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The Citizen
19-05-2025
- Politics
- The Citizen
Pope Leo XIV receives US VP Vance
The US Vice President is in The Vatican. This photo taken and handout on May 19, 2025 by The Vatican Media shows US Vice President JD Vance during a private audience with Pope Leo XIV in The Vatican. (Picture: AFP PHOTO / VATICAN MEDIA Pope Leo XIV received US Vice President JD Vance at the Vatican Monday, Vance's spokesperson said, a day after attending the new US pontiff's inauguration mass. The Vatican released photographs of a smiling Vance meeting the Chicago-born pope, along with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. © Agence France-Presse
RNZ News
29-04-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
PNG project rolling out safe spaces for kids
Children of the Andai tribe in Kaiam village in the remote East Sepik Province. (file image) Photo: AFP PHOTO/Torsten BLACKWOOD A program supporting safe spaces for children has been rolled out in Papua New Guinea. The Child-Friendly Spaces Toolkit supports setting up and managing safe community spaces, and has a focus on embedding protection into existing community structures, from churches and schools to ward offices and aid posts. It was rolled out during a training workshop in Port Moresby, where 18 organisations gathered to learn how to establish and manage child-friendly spaces in their own communities. HIV/AIDS charity Links of Hope national operations manager Seruma Numa said children in local communities face a lot of physical and emotional abuse. "We see how stigma silences them. Many can't speak up about what's happening in their homes," she said. "A child-friendly space gives them a voice, a space to talk, to feel safe, and to be heard." The spaces also serve as entry points for access to legal, medical, and counselling services. Unicef said up to 80 percent of children in Papua New Guinea experience physical or emotional violence and widespread neglect. Numa said by working through trusted community spaces, help can be there when a child on the street is ready to reach out. "Children are on the streets. We see it every day," she said. "By working through trusted community spaces, we can be there when a child is finally ready to reach out. The support must be there, waiting." CARE International's peace project Manager Benoni Masalo said child negligence is everywhere in PNG. "Parents often do not realise the importance of emotional and educational support. "A child-friendly space offers something simple but powerful: safety." Masalo emphasised how trained facilitators use creative methods, like storytelling, drawing, and play, as bridges to healing. "Children express their pain through play. When you create that environment, it helps them open up. "And it also helps communities see that healing starts with connection. That's when referral systems and community support become essential." Masalo said they've had policies and awareness campaigns "but very little that reaches the grassroots in a practical way". "This toolkit changes that." The Child-Friendly Spaces Toolkit has been developed with the National Office of Child and Family Services and UNICEF, in partnership with several other organisations.
Irish Daily Mirror
21-04-2025
- General
- Irish Daily Mirror
Pope Francis' life in pictures: From humble start to leader of Catholic Church
Millions of people worldwide are mourning the death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday, after news of his passing was announced by the Vatican. Known for being passionate about climate change and critical of consumerism, Pope Francis became the leader of 1.3 billion Catholics in 2013, after the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. The Bishop of Rome died on Easter Monday, aged 88, not long after he had addressed crowds in St Peter's Square in the Vatican. Prayers have poured in for Pope Francis, the first pontiff from Latin America, who was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina on December 17, 1936, following the news of his passing, with Michael D Higgins leading the tributes in Ireland. Mourners worldwide have also gathered in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City to pay their respects to the late Pope Francis, as the great bells of St. Peter's Basilica tolled in his honor. Today, we remember the life of Pope Francis and look back over the photos that captured each and every moment of his defining moments. Meanwhile get live updates on this developing story in our live blog. Undated picture taken in Buenos Aires, released by Clarin's journalist Sergio Rubin, of the then child Jorge Mario Bergoglio (Image: HANDOUT/Courtesy Sergio Rubin/CLARIN/AFP via Getty Images) 1 of 18 Handout picture released by Bergoglio's family of Argentine Jorge Bergoglio, now Pope Francis (L), his mother Maria Regina Sivori (C) and his father Mario Jose Bergoglio pictured during 1958 in Buenos Aires (Image: AFP PHOTO/HO/Bergoglio Family) 2 of 18 Undated handout picture released by his family of Argentine Jorge Bergoglio, now Pope Francis, serving a meal in Buenos Aires. (Image: AFP PHOTO/HO/Bergoglio Family) 3 of 18 The late pope when he was Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, seen here aged 68, officiating a holy mass for the eternal rest of Pope John Paul II April 4, 2005 at Buenos Aires' cathedral (Image: AFP via Getty Images) 4 of 18 The late pope, seen here as a cardinal, was reportedly a fan of San Lorenzo Futbol Club (Image: Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images) 5 of 18 Pope Francis (R) exchanges gifts with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a private audience at the Vatican, on November 25, 2013. (Image: AFP PHOTO POOL / CLAUDIO PERICLAUDIO PERI/AFP/Getty Images) 6 of 18
Forbes
30-03-2025
- Health
- Forbes
How The Layoff Of 10,000 Health Workers From HHS Could Affect Your Health
Washington, UNITED STATES: The US Department of Health and Human Services building is shown in ... More Washington, DC, 21 July 2007. AFP PHOTO/Saul LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images) The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will cut 10,000 full-time jobs and shut down several health agencies in an effort to restructure the department. The department will downsize from 82,000 to 62,000, because 10,000 workers have already taken early retirement and voluntary separation offers from the Trump administration. Although the massive layoffs have been part of the initiative of the Department of Government Efficiency to decrease spending, the cuts could have profound effects on the health and well-being of Americans. Here's how. The layoffs involve 2,400 jobs at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, which does not include the hundreds of probationary workers that were already let go last month. Employees at the CDC are tasked with responding to infectious disease threats like measles, implementing prevention programs for potential outbreaks like bird flu and communicating effective messages to the public so Americans can stay safe. With thousands of less employees staffing the center, the ability to monitor and contain diseases effectively could be hindered. Even when fully staffed, the response to diseases thus far has been less than optimal. The bird flu has been difficult to control as one elderly individual already died after being infected, and measles has spread across 19 states to 483 individuals this year alone. Imagine trying to control these public health threats with thousands of less workers. The Food and Drug Administration, which sets safety standards for medical devices, drugs and food; will see a reduction of 3,500 workers. This degree of downsizing may slow the approval process for many lifesaving drugs and delay inspection of food processing facilities. As an example, once the application for a new drug is submitted to the FDA, the agency has six to ten months to approve the drug. Less employees mean less manpower to evaluate the safety and efficacy of new drugs that could dramatically impact diseases like cancer, diabetes and heart failure that affect millions of Americans. The National Institute of Health, the leading organization in public health research, will be cutting 1200 jobs. Institutions of higher learning are already potentially facing enormous funding cuts with a cap of indirect costs to federal research grants to 15%, which translates to hundreds of millions of dollars that will not be granted to many universities. The Trump administration also recently announced pulling back over 11 billion dollars in COVID funding which includes research into long COVID. These reductions in funds and staff could threaten thousands of research projects, delay innovation in scientific advancements and limit new treatments for diseases. Nearly 20 million Americans live with long COVID, and stunting research efforts will significantly curtail efforts to find a viable cure for the disease. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services will get rid of 300 employees. CMS oversees Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act marketplace. The cuts will primarily affect caseworkers that assist Affordable Care Act consumers and Medicare beneficiaries if they can't be helped by call center personnel. There are more than 65 million Americans currently enrolled in Medicare and more than 24 million Americans enrolled in the Affordable Care Act marketplace for health insurance. Less CMS staff means these millions of Americans could face significant hurdles in getting questions answered or enrolling in benefits and plans with respect to health coverage. The massive layoffs at HHS represent a significant shift in the government's approach to public health. Although intended to reduce costs, the staffing cuts could have profound and potentially adverse effects for millions of Americans.
