Latest news with #Bakari
Euronews
07-08-2025
- Health
- Euronews
Endangered US contraceptives put 1.4 million women at risk, NGO claims
More than 1.4 million women and girls in Africa risk losing access to life-saving care if a stockpile of US-owned contraceptives currently stored in Europe are destroyed in accordance with US government plans, according to NGO International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF). The contraceptives, valued at $10 million (€8.5 million ) are currently stored in a warehouse in Belgium, but face destruction following the closure of key American aid agency United States Agency for International Development (USAID), as reported. Plans for them to be incinerated in France in accordance with US government plans have sparked widespread condemnation from civil society organisations and politicians, who are calling for the supplies to be preserved. The IPPF has attempted to purchase the stock from the US government but had its offer rejected. The products were originally intended for distribution to lower-income countries by the now dismantled USAID. Approximately 77% of the stock, many with expiration dates between 2027 and 2029, was intended for use in African nations including the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Mali, Kenya, Tanzania, and Zambia. 'We are facing a major challenge. The impact of the USAID funding cuts has already significantly affected the provision of sexual and reproductive health services in Tanzania - leading to a shortage of contraceptive commodities, especially implants," said Dr Bakari, Project Coordinator at UMATI, IPPF's Member Association in Tanzania. Tanzania was set to receive more than a million injectable contraceptives and 365,000 implants from the Brussels stockpile, accounting for more than 40% of the total shipment. These supplies represent over half of USAID's annual support to Tanzania's health system and 28% of the country's total annual need. 'In Kenya, the effects of US funding disruptions are already being felt. The funding freeze has caused stock-outs of contraceptives, leaving facilities with less than five months' supply instead of the required 15 months,' said Nelly Munyasia, executive director for the Reproductive Health Network in Kenya also member of IPPF.** She added that the withdrawal of USAID has created a 46% funding gap in Kenya's national family planning programme. The US has long been the largest bilateral donor to family planning, contributing $600 million annually which was 40% of global donor funding. The cancellation of pending procurement contracts has widened an existing global funding gap from $167 million to $210 million across 32 countries, according to the Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition (RHSC), a global partnership of public, private, and non-governmental organisations. The coalition also warned of broader effects of burning this stash. The group said that, when a woman's first choice of contraceptive is missing, she may opt for a less-preferred product, which could lead to a stock-out of that product if demand rises unexpectedly. 'When family planning stocks are compromised, the entire supply chain is at risk, requiring new funding, time, and coordination that cannot materialise at short notice,' they stated. The RHSC has estimated that failure to deliver this stockpile to its intended recipients could result in 362,000 unintended pregnancies, 161,000 unplanned births, and 110,000 unsafe abortions. Political opposition in Europe During a briefing in late July, US State Department spokesperson Thomas Pigott said officials were 'still in the process here in terms of determining the way forward' with regard to the Belgian stock. As the supplies are reportedly set to be transferred to France for destruction, French Green Party politicians have appealed to President Emmanuel Macron to intervene. 'We cannot allow Donald Trump's anti-choice agenda to unfold on our territory. And so today, France must mediate with the Commission,' MEP Mélissa Camara (France/The Greens), one of the signatories of the letter, told Euronews. "Unfortunately there is no legal basis for intervention by a European health authority, let alone the French national drug safety authority, to recover these medical products," the French health ministry told AFP. "Since contraceptives are not drugs of major therapeutic interest, and in this case, we are not facing a supply shortage, we have no means to requisition the stocks," it added. The ministry also said it had no information on where the contraceptives would be destroyed.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
The Miracle Stories of Lone Plane Crash Survivors Include a 33,000-Feet Fall
