On Thursday evening, the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, communicated that earlier in the afternoon, Pope Francis went to visit the Basilica of St Augustine in Campo Marzio.
He spent some time in prayer in the Chapel of St Monica, Augustine’s mother, in front of St Monica’s tomb.
Pope Francis then returned to the Vatican.
This is not the first time Pope Francis has gone to the Basilica to pray before the tomb of St Monica.
Exactly two years ago today, on returning from his Apostolic Journey to Ireland, he also went to the Basilica of St Augustine to pray before St Monica’s tomb after paying a visit to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, as is his custom.
His visit to Ireland included his participation in the Festival of Families, part of the World Meeting of Families.
UNAIDS – Interruptions of HIV services, harassment, abuse, arrests, deaths and a failure to respect human rights in the early responses to the pandemic have underscored how trust has been undermined, individuals harmed, and public health responses set back, according to a new UNAIDS report launched on Thursday.
“It is a myth that there can be a trade-off between human rights and public health”, said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “Human rights are not only intrinsic, but they are also the very means by which Governments can successfully beat a pandemic”.
“It is a myth that there can be a trade-off between human rights and public health,” says @Winnie_Byanyima.
“Human rights are not only intrinsic, but they are also the very means by which governments can successfully beat a pandemic.”
It flags violations that include instances of police using rubber bullets, tear gas and whips to enforce physical distancing.
Moreover, people have been arrested, detained and fined for not wearing masks – with those unable to pay the fines left in jail.
Movement restrictions
The report also highlights the impact of movement restrictions, such as doctors being arrested and detained for travelling to and from health facilities and spotlights pregnant women dying because of austere restrictions preventing them from reaching health-care services – some while walking to hospital.
One account details a motorcycle taxi-driver being beaten to death by police after taking a woman in labour to hospital during curfew hours.
Government action needed
Safety during lockdowns has been a major concern, particularly for people most affected by HIV, including sex workers, whose lost income were largely not eligible for financial support.
In many countries, gender-based violence has increased by 40–70 per cent. And under gendered lockdown policies, transgender people have been harassed and arrested for leaving their home on the “wrong day”.
As UNAIDS has repeatedly stated, violence against key populations and women and girls increases vulnerability to HIV.
Rights in a pandemic calls on Governments to take proactive measures to ensure that people, particularly those in vulnerable groups, can access HIV treatment and prevention services; designate and support essential workers, including community-led organizations; and implement measures to prevent and address gender-based violence.
Treatment disruptions
The report revealed that in 10 of the 16 countries reviewed, HIV prevention and treatment services were disrupted, with some registering reductions in medicine collections of up to 20 per cent in various areas.
We have a commitment to stand up for the most vulnerable even in the tough environment COVID-19 has put us in — UN rights chief
There were multiple reports of people living with HIV not having enough antiretroviral medicine for a lockdown of more than 60 days as well as others of people having abandoned their HIV treatment due to a lack of food.
‘Stand up’ for vulnerable
UNAIDS stressed that the HIV pandemic must not be forgotten during this crisis.
“COVID-19 is likely to be with us for a very long time”, said Ms Byanyima. “We have a commitment to stand up for the most vulnerable even in the tough environment COVID-19 has put us in”.
The report builds on Rights in the time of COVID-19, released by UNAIDS in March, which urged countries to take a human rights approach in responding to COVID-19 – in line with best practices from 40 years of responding to HIV.
The UNAIDS chief concluded by flagging that Rights in a pandemic will be used to convene Governments, communities and partners to “open a dialogue and to find a way forward to reform bad laws, policies and practices and to protect human rights”.
On Thursday, the delegations from Council and Parliament sat together for the first time for trilateral talks on a political level, including the Commission, in view of reaching an agreement on EU financing for 2021-2027.
“There needs to be adequate funding for EU flagship programmes such as the ones for research or the young, that are important for Parliament. There needs to be progress on the Own Resources – the EU’s revenue – and on the Rule of Law, on the role of the budgetary authority and on certain horizontal issues like, for example, climate. So all these elements are on the table. We had a good discussion so far already today. And I’m pretty sure that in the coming weeks we can continue that positive and constructive way of dialogue”, said Budget Committee Chair Johan Van Overtveldt (ECR, BE).
“We want to reach an agreement, but we want to reach a good agreement. Not so much for Parliament as such, but for the European citizens”, he added.
In July, Parliament adopted a resolution on the conclusions of the extraordinary European Council meeting of 17-21 July 2020, setting out its negotiating mandate and priorities in view of reaching an agreement. Before the Council can formally adopt the MFF (Multiannual Financial Framework) regulation, Parliament must give its consent under Article 312(2) TFEU.
