in the UK by mid-July 2021, one of the worst official per capita tolls among Western nations. 
Johnson, whose lengthy written submission to the inquiry will be published imminently, insisted his government's "overwhelming priority" had been protecting the state-run National Health Service (NHS) and saving lives. 
Rejecting statistics that Britain fared worse than European neighbours, he argued "every country struggled" with the outbreak while noting the UK is among the continent's most densely populated and had an "extremely elderly population".
His grilling began with questions about failing to provide about 5,000 WhatsApp messages from late January 2020 to June 2020.
"I don't know the exact reason," he claimed, adding that the app had "somehow" automatically erased its chat history from that period.
Asked if he had initiated a so-called factory reset Johnson said: "I don't remember any such thing".
Inquiry counsel Hugo Keith questioned Johnson about Downing Street chaos during the pandemic, and claims of general incompetence.
Johnson's understanding of specialist advice was doubted last month by his former chief scientific officer, Patrick Vallance, who said he was frequently "bamboozled" by data.
His former top aide Dominic Cummings and communications chief Lee Cain both criticised their ex-boss when they gave evidence at the inquiry.
"What all those comments reflect is the deep anxiety of a group of people doing their level best who cannot see an easy solution and are naturally self-critical and critical of others," Johnson insisted.

'Meaningless'

Keith also quizzed Johnson about everything from shaking hospital patients' hands in early March 2020 to delaying the country's first lockdown for weeks.
"I shouldn't have done that, in retrospect, and I should have been more precautionary," the ex-leader conceded of the hand-shakes, adding he should also have stopped sports events sooner.
He added that the eventual March 23, 2020 lockdown stemmed from "the sudden appreciation" that the virus was more rampant in Britain than previously thought.
"We were clearly wrong in our estimation of where the peak was going to be," Johnson said.
"Once we decided to act, I think it was pretty fast from flash to bang."
Johnson noted that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, then finance minister, had raised lockdown concerns related to "a risk to the UK bond markets and our ability to raise sovereign debt".
But he said he gave "short shrift" to arguments that lockdowns were too extreme. 
"I had no other tool -- literally nothing else," Johnson added, noting that "I couldn't take the gamble with public health".
Sunak will face the inquiry in the coming weeks.
Bereaved families appeared unimpressed by Johnson's apology.
"We've had nearly four years now of rule-breaking, partying, making the wrong decisions," Kathryn Butcher, 59, whose sister-in-law died of Covid, told AFP. 
"His apology is meaningless."
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Horizon

Off-duty US pilot who tried to shut down engines indicted

  • A grand jury in the western state of Oregon, where the Alaska Airlines plane made an emergency landing, indicted Emerson on 83 counts of recklessly endangering another person -- one for each person on the October 22 flight -- and one count of endangering an aircraft, Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt said.
  • An off-duty US pilot who tried to shut down the engines of a commercial passenger plane in mid-flight has been indicted on 84 counts, prosecutors said Tuesday.
  • A grand jury in the western state of Oregon, where the Alaska Airlines plane made an emergency landing, indicted Emerson on 83 counts of recklessly endangering another person -- one for each person on the October 22 flight -- and one count of endangering an aircraft, Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt said.
An off-duty US pilot who tried to shut down the engines of a commercial passenger plane in mid-flight has been indicted on 84 counts, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Joseph Emerson said he had taken magic mushrooms and thought he was having a nervous breakdown when he lunged for handles that would have starved the engines of fuel during an October flight from the state of Washington to California.
Emerson, who told police he had not slept in 40 hours, also tried to open an emergency exit in the rear of the aircraft and had to be restrained by the cabin crew during an emergency landing, according to court documents released earlier.
A grand jury in the western state of Oregon, where the Alaska Airlines plane made an emergency landing, indicted Emerson on 83 counts of recklessly endangering another person -- one for each person on the October 22 flight -- and one count of endangering an aircraft, Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt said.
There were no charges for attempted murder.
Emerson is set to appear in court on December 7.
Emerson, 44, had boarded the flight -- which was operated by Horizon Air -- between Everett, Washington, and San Francisco, sitting in the jump seat of the cockpit, in line with airline policy for non-working staff.
A short way into the journey, after chatting with the pilots "Emerson attempted to grab and pull two red fire handles that would have activated the plane's emergency fire suppression system and cut off fuel to its engines," the Justice Department said at the time.
"After a brief physical struggle with the pilots, Emerson exited the cockpit." 
He was arrested after the emergency landing.
In an interview from the jail where he was being held, the pilot told the New York Times he had not intended to hurt anyone, but had pulled the handles in an effort to jolt himself from a hallucinogenic state that began when he took mushrooms two days earlier.
"I pulled both emergency shutoff handles because I thought I was dreaming and I just want to wake up," Emerson told investigating police, according to a criminal complaint.
hg/md