Indian media are reporting that a British national named Viswashkumar Ramesh has walked away from the Air India plane crash as the lone survivor out of 242 people on the aircraft. It's a miracle, to be sure, confirmed by a police official, and now the passenger from seat 11A joins a short list of lone survivors who somehow lived through a major plane crash. They survived major plane crashes - in one case a 33,000-foot fall - and then survived the horrors of the ocean and a a small list, but the stories are astonishing. Vesna Vulovic Vulovic was one of the most astonishing stories in aviation history. According to BBC, she was a flight attendant "who survived the highest ever fall by a human being after her plane broke up at 33,000 feet." She was "working on a Yugoslav Airlines Douglas DC-9 on 26 Jan 1972 when a suspected bomb brought the plane down among mountains in Czechoslovakia," BBC reported, adding that all of the 27 other people on the plane died. How did Vulovic survive a fall of such magnitude? She "was trapped by a food cart in the plane's tail section as it plummeted to earth" and landed in a "snow-blanketed part of a mountainside, which was thought to have cushioned the impact." Vulovi died at age 66 in 2016. "I was broken, and the doctors put me back together again," she told the New York Times in 2008, according to BBC. "Nobody ever expected me to live this long." Juliane Koepcke The 17-year-old survived plummeting 3,000 meters to the ground in a plane crash, according to ABC Australia. That's 9,842 feet. She fell into the Peruvian rainforest. "A wild thunderstorm had destroyed the plane she was travelling in and the row of seats Juliane was still harnessed to twirled through the air as it fell," the Australian news site reported. The LANSA Flight 508, carrying 99 people, crashed in 1971, the site reported. Larisa Savitskaya According to El Pais, Savitskaya survived "a fall from 5,220 meters (more than 17,000 feet) holding onto a fragment of an aircraft." She and her husband were returning from their honeymoon in 1981 on Aeroflot Flight 811 when the plane "collided mid-air with a Tupolev Tu-16K strategic bomber over Amur Oblast in the Soviet Union, which is now Russia," El Pais reported. Only 20, she survived an "eight-minute fall and crashing into trees" as well as "three days out in the open with her injuries," but Soviet officials tried to hide the miracle from the public, El Pais reported of the crash that killed 37 people. A documentary revealed her story. 'Now I am good, I am a happy person,' she says, according to El País. Bahia Bakari At age 12, Bakari survived "the 2009 Yemenia Airways crash in the Comoros islands that killed all 152 others onboard," Africa News reported. The girl plunged "into the ocean" but lived to testify against the airline, the site reported. "I started to feel the turbulence, but nobody was reacting much, so I told myself it must be normal," Bakari said later, Africa News reported. "I felt something like an electric shock go through my body." She ended up holding onto a piece of plane debris in the water. "There's a black hole between the moment when I was seated in the plane and the moment I found myself in the water," she said, Africa News reported, adding that her mother died in the tragedy. Annette Herfkens Herfkens was the lone survivor on a plane that crashed on a journey "from Ho Chi Minh City to the Vietnamese coast," The Guardian reported. She was traveling with her fiancé on the plane, which carried 31 people. The Guardian described the horrific scene: "The plane had crashed into a mountain ridge. A stranger lay dead upon her." Her fiance "a little way off, lay back in his seat, also dead, a smile upon his lips." She was almost too scared to get on the plane. She had horrific injuries: "12 broken bones in her hip and knee alone; her jaw was hanging; one lung had collapsed," The Guardian reported. Huang Yu In 1948, "four armed Chinese men hijacked 'Miss Macao', a Catalina seaplane operated by a Macau Air Transport Company," resulting in the plane "crashing into the Zhujiang River estuary, killing all but one of the 27 people on board. This was the first recorded hijacking," reported Transport Security International magazine. According to the magazine, police interviewed "35-year-old, Huang Yu, who told them that when the plane was near Jiuzhou, the nose of the aircraft exploded suddenly." He said he "lost consciousness," but was wearing a life vest and there were problems with his story, the site Miracle Stories of Lone Plane Crash Survivors Include a 33,000-Feet Fall first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 12, 2025
IOL News
24-04-2025
- General
- IOL News
Celebrating International Leopard Day: a call to protect South Africa's majestic leopards