The negotiating team has welcomed the Recovery Instrument but considers that several improvements are needed, especially by reinforcing specific programmes, introducing a basket of new Own Resources (EU revenue), completing the legislators’ work on the rule of law, and ensuring parliamentary involvement in the Recovery Instrument.
On 1 September Members of the Committee on Budgets will debate the state of play of the negotiations on the Union’s next multiannual budget for 2021-2027 (MFF), the reform of the Own resources (OR) system and the Recovery Plan. Parliament’s negotiating team on the MFF/OR will report back on Thursday’s trilateral talks.
The EP’s negotiating team for the next long-term EU budget and Own Resources reform
Sadova was among the first places in Romania to see people return from COVID-19 stricken Italy in February 2020.
The community initiated response mechanisms quickly, with a coordination team comprising trusted and respected figures, including family doctors, community health nurses, priests, teachers and the mayor. The team, called the Local Emergency Committee, drew upon WHO recommendations and national guidelines to coordinate the community’s medical response.
The committee provided, among other things, immediate training for teachers and students on COVID-19, on how to recognize symptoms and how to avoid infection or further transmission.
“There was excellent collaboration with Sadova City Hall,” explains Dr Gindrovel Dumitra, a local family doctor and vice-president of the Romanian National Society of Family Medicine, who also became a member of the Local Emergency Committee.
“Sadova City Hall provided us with financial and organizational resources, such as support staff, including community nurses and social assistance workers who really made it all happen,” says Dr Dumitra. “Unfortunately, Sadova does not have a Roma health mediator, although there is great need for one.”
Out of Sadova’s population of 8500, it is estimated that 1500–2000 people work abroad.
“Many seasonal workers work on agricultural farms in Italy, Spain, France, Belgium and Germany,” observes Dr Dumitra. “One of the challenges turned out to be isolating people coming home from risk zones abroad – many did not have symptoms.”
Here, the doctor’s personal relationship with locals in Sadova turned out to be very important. He describes speaking to them either over the phone or at a safe distance on their doorsteps.
“It was very important for people to really understand the reasons for isolation and quarantine, without creating a feeling of guilt and avoiding stigmatization,” he notes. “As people understood how the virus is transmitted, and how they could best protect themselves and their families, we managed to build trust and increase their compliance with recommended measures.”
Farmers’ market reaches out to community
Sadova’s farmers’ market enjoys a long tradition in the region, but was closed at the beginning of March due to COVID-19, following a consensus decision by the Local Emergency Committee.
However, much to the joy of the local population, the farmers’ market reopened 10 days before Orthodox Easter, following a thorough risk assessment. It adhered to WHO recommendations on hygiene, maintaining distance between visitors and limiting access to avoid virus transmission.
“We made the decision to close and then reopen the market in Sadova, but only under certain safety conditions, according to WHO recommendations and in line with national regulations,” explains Dr Dumitra.
Locals were again able to visit the market for its much-valued local produce, ranging from vegetables and fruits to meat and dairy. While doing their shopping, they were handed information about personal protective measures, the importance of physical distancing, and hygiene recommendations developed by WHO. Sadova City Hall also purchased face masks and produced leaflets, which were distributed at the market by support teams.
“The collaboration with the City Hall was above expectations. Even at the beginning, when preparedness measures could have seemed excessive as we had not yet had a single case. However, local leaders and institutions trusted us doctors, they trusted WHO and they followed our recommendations from the start,” emphasizes Dr Dumitra. “Facing this pandemic has been an incredible challenge,” he adds, “but we have faced it together and it is also together that we will face the next challenge: ensuring that children receive proper education in safe settings.”
Sleeping sickness is a neglected tropical disease that is caused by protozoan parasites (single-celled microorganisms) belonging to the genus Trypanosoma. The parasites are transmitted by infected tsetse flies and if untreated the disease is almost always fatal.
Togo?? is first country ever to eliminate “sleeping sickness” as a public health problem! This achievement comes after more than two decades of sustained political commitment, surveillance & screening of cases. Congratulations Togo!
“Togo is a pathfinder in eliminating sleeping sickness, a disease which has threatened millions of Africans,” Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, said on Thursday.
“I congratulate the Government and people of Togo for showing the way. I am sure the country’s efforts will inspire others to push towards a final eradication of sleeping sickness,” she added.
Sleeping sickness is only found in 36 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, in areas where health systems are often weak. The people most exposed to the tsetse fly and to the disease live in rural areas and depend on agriculture, fishing, animal husbandry or hunting.