hacking

23andMe says hackers saw data from millions of users

  • Of the 6.9 million accounts hacked, 5.5 million contained information on genetic matches and may have also included birth dates and locations if provided by users, according to 23andMe. An additional 1.4 million of the hacked accounts had limited access to some DNA profile information as part of the "Family Tree" feature, the spokesperson said. 23andMe was founded in 2006 and is based in Mountain View, California, where Google also has its headquarters. gc/md
  • Personal genetics firm 23andMe on Tuesday confirmed that hackers using stolen passwords accessed the personal information about 6.9 million of its members.
  • Of the 6.9 million accounts hacked, 5.5 million contained information on genetic matches and may have also included birth dates and locations if provided by users, according to 23andMe. An additional 1.4 million of the hacked accounts had limited access to some DNA profile information as part of the "Family Tree" feature, the spokesperson said. 23andMe was founded in 2006 and is based in Mountain View, California, where Google also has its headquarters. gc/md
Personal genetics firm 23andMe on Tuesday confirmed that hackers using stolen passwords accessed the personal information about 6.9 million of its members.
While the hackers were only able to get into about 14,000 accounts, or 0.1 percent of its customers, they were able to see information shared by genetically linked relatives at 23andMe, a spokesperson said in reply to an AFP inquiry.
23andMe is in the process of notifying affected customers and has hardened account security by requiring users to reset passwords and set up a second authentication method such as sending a temporary code to a mobile phone, according to the spokesperson.
In early October, 23andMe detected that data thieves had gotten into accounts safeguarded by login details recycled from other websites that had been compromised, the company said.
"We do not have any indication that there has been a breach or data security incident within our systems, or that 23andMe was the source of the account credentials used in these attacks," the spokesperson said. 
Of the 6.9 million accounts hacked, 5.5 million contained information on genetic matches and may have also included birth dates and locations if provided by users, according to 23andMe.
An additional 1.4 million of the hacked accounts had limited access to some DNA profile information as part of the "Family Tree" feature, the spokesperson said.
23andMe was founded in 2006 and is based in Mountain View, California, where Google also has its headquarters.
gc/md

Texas

Texas woman whose fetus has fatal condition sues for abortion

  • The Texas Supreme Court heard arguments last week in a case brought on behalf of two doctors and 20 women who were denied abortions even though they had serious -- in some cases life-threatening -- complications with their pregnancies.
  • A 31-year-old woman sued the state of Texas on Tuesday in order to get an abortion for a pregnancy that she and her doctors say threatens her life and future fertility. 
  • The Texas Supreme Court heard arguments last week in a case brought on behalf of two doctors and 20 women who were denied abortions even though they had serious -- in some cases life-threatening -- complications with their pregnancies.
A 31-year-old woman sued the state of Texas on Tuesday in order to get an abortion for a pregnancy that she and her doctors say threatens her life and future fertility. 
Kate Cox, a mother-of-two from Dallas-Fort Worth, learned last week that her fetus has full trisomy 18, a genetic condition that means her pregnancy may not survive until birth and if it does her baby would live at most a few days, according to the lawsuit.
Ultrasounds revealed multiple serious conditions including a twisted spine and irregular skull and heart development. 
But because of the way Texas' abortion law is formulated, her physicians told her their "hands are tied" and she will have to wait until her baby dies inside her, the filing brought on Cox's behalf by the Center for Reproductive Rights said.
Should the heart stop beating, they could offer her a labor induction -- but because of her prior C-sections, induction carries a high risk of rupturing her uterus, which could kill her or prevent her from getting pregnant in future if a hysterectomy is needed. 
"It is not a matter of if I will have to say goodbye to my baby, but when. I'm trying to do what is best for my baby and myself, but the state of Texas is making us both suffer," said Cox.
"I do not want to continue the pain and suffering that has plagued this pregnancy," added Cox, who has been to three different emergency rooms in the last month due to severe cramping and unidentified fluid leaks.
Cox is joined in her lawsuit by her husband Justin -- who is seeking a favorable legal ruling to assure he won't be prosecuted for assisting his wife in getting an abortion -- as well as by obstetrician-gynecologist Damla Karsan who says she is willing to terminate the pregnancy with court approval.
The Texas Supreme Court heard arguments last week in a case brought on behalf of two doctors and 20 women who were denied abortions even though they had serious -- in some cases life-threatening -- complications with their pregnancies.
The lawsuit, also filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights, argues that the way medical exceptions are defined under the conservative state's abortion restrictions is confusing, stoking fear among doctors and causing a "health crisis."
The Texas Supreme Court is expected to soon issue a decision whether to block the state's abortion bans in cases such as Cox's.
The US Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion in June 2022.
A Texas state "trigger" ban went into immediate effect, prohibiting abortions even in cases of rape or incest. Texas also has a law that allows private citizens to sue anyone who performs or aids an abortion.
Texas physicians found guilty of providing abortions face up to 99 years in prison, fines of up to $100,000 and the revocation of their medical license.
ia/st

vaping

France moves to ban 'sneaky' disposable e-cigarettes

BY SAMI ACEF

  • The motion, which got the vote of all the 104 members of parliament present, has the backing of Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, who had in September called for a ban on the single-use vaping devices.
  • French parliament has backed a proposal to ban single-use electronic cigarettes, considered to be gateways to tobacco addiction for teenagers and harmful to the environment.
  • The motion, which got the vote of all the 104 members of parliament present, has the backing of Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, who had in September called for a ban on the single-use vaping devices.
French parliament has backed a proposal to ban single-use electronic cigarettes, considered to be gateways to tobacco addiction for teenagers and harmful to the environment.
The lower house National Assembly late Monday voted unanimously for the move, which still needs backing from France's upper house Senate and clearance from the EU Commission.
Pre-filled disposable e-cigarettes, known as "puffs", are popular with young people, can have a high nicotine content, come in many flavours and are cheap.
"They open a pathway to serious addiction," Health Minister Aurelien Rousseau said.
"They're ridiculously cheap, the fruity and sugary flavours are attractive, and their small size makes them easy to hide from parents," said deputy Francesca Pasquini, who submitted the draft law in November last year.
Co-sponsor Michel Lauzzana said that France's National Academy of Medicine qualifies puffs as "a sneaky trap especially for children and teenagers".
The motion, which got the vote of all the 104 members of parliament present, has the backing of Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, who had in September called for a ban on the single-use vaping devices.
The vote for the bill was unanimous, although far-left lawmaker Rachel Keke called on the government to "set an example", a remark seen as aimed at Borne who is often seen vaping during parliamentary debates.

'Environmental calamity'

The members of parliament also deplored the ecological impact of the disposable e-cigarettes, which Rousseau called an "environmental calamity".
Pasquini said they had a high content of plastic and lithium which required great amounts of oil and water for their production which were extracted "across the world in lamentable conditions".
The measure, part of a wider government anti-smoking campaign, will now go to the Senate for approval.
It then needs the green light from the EU Commission which will notably rule on whether a ban would be a "proportionate" response to the problem.
If that process goes smoothly, the government said it hopes the ban will be effective by September 2024.
The French move against puffs, introduced in France two years ago, follows similar initiatives in Germany and Ireland.
Tobacco use is the main cause of 75,000 avoidable deaths every year in France, said deputy Karl Olive.
"These are not just statistics," he said. "They are first names, lives, families destroyed and in mourning."
The move against vaping is part of a wider French anti-smoking campaign.
The government said last month it would ban smoking on all the country's beaches, in public parks and forests, and near schools.
Taxes on cigarettes are to be hiked, with a pack of 20, currently at around 11 euros ($12), rising to 12 euros by 2025 and 13 euros the following year.
The government aims to create "the first tobacco-free generation by 2032", according to a promise made by President Emmanuel Macron in 2021. 
sac/jh/ah/yad

vaping

Vaping: lighting up, stubbing out

  • A year later, the firm he works for brings out the first e-cigarettes, called Ruyan ("like smoke").
  • Two decades after they first appeared, e-cigarettes have been widely credited with helping people quit smoking.
  • A year later, the firm he works for brings out the first e-cigarettes, called Ruyan ("like smoke").
Two decades after they first appeared, e-cigarettes have been widely credited with helping people quit smoking.
But concerns are growing over the risk of teens becoming hooked on nicotine through candy-coloured disposable vapes, with flavours such as chocolate and bubblegum.
AFP looks back at the highs and lows of the vaping vogue:

Born in China

In 2003, Chinese pharmacist Hon Lik, a heavy smoker hoping to kick the habit, develops the first electronic alternative to cigarettes.
A year later, the firm he works for brings out the first e-cigarettes, called Ruyan ("like smoke").
The birth of vaping comes in the year that Ireland bans smoking in workplaces, including pubs and restaurants, sparking a global clampdown on smoking indoors.
E-cigarettes arrive on the EU market in 2006 and a year later in the United States.

Early doubts

Many doctors welcome the devices, which are tar-free, as a potential life-saver in the fight against cancer, heart disease, strokes and other diseases caused by the toxins in traditional cigarettes.
But the UN health agency, the World Health Organization, is sceptical about their benefits.
"As far as WHO is aware, no rigorous, peer-reviewed studies have been conducted showing that the electronic cigarette is a safe and effective nicotine replacement therapy," it says in 2008.
From the mid-2010s on, there are growing reports of the dangers of teens inhaling vapour containing nicotine, which can harm the developing adolescent brain.
More than 30 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Iraq, Mexico, North Korea and Singapore ban the sale of e-cigarettes.
- Enters the dictionary –
In 2014, "vape" is designated word of the year by the Oxford University Press and enters the dictionary.
The habit takes off in the US, Europe and parts of Asia.
The number of users shoots up from around seven million in 2011, according to Euromonitor market research group, to 82 million a decade later, according to the US NGO Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction. 

Deadly lung illness

In 2019-2020, the US is at the centre of a health crisis tied to vaping, with at least 68 people dying and over 2,800 others falling sick with an acute lung illness linked to vaping products containing cannabis.
In February 2020, the US Food and Drug Administration bans the sale of many flavoured e-cigarettes, with the exception of tobacco and menthol flavours.
US e-cigarette giant Juul is hit with a string of lawsuits accusing it of glamourising vaping among young people with flavours such as creme brulee and of lying about how addictive it is. 
In 2022, the company agrees to pay $462 million (425 million euros) to settle cases across the US, leaving it nearly bankrupt.

Growing bans

In 2023, Western countries go to war against teen vaping.
New Zealand in August bans e-cigarettes that do not have a removable or replaceable battery -- a way of targeting disposable vapes -- and bars manufacturers from using enticing flavour names.
On November 28, Australia announces it will ban imports of disposable vapes from January 1, 2024.
Late on Monday, French MPs back a proposal to ban single-use electronic cigarettes, amid warnings they could act as a gateway to smoking. The legislation still needs backing from France's upper house Senate and clearance from the EU Commission.
Britain, Germany and Ireland are considering similar moves.
eab/jmy/cb/bc/yad

agriculture

High stakes for weed growers amid slow NY legalization rollout

BY ANDREA BAMBINO

  • "It's been a lot of money, it's been a lot of time.
  • When New York authorities gave him a license to cultivate cannabis in the spring of 2022, Marcos Ribeiro thought he'd hit the big time. 
  • "It's been a lot of money, it's been a lot of time.
When New York authorities gave him a license to cultivate cannabis in the spring of 2022, Marcos Ribeiro thought he'd hit the big time. 
Since then his plants have flowered, but like other producers he has amassed a stockpile which still he hopes to sell.
In a greenhouse in Long Island, two hours from Manhattan's gleaming skyscrapers, Ribeiro was surrounded by hundreds of leafy, pungent plants, each of which can produce pounds worth of flowers, tending to a harvest of "Blue Dream" strain. 
"It's a West Coast variety, very popular. It's a good daytime smoke... It's desirable because a lot of people nowadays look for sativa. They don't want to get sleepy," Ribeiro, the 40-year-old son of Portuguese immigrants, said with a smile, surrounded by his verdant crop.
But for now, business has been less fruitful than Ribeiro had hoped.
Ribeiro, who grew up in the area, has sunk hundreds of thousands of dollars into his enterprise in the two years since recreational cannabis consumption was legalized in New York -- but the official market which appeared set to boom has been beset by problems.
"It's been a lot of money, it's been a lot of time. And then we said we're gonna go all in, like playing poker and then grew all this cannabis -- and with no stores to sell it to," he said. "Kind of heartbreaking."
He is not alone, with more than 200 other growing sites listed in the state -- but only 23 stores licensed to sell marijuana in the sprawling region of 20 million people. 
"They're potentially sitting on a lot of product that they grow, that they will not be able to move into the market," said Andrew Rosner, a cofounder of the Cannabis Association of New York. 