A leopard in the Kruger National Park. Image: Ian Landsberg/Independent Newspapers. The beauty and majesty of leopards (Panthera pardus) are not just a captivating sight; they also play a crucial role in the ecological balance of their habitats. However, as the world marks International Leopard Day on 3 May, conservationists urged a collective commitment to combat the threats leopards face, including habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict, and poaching. In South Africa, leopards are classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with their population steadily decreasing. Once roaming vast areas, their habitats have been diminished to a mere 25% of their historical range. The alarming decline of these iconic apex predators signals an urgent need for concerted efforts to protect them both in the wild and in captivity. Four Paws South Africa and Lionsrock Big Cat Sanctuary have joined forces to highlight the significance of safeguarding leopards through their global initiative. 'South Africa can and must set a precedent for global wildlife protection efforts by ensuring that all big cats are safeguarded for future generations,' said Fiona Miles, Director at Four Paws. 'By developing world-class standards and policies, South Africa can lead global advocacy for stricter protections for big cats, shifting the mindset from financial value to the intrinsic value these sentient animals have.' At Lionsrock, the sanctuary provides a haven for rescued leopards, allowing them to live in environments that cater to their natural behaviours. Among the residents, Bakari, Mike, and Tulani have experienced the tragic realities of captivity. Bakari's journey to Lionsrock reveals a troubling past; he was initially kept as a photo attraction in a German zoo and later faced distress in confined spaces alongside lions—animals that are natural enemies of leopards. However, with love and care, Bakari has found solace and safety in his new habitat. Mike and Tulani, known as the sanctuary's 'resident couple,' have also overcome powerful adversities. Tulani was raised in a safari farm while Mike was captured in a live trap. Both leopards now thrive in the care of dedicated staff who provide them with enrichment and a peaceful existence. Sanctuary Manager Hildegard Pirker passionately comments, 'Leopards are incredibly adaptable and intelligent animals, but their survival is constantly challenged by human activities. We provide them with the space and care they need to live dignified lives.' As part of their mission, Four Paws advocates for an end to the exploitation and commercial trade of big cats. International Leopard Day represents a vital opportunity to raise awareness about the ethical treatment of wildlife. It is a call for society as a whole to recognise the significance of legal protections surrounding both wild leopards and those in captivity. Pivotal to this awareness is understanding the differences between leopards and their counterparts, jaguars, which are often confused. While leopards can be found across Africa and parts of Asia, jaguars inhabit the Americas. Their unique rosette patterns further distinguish them: leopards have smaller, more densely packed spots compared to the larger rosettes with central spots that characterise jaguars. Acknowledging these differences is pertinent in providing specific care for each species and catering to their welfare needs. As we celebrate International Leopard Day, let us commit to advocating ethical wildlife practices and stricter laws to protect these magnificent creatures. The plight of leopards is a shared responsibility, and through initiatives led by organisations like FOUR PAWS South Africa and sanctuaries like Lionsrock, we can ensure that future generations will share the planet with these extraordinary animals.
Morocco World
20-03-2025
- Sport
- Morocco World
Comoros vs Mali: When, How to Watch, and Score Prediction
Mali faces Comoros today in a must-win contest after they have achieved only one win in their last four games in the World Cup qualifiers. They rank fourth on the table with four points behind Comoros. A loss could end their hopes of reaching the 2026 World Cup. The game was set to take place in Comoros, but their stadium did not meet FIFA standards. It will instead be played in Morocco at the Stade Municipal de Berkane. Kick-off is at 9 p.m. Moroccan time (GMT) and fans can catch the action live on L'Équipe, ORTM, and ORTC. Mali must do better than last time. They failed to win in their last three games. Their only win was against Chad back in November 2023. They could not beat Madagascar, even with an extra man from the 16th minute of the game. The pressure is mounting on them – a win would keep them in the race. Comoros started their World Cup qualifiers quite strongly beating Central African Republic 4-2 and Ghana 1-0. They sit second with nine points – one point adrift Madagascar with one game in hand. View this post on Instagram A post shared by FFC 🇰🇲 (@fedcomfootball) But their form dipped in 2024 when they lost 2-1 away to Madagascar. They also lost to Malawi in the AFCON playoffs. Predicted Lineups Comoros: Ben Boina; Bakari, Omari, Zahary, Abdullah; Youssouf; Bourhane; Vita, Lutin, Selemani; Maolida Mali: Diarra; Konaté, Fofana, Niakaté, Dante; Dieng, Bissouma; Doumbia, Koné, Dorgeles, Touré. Predicted Score Comoros have scored a goal or more in their last five games, and both teams have gone unbeaten in the last seven games. So this could be a low-scoring, tight contest. Comoros 1-1 Mali & Under 2.5 goals. Tags: BerkaneComorosmaliWorld Cup Qualifiers