Togo’s achievement comes after more than two decades of sustained political commitment, surveillance and screening of cases, according to the UN health agency.
Beginning in 2000, the country’s public health officials implemented control measures. In 2011, Togo established surveillance sites at hospitals in the cities of Mango and Tchamba, which cover the main areas at risk of the disease. Public health officials have since maintained heightened disease surveillance in endemic and at-risk areas.
Togo first applied for certification of elimination of sleeping sickness in 2018 and a team of WHO experts studied the data, made recommendations and requested a revision by the country before giving their approval.
National efforts were supported by WHO-led global collaboration that facilitated the donation of medicines and resources from pharmaceutical companies, helped strengthen local capacity and ensured the sustained availability of tools required to control the disease.
Two forms of sleeping sickness
There are two forms of sleeping sickness: the first, caused by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense that is found in 24 countries in west and central Africa, accounting for more than 98 per cent of cases. The second form, due to Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, is found in 13 countries in eastern and southern Africa and represents the rest of cases.
In the first stage, the symptoms generally include bouts of fever, headaches, enlarged lymph nodes, joint pains and itching. In the second stage parasites cross the blood-brain barrier to infect the central nervous system, resulting in changes of behaviour, confusion, sensory disturbances and poor coordination. The disturbance of the sleep cycle, which gives the disease its name, is an important feature.
WHO and partners are targeting the elimination as a public health problem of the gambiense form of the disease from all endemic countries by 2030. Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana have started the validation process with the support of WHO.
Wiping out the gambiense form of sleeping sickness will require maintaining the commitment of endemic countries and of donors as well as integrating control and surveillance activities into the regular health systems, said WHO, adding that such efforts need to be supported by improved tools, innovative disease control approaches and effective coordination of efforts.
Office of Tibet DC to host virtual celebration of 60th anniversary of Tibetan Democracy Day in North America
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By Bureau Reporter
Washington DC: Tibetan Democracy Day is celebrated every year on 2nd September. In 2011, His Holiness the Dalai Lama devolved all his political authority to the democratically elected President (Sikyong) of the Central Tibetan Administration—thus fulfilling his vision of fully democratizing Tibetan polity.
This year marks the 60th year of the founding of Tibetan Democracy Day. To note, the CTA General Election to the office of Sikyong and Tibetan Parliament-in-exile will take place in a few months.
The Office of Tibet-DC is hosting a virtual celebration of Tibetan Democracy Day on September 2nd at 10am EDT/7:30PM IST.
Distinguished speakers from US and Canada will address the importance of democracy and its challenges, and the event will be followed by a Q&A with CTA’s Chief Election Commissioner and Presidents of North America Tibetan Associations. The event will be presented through TibetTV.
Jerry Falwell Jr. has resigned as Liberty University president after a sex scandal involving his wife and a swimming pool attendant that rocked the white evangelical arena that strongly supports President Donald Trump.
“The Liberty University Board of Trustees acted today to accept the resignation of Jerry Falwell, Jr. as its President and Chancellor and also accepted his resignation from its Board of Directors. All were effective immediately,” the university said Aug. 25.
CNN reported that the embattled evangelical leader said he has resigned as president and chancellor of the Christian school, a day after reports thqat Falwell and his wife took part in a sexual relationship with a former hotel pool attendant.
“Jerry Falwell Jr. had long made a point of emphasizing that he was not trying to be a moral leader. He made crude jokes, insulted fellow Christians and was photographed partying on yachts and in nightclubs. But he rarely apologized or expressed regret,” commented The New York Times in a story, Jan. 25.
The BBC reported that Falwell was a long time supporter of Trump.
“I have never been a minister,” he explained on Twitter last year. He liked to tell reporters that Jesus did not tell Emperor Caesar how to run Rome.
“That was always an unusual stance for the head of a distinctly evangelical institution.
“But Mr. Falwell pulled it off until recently, coasting by on a combination of success — Liberty’s endowment grew to $1.6 billion under his watch — and good will engendered by lingering institutional fondness for his father, who founded the school and was both a minister and an administrator,” said the Times.
Jerry Falwell Sr. founded the private evangelical university in the U.S. state of Virginia in the 1970s as well as the conservative Moral Majority movement, a movement that campaigns on moral law.
Giancarlo Granda, 29, said he had an affair with Becki Falwell that started eight years ago. He claimed that she approached him when he was working as a pool boy at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami in March 2012, Christian Today reported.
“Explosively, he claimed that Jerry liked to watch the pair during their sexual liasons,” reported the Christian newspaper noting that Falwell denied the allegations.
“Becki had an inappropriate personal relationship with this person, something in which I was not involved — it was nonetheless very upsