Latest news with #OAA
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina, the first Arab and African director to win Cannes Palme d'Or, dies aged 91
Algerian director Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina, whose 1975 drama Chronique des Années de Braise (Chronicles of the Years of Fire) won Cannes' Palme d'Or in 1975, has died aged 91. He was the oldest living recipient of the Palme d'Or and Chronicles of the Years of Fire remains Africa's only Palme d'Or to this day. Lakhdar-Hamina's family said the producer and director died at his home in the Algerian capital of Algers on 23 May. Coincidently, the Cannes Film Festival screened Chronicles of the Years of Fire in its Cannes Classics program that day, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the film's Palme d'Or. Set between 1939 and 1954, the movie retells the Algerian War of Independence through the eyes of a peasant farmer, depicting the harshness of French colonial rule. Lakhdar-Hamina competed for the Palme d'Or four times, with The Winds of the Aures, which won the best first film prize in 1967, as well as Sandstorm (1982) and Last Image (1986). After a 30-year break, Lakhdar-Hamina directed Twilight of Shadows, which was Algeria's submission to the Best Foreign Language Film category of the 88th Academy Awards in 2016. Born on 26 February 1934 in M'Sila in the Aurès region of north-east Algeria, Hamina studied in the southern French town of Antibes. During the Algerian war, his father was tortured and killed by the French army. He was called up to the French army in 1958 but deserted to join the Algerian resistance in Tunis, where he did an internship with Tunisian news. He ran Algeria's news service, the l'Office des Actualités Algériennes (OAA) from shortly after the revolution to 1974. He was also head of the Algerian National Office for Commerce and the Film Industry between 1981 and 1984. French distributor Les Acacias Distribution will theatrically re-release Chronicles of the Years of Fire in cinemas in France on 6 August.
Euronews
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Euronews
First Arab and African director to win Cannes Palme d'Or dies aged 91
Algerian director Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina, whose 1975 drama Chronique des Années de Braise (Chronicles of the Years of Fire) won Cannes' Palme d'Or in 1975, has died aged 91. He was the oldest living recipient of the Palme d'Or and Chronicles of the Years of Fire remains Africa's only Palme d'Or to this day. Lakhdar-Hamina's family said the producer and director died at his home in the Algerian capital of Algers on 23 May. Coincidently, the Cannes Film Festival screened Chronicles of the Years of Fire in its Cannes Classics program that day, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the film's Palme d'Or. Set between 1939 and 1954, the movie retells the Algerian War of Independence through the eyes of a peasant farmer, depicting the harshness of French colonial rule. Lakhdar-Hamina competed for the Palme d'Or four times, with The Winds of the Aures, which won the best first film prize in 1967, as well as Sandstorm (1982) and Last Image (1986). After a 30-year break, Lakhdar-Hamina directed Twilight of Shadows, which was Algeria's submission to the Best Foreign Language Film category of the 88th Academy Awards in 2016. Born on 26 February 1934 in M'Sila in the Aurès region of north-east Algeria, Hamina studied in the southern French town of Antibes. During the Algerian war, his father was tortured and killed by the French army. He was called up to the French army in 1958 but deserted to join the Algerian resistance in Tunis, where he did an internship with Tunisian news. He ran Algeria's news service, the l'Office des Actualités Algériennes (OAA) from shortly after the revolution to 1974. He was also head of the Algerian National Office for Commerce and the Film Industry between 1981 and 1984. French distributor Les Acacias Distribution will theatrically re-release Chronicles of the Years of Fire in cinemas in France on 6 August.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Illinois agency worries funding cuts may hinder senior meals and transport
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — An Illinois agency that provides meals and transportation to seniors is raising concerns about funding cuts that could limit those services. The Northwest Illinois Area Agency on Aging partnered with 13 other similar organizations across the state for a 'Day of Advocacy' on Wednesday. Last year, the agency delivered nearly 800,000 meals to 4,000 people. Now, due to budget resolutions and spending cuts, the program may be restructured within the Department of Health and Human Services. Executive director Jeffrey Barnes said residents should contact their federal lawmakers if they are concerned about potential cuts to the Older Americans Act (OAA). The last round of funding, which was approved in 2020, is set to expire in September. 'The importance of these programs is to keep people in their homes for as long as possible. If we lose funding for this program, the chances are high that some individuals, certainly in the most rural of counties and rural areas, will lose their home-delivered meals, their transportation services,' Barnes said. The Older Americans Act was first signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965. If federal funding is cut, the federal Health and Human Services will oversee the services of the OAA, food deliveries reassigned to Healthcare and Family, and transportation and caregiver funding will be moved to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
USAging and 50+ National Groups Call on Congress to Protect the Older Americans Act
