
Colombian senator Uribe still in critical condition five days after shooting
BOGOTA, June 12 (Reuters) - Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe, a potential presidential contender, remains in critical but stable condition after being shot in Bogota on Saturday, the hospital treating him said on Thursday.
Physicians continue to work to mitigate the impact of the injuries, the Santa Fe Foundation hospital said in a statement.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Reuters
16 hours ago
- Reuters
US health chief says Sen. Cassidy promised pick on vaccine panel
WASHINGTON, June 12 (Reuters) - U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he told U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy that he would allow Cassidy to pick a candidate for a key panel of vaccine advisers. Cassidy, a Republican, serves as chairman the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. "What I told Senator Cassidy is that I would allow him to put one of his candidates on, which we're going to do," Kennedy said on Thursday during an interview on Fox News' "The Story with Martha MacCallum," referring to the vaccine advisory panel. Kennedy on Wednesday named eight members to serve on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices, which advises the agency on who should get the shots after they are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, after gutting the panel last week.


Reuters
20 hours ago
- Reuters
Exclusive: Kennedy's new vaccine adviser was expert witness against Merck vaccine
June 12 (Reuters) - One of the new vaccine advisers picked by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has earned thousands of dollars as an expert witness in litigation against Merck's (MRK.N), opens new tab Gardasil vaccine, court records show. Martin Kulldorff, a biostatistician and epidemiologist who publicly criticized COVID-era lockdowns, is one of eight new members named by Kennedy on Wednesday to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a highly influential panel that recommends which shots should be administered to the American public. Kennedy fired the entire previous 17-member committee of expert vaccine advisers this week, claiming they were "plagued with persistent conflicts of interest" from financial ties to drugmakers. Kulldorff recently served as an expert witness for plaintiffs who accused Merck of concealing the risks of Gardasil, which is intended to prevent cancers caused by human papillomavirus (HPV). In March, a federal judge in North Carolina ruled in favor of Merck in one of those cases that included about 200 lawsuits. At a deposition in October, Kulldorff testified that the plaintiffs paid him $400 an hour and he had already billed for about $33,000 in legal work on the case through late September. He said he also received a $4,000 retainer in the North Carolina case, according to court documents. Kulldorff is also listed as an expert witness in a similar case pending against Merck in Los Angeles state court, records show. Under ACIP's rules, committee members cannot serve as a "paid litigation consultant or expert witness in litigation involving a vaccine manufacturer' during their tenure on the panel. Prior work as an expert witness against drugmakers may require a waiver from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and recusal from votes involving Merck and HPV vaccines. The agency has said in its rules it "will generally consider issuance of waivers in specific situations." Kulldorff did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Merck declined to comment. A spokesman for Kennedy's Health and Human Services Department said on Wednesday that "all newly appointed ACIP members were thoroughly vetted." HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Kulldorff.


Reuters
a day ago
- Reuters
Ukraine and Russia exchange wounded, ill prisoners of war
KYIV, June 12 (Reuters) - Ukraine and Russia exchanged another group of ill and severely wounded servicemen on Thursday, officials from both countries said. All of the Ukrainian troops need treatment, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a message on the Telegram messaging app that did not go into details on the numbers involved. Kyiv and Moscow agreed to a large exchange of POWs and the remains of thousands of dead soldiers during talks in Istanbul earlier this month. Since then, Russia and Ukraine have swapped dozens of prisoners of war, focusing on under-25s and the severely wounded and sick. There are hopes they could build into some of the biggest exchanges in the war that was triggered by Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Russia's defence ministry said a group of Russian troops had returned from Ukraine and crossed into neighbouring Belarus, in accordance with the agreements made on June 2. "They are being provided with the necessary psychological and medical assistance," the ministry said on Telegram. On Wednesday, Ukraine said it had brought home the bodies of 1,212 bodies of troops killed in the war with Russia. Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky said Ukraine had returned the bodies of 27 Russian soldiers.