'Enormous fiscal strain'

"(This) could end up placing enormous fiscal strain on their businesses."
According to another industry body, The Cannabis Farmers Alliance, losses could amount to several million dollars in the worst cases.
More than half of all US states have legalized recreational and medicinal cannabis use, including New York, which adopted an ambitious plan to ensure that users, over 21, would be able to smoke quality controlled and traceable pot. 
The plan was for retail licenses to be earmarked for those who had prior convictions for cannabis offenses, in an effort to redress historic judicial burdens that often fell disproportionately on African-American and Hispanic communities.
Among other bureaucratic delays, a court in August halted the opening of any new cannabis stores, following a complaint by US military veterans who alleged discrimination because they weren't given the same opportunity as the ex-convicts.
The Democratic-controlled state last month finally reached a settlement with the veterans, clearing the way for the approved stores to open.
"We are targeting licensing 1,000 or more retail dispensaries over the coming weeks and months," said John Kagia, policy director at the Office of Cannabis Management, a local government body.

'Sitting in these jars'

"Part of the reason we are being so aggressive is precisely because we wanted to get that (financial) relief to our cultivators."
Since decriminalization, New York City has been even more perfumed than previously with the unmistakable sweet smell of cannabis, sold more or less clandestinely in plentiful unlicensed shops amid the slow rollout of legal retail.
To avoid wasting his first crops, Ribeiro changed up. Instead of selling plants for smoking, he brought in a certified processor to convert his plants into THC oil, the psychoactive substance used to make edible cannabis gummies.
David Falkowski, another Long Island grower, keeps the copper-colored oil -- which can be used for cannabis drinks, lotions, vaporizer liquid and more in large jars -- secured behind mesh wire in a prefab building on his farm. 
Falkowski, a 46-year-old with locks tied back in a bun, comes from a farming family and has always grown vegetables -- but shifting into cannabis, the soothing properties of which he swears by, was a matter of "survival."
And yet, "the vast majority of our crop is sitting in these jars," he said.
"We can make 10,000 packages of gummies or more out of each jar. But if we're only selling 1,000 a month, and we're only making a few dollars per package profit, we need more retail to get the volume up to where we can actually survive."
"The idea was to add another option for income stream," Falkowski said. "Right now, we're not seeing that -- we're seeing an (outgoing) stream."
arb-gw/nro

health

Divided US high court hears challenge to $6bn Purdue opioid settlement

BY SELIM SAHEB ETTABA AND CHRIS LEFKOW

  • The settlement, which has been put on hold by the Supreme Court, gave the families of Raymond Sackler and Mortimer Sackler protection from all future civil claims, effectively protecting their other assets from opioid-related lawsuits.
  • The US Supreme Court appeared divided on Monday as it heard a challenge to Purdue Pharma's $6 billion opioids settlement immunizing the Sackler family that controlled the drugmaker from future litigation.
  • The settlement, which has been put on hold by the Supreme Court, gave the families of Raymond Sackler and Mortimer Sackler protection from all future civil claims, effectively protecting their other assets from opioid-related lawsuits.
The US Supreme Court appeared divided on Monday as it heard a challenge to Purdue Pharma's $6 billion opioids settlement immunizing the Sackler family that controlled the drugmaker from future litigation.
The Justice Department is arguing that the Sacklers, who earned tens of billions of dollars flooding the country with highly addictive opioids, should not gain sweeping legal protection in the controversial deal.
Last year's agreement, which came after years of negotiations involving officials from all 50 US states, set aside $6 billion from the 2019 bankruptcy of Purdue, which made prescription painkillers like OxyContin, for victims of the opioid epidemic.
The settlement, which has been put on hold by the Supreme Court, gave the families of Raymond Sackler and Mortimer Sackler protection from all future civil claims, effectively protecting their other assets from opioid-related lawsuits.
The Justice Department, acting as a bankruptcy watchdog body known as the US Trustee, accuses the Sacklers of withdrawing $11 billion from Purdue Pharma over the decade before the company filed for bankruptcy protection.
Deputy Solicitor General Curtis Gannon outlined the Biden administration's objections to the deal before the nine justices on the nation's highest court.
"It permits the Sacklers to decide how much they're going to contribute," Gannon said. "It grants the Sacklers the functional equivalent of a discharge."
Justice Elena Kagan said this would appear to go against a "fundamental bargain in bankruptcy law, which is you get a discharge when you put all your assets on the table to be divided up among your creditors.
"And I think everybody thinks that the Sacklers didn't come anywhere close to doing that."
At the same time, the liberal justice went on to note there was vast support for the deal even "among people who think that the Sacklers are pretty much the worst people on Earth."
"It seems as though the federal government is standing in the way against the huge, huge, huge majority of claimants who have decided that if this provision goes under, they're going to end up with nothing," she said.
Purdue's bankruptcy filing resulted directly from the massive, country-wide litigation against it and other major drugmakers and pharmacy companies for knowingly fomenting the addiction crisis.
Under the March 2022 settlement, the Sacklers were "absolutely, unconditionally, irrevocably, fully, finally, forever and permanently" released from further legal liability.

'Left with nothing'

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a conservative, appeared skeptical about throwing out a settlement that had been approved by more than 95 percent of the claimants who voted for the plan and of a type that he said bankruptcy courts have been approving for 30 years.
"I think what the opioid victims and their families are saying is you, the federal government, with no stake in this at all, are coming in and telling the families 'No, we're not going to give you prompt payment,'" Kavanaugh said. "In exchange, really, for this somewhat theoretical idea that they'll be able to recover money down the road from the Sacklers themselves."
Gregory Garre, representing Purdue Pharma, said rejecting the settlement could lead to years of litigation and leave victims with no compensation at all.
"If the Trustee succeeds here, the billions of dollars that the plan allocates for opioid abatement and compensation will evaporate, creditors and victims will be left with nothing, and lives literally will be lost," Garre said.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett raised questions about what effect a ruling in the case could have for other mass tort cases involving, for example, Johnson and Johnson, whose talcum powder is alleged to have caused cancer, or abuse claims against the Catholic Church and Boy Scouts of America.
The opioid epidemic has caused more than 500,000 overdose deaths in the United States over two decades, authorities say.
Purdue and other opioid makers were accused of encouraging free-wheeling prescription of their products through aggressive marketing tactics while hiding how addictive the drugs are.
Facing an avalanche of litigation, in 2021 Purdue pled guilty to three criminal charges over its marketing of OxyContin.
The Supreme Court is expected to rule in the case before June of next year.
cl/dw

obesity

Chasing weight loss dream, many in US seek Ozempic alternatives

BY DANIEL STUBLEN

  • Over 40 percent of Americans suffer from obesity, reflecting a major health crisis and the massive market for new Ozempic-type drugs.
  • Like many Americans struggling to lose weight, Marissa Montanino felt compelled to try Ozempic or one of the other new so-called "wonder drugs" described as revolutionary in the fight against obesity.
  • Over 40 percent of Americans suffer from obesity, reflecting a major health crisis and the massive market for new Ozempic-type drugs.
Like many Americans struggling to lose weight, Marissa Montanino felt compelled to try Ozempic or one of the other new so-called "wonder drugs" described as revolutionary in the fight against obesity.
"I would work out sometimes three times a day, I was doing hours worth of classes. I was eating really, really clean… and nothing was changing" the 36-year-old esthetician told AFP in a recent interview.
"I heard about Ozempic for a while and then you start to see other people doing it like celebrities and then dropping weight super fast," she said.
Fearing gastrointestinal issues, a side effect of the drugs, Montanino sought reassurance from clients at her studio and in Facebook support groups.
"I was scared. I was super nervous. I am terrified of being nauseous," she said.
Ultimately deciding to take the leap, Montanino was not prescribed Ozempic, made by Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk, but rather "compounded" semaglutide.
It's an option many in the United States are turning to over cost or supply problems with the brand name drugs -- but which experts and officials have flagged for possible risks.
Over 40 percent of Americans suffer from obesity, reflecting a major health crisis and the massive market for new Ozempic-type drugs.
With their "groundbreaking" effectiveness, the drugs will be "the first line therapy for people who are obese," research physician Samuel Klein of Washington University in St. Louis told AFP.

Soaring demand

Semaglutide is the active ingredient in both Ozempic -- approved as a diabetes treatment in 2017 -- and Novo Nordisk's Wegovy, which gained authorization as an obesity medicine in 2021.
In addition to the millions of diabetic and obese patients seeking out the drugs, countless others without severe health issues are asking doctors for "off-label" prescriptions.
Celebrities, including Elon Musk, have also said they take the drugs to shed pounds -- fueling skyrocketing interest.
"The major problem is that it is now difficult to get the medications," said Klein. "There's not enough medication being made."
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classifies semaglutide and tirzepatide -- the compound used by Eli Lilly in its drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound -- as currently "in shortage."
The designation means some restrictions may be lifted, allowing the compounding of drugs that are "essentially copies of approved drugs," the FDA says.
Compounding, the creation of custom drugs, has historically been used when a patient has an allergy to a medicine's component.
Obesity specialist Andrea Coviello told AFP she is concerned about patients taking compounded weight loss drugs, often ordered online.
Though some of her patients who say they've tried the compounded drugs lost weight, it's "unclear what these patients are actually receiving," the UNC School of Medicine professor and physician said.
Montanino, who is just over five feet (1.53 meters) tall, says that in less than six months using the weekly injections, she has gone down from 157 pounds (71.2 kilograms) to around 130. Her target is 125.
She said that in her group chat with others taking weight loss drugs, only one was on brand name Wegovy, and that "everybody's super happy."

'I'm happier in my skin'

US authorities warn that "compounded drugs pose a higher risk to patients than FDA-approved drugs" because they "do not undergo FDA premarket review for safety, effectiveness, or quality."
Without further details, it says it has "received adverse event reports after patients used compounded semaglutide."
An online search for compounded weight loss drugs produces handfuls of retailers offering to ship the medicine by mail.
Advertised prices are much lower than the brand name sticker price, but not necessarily cheaper than when insurance covers it.
Montanino said she initially paid $300 for a three-month supply, but as the dosage increases over time it could eventually become $300 per month.
Given the booming demand for the drugs, it is unclear when they may come off the shortage list.
Already earning billions each quarter on their branded weight-loss medications, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly stand to gain even more if they can remove the "shortage" designation, and are ramping up production.
Both have also filed multiple suits against compounding pharmacies, which are making their way through court.
Despite the uncertainty, Montanino said she intends to keep using the drugs, "for life" if possible.
She and her husband, whom she says also lost 50 pounds, celebrated their weight loss by retaking wedding photos on their one-year anniversary.
"I'm happier in my skin. I'm happier with how clothes fit. I hate saying that… But for me, it makes me feel better."
des/bgs

health

US high court to hear challenge to $6bn Purdue opioid settlement

BY CHRIS LEFKOW

  • At the same time, the settlement, which was approved by a lower court, gave the families of Raymond Sackler and Mortimer Sackler protection from all future civil claims, effectively protecting their other assets from opioid-related lawsuits.
  • The US Supreme Court is to hear a challenge on Monday to Purdue Pharma's $6 billion opioids settlement immunizing the family that controlled the drugmaker from future litigation.
  • At the same time, the settlement, which was approved by a lower court, gave the families of Raymond Sackler and Mortimer Sackler protection from all future civil claims, effectively protecting their other assets from opioid-related lawsuits.
The US Supreme Court is to hear a challenge on Monday to Purdue Pharma's $6 billion opioids settlement immunizing the family that controlled the drugmaker from future litigation.
The Justice Department is arguing that members of the Sackler family, who earned tens of billions of dollars flooding the country with highly addictive opioids, should not legally gain sweeping protection in the deal.
Last year's settlement, which came after years of negotiations involving legal officials from all 50 US states, set aside $6 billion from the bankruptcy of Purdue, which made prescription painkillers like OxyContin, for victims of the opioid epidemic.
At the same time, the settlement, which was approved by a lower court, gave the families of Raymond Sackler and Mortimer Sackler protection from all future civil claims, effectively protecting their other assets from opioid-related lawsuits.
The Supreme Court put the settlement on hold at the request of the Justice Department, pending Monday's oral arguments.
In its complaint, the Justice Department said the Sacklers withdrew $11 billion from Purdue over the 11 years before the company filed for bankruptcy protection in 2019.
Purdue's bankruptcy filing resulted directly from the massive, country-wide litigation against it and other major drugmakers and pharmacy companies for knowingly fomenting the addiction crisis.
The March 2022 settlement said the Sacklers were "absolutely, unconditionally, irrevocably, fully, finally, forever and permanently" released from further legal liability.
But the Justice Department said the Chapter 11 bankruptcy code which governed the settlement does not provide for such immunization, especially because there could be "an untold number of claimants" who did not agree to the terms of the settlement.
If allowed, the Purdue deal would "leave in place a roadmap" for companies to turn to bankruptcy to protect themselves from civil suits, it said.
In addition, "it allows the Sacklers to shield billions of dollars of their fortune while extinguishing, without payment, claims alleging trillions of dollars in damages," the department said.
"The plan violates the basic tradeoff of bankruptcy that, in exchange for a fresh start, a debtor must commit essentially all assets to satisfying claims against it," it said.

Over 500,000 deaths

Purdue has said it is confident in the legality of the deal.
It has criticized the Justice Department for delaying billions of dollars being "put to use for victim compensation, opioid crisis abatement for communities across the country, and overdose rescue medicines."
The opioid addiction epidemic has caused more than 500,000 overdose deaths in the United States over two decades, authorities say.
Purdue and other opioid makers and distributors were accused of encouraging free-wheeling prescription of their products through aggressive marketing tactics while hiding how addictive the drugs are.
Facing an avalanche of litigation, in 2021 Purdue pled guilty to three criminal charges over its marketing of OxyContin.
The Sacklers have consistently denied wrongdoing over the opioid epidemic.
cl/bbk

UN

As Dubai hosts climate talks, its air pollution soars

  • Sunday is designated as "health" day at COP28, where topics under discussion include air quality and the unhealthy effects of climate change.
  • Dubai's glitzy skyline was obscured by a blanket of smog rated as "unhealthy" on Sunday as thousands of delegates attended a COP28 conference dedicated to the harmful effects of air pollution.
  • Sunday is designated as "health" day at COP28, where topics under discussion include air quality and the unhealthy effects of climate change.
Dubai's glitzy skyline was obscured by a blanket of smog rated as "unhealthy" on Sunday as thousands of delegates attended a COP28 conference dedicated to the harmful effects of air pollution.
The air quality index reached 155 micrograms per cubic metre of PM2.5 pollution -- the fine particulate matter that is most harmful, as it can enter the bloodstream -- according to WAQI.info, a real-time pollution tracker.
In "unhealthy" air quality, "everyone may begin to experience health effects; members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects," the website warns.
Hazy conditions have been noticeable over the first few days of the UN's COP28, where negotiators are trying to hammer out a global agreement to reduce emissions and curb climate change.
About 80,000 people are registered to take part in the biggest edition yet of the UN climate talks in the United Arab Emirates, one of the world's biggest oil producers.
Sunday is designated as "health" day at COP28, where topics under discussion include air quality and the unhealthy effects of climate change.
Outdoor air pollution driven by fossil fuel emissions kills more than four million people a year, according to the World Health Organization, as it increases the risk of respiratory diseases, strokes, heart disease, lung cancer, diabetes and other problems.
The damage is caused partly by PM2.5 microparticles, which mostly come from fossil fuels burned in transportation and industry.
COP28 is unfolding about 11 kilometres (seven miles) from the Jebel Ali Power and Desalination Complex, the world's biggest gas-fuelled power station.
Other polluters nearby include Jebel Ali port and Al Maktoum international airport, while about 200 kilometres (124 miles) west lies Abu Dhabi's Bab oil field.
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