Washington, DC, May 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- USAging and more than 50 other national aging and health-focused organizations and enterprises have called upon Congress to protect the federal Older Americans Act (OAA) in a letter sent today to the leaders of the committees of jurisdiction for the OAA. The letter calls attention to a proposal to break apart OAA services under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reorganization. 'We're pleased that so many other national advocates for older adults and caregivers are raising their concerns about this grave mistake,' said USAging CEO Sandy Markwood, 'and we look forward to working with the Trump Administration, Secretary Kennedy and Congress to ensure that the OAA stays unified and is appropriately administered at the federal level by a human services agency.' The OAA creates and funds critical supports and services that help older adults stay healthy, safe and able to remain living independently in their homes or communities. These services include in-home help with dressing, bathing and eating; rides to medical appointments; case management; adult day care; home-delivered and congregate meals; and many more. 'We are concerned, however, that the HHS reorganization threatens to disrupt this efficient, effective delivery system and leave older adults and caregivers stranded,' the letter says. 'A leaked copy of the HHS budget for Fiscal Year 2026 would splinter apart the programs that make up the Older Americans Act.' USAging and the other signers are concerned that the proposed HHS reorganization threatens to disrupt the OAA's effective federal, state and local delivery system and leave older adults and caregivers without the supports they need. Dividing up the different OAA programs and spreading them across two different HHS agencies, as has been proposed, will severely impact the ability of older adults to get the OAA services that are critical to enabling them to remain living at home and in the community versus facing placement in institutional settings, as well as drive cost inefficiencies through unnecessary and wasteful administrative burden on federal, state and local aging agencies. The signers are calling for members of Congress to ensure that the HHS reorganization does not break apart the OAA and instead keeps all of HHS' OAA programs together and administered at the Administration on Aging (AoA) under an Assistant Secretary on Aging, even if AoA is moved under the Administration for Children and Families. CONTACT: Bethany Coulter USAging 202.872.0888 bcoulter@ in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Alabama families fight to save vital services for 375,000 seniors — care, meals, and lives at stake
AUBURN, Ala. (WRBL) – For decades, local Area Agencies on Aging have provided a vital safety net for Alabama's older adults—delivering hot meals, offering caregiver relief, and advocating for the rights of nursing home residents. But now, advocates say the safety net is in danger of unraveling. The proposed FY2026 budget calls for deep cuts to the Older Americans Act (OAA) and the dissolution of the Administration for Community Living (ACL), the federal agency overseeing senior services. If enacted, the plan would eliminate or drastically reduce funding for multiple programs serving vulnerable seniors—putting an estimated 375,000 older Alabamians at risk of losing access to critical support. At the Lee-Russell Council of Governments (LRCOG)—the Area Agency on Aging for Lee and Russell Counties—staff say the news was both sudden and alarming. 'We found out in March that the Administration for Community Living was being dissolved. One day, half the staff was laid off, and then we learned its programs would be split between other federal agencies,' said Jeanna Thomas, Area Agency on Aging Director at LRCOG. 'In April, a draft of the administration's budget came out, and it showed severe cuts to Older Americans Act programs—some zeroed out completely.' Founded in 1967, LRCOG is a regional hub for transit, planning, and aging services. In FY2024, the agency served over 4,100 clients through its Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC), delivered more than 48,000 hot meals, and helped residents save more than $221,000 in healthcare costs through Medicare counseling and case management. 'We're trying to make sure the community understands just how important these programs are,' said Thomas. 'They help people stay in their homes, support those with dementia and their caregivers, and ensure that residents in nursing homes are being treated with dignity and respect.' That support is already stretched thin—and the proposed federal cuts would slash even deeper. 'We have seniors we visit who may not see another person all month except our case manager,' Thomas said. 'These programs are a lifeline.' Among the services at risk if the budget is approved: • ADRCs, which connect seniors and families to meals, in-home care, and benefits • Ombudsman programs that advocate for residents in long-term care facilities • Medicare SHIP counseling, which helps older adults select affordable insurance • Preventive health programs, including fall prevention and chronic disease education • Caregiver support and elder abuse prevention services 'In Alabama, it's 375,000 seniors who rely on these programs. Across the country, it's millions,' Thomas added. 'There are advocates working in Washington, but we need families at the local level calling their representatives and speaking up.' 'Optimistically, I want to believe these programs won't be cut—because I know how much it will hurt people,' she said. 'I can see the faces of those we serve. It's heartbreaking.' LRCOG Executive Director Lisa Sandt said the agency's central mission is to help seniors live independently, with dignity and support. 'We get about 5,000 calls a year from people looking for help,' Sandt said. 'Whether it's through our agency or another community group, the ADRC guides them. But that's one of the programs on the chopping block. So where do people go?' Sandt said the threat to services extends beyond seniors themselves. 'It's not just our older adults—it's their caregivers, too. The support we offer helps them keep their loved ones at home,' she said. 'Without that support, people will be forced to make impossible choices between food, medicine, and utilities.' Asked how concerned she is on a scale from one to ten, Sandt didn't hesitate: 'A ten.' As Congress prepares to debate the FY26 budget, aging advocates across Alabama and the nation are urging lawmakers to protect the Older Americans Act and preserve the infrastructure that keeps seniors safe and supported. To voice your support for these programs, contact: • Senator Tommy Tuberville: 202-224-4124 • Senator Katie Britt: 202-224-5744 For more information or to get involved, call the Lee-Russell Council of Governments at 334-528-9247. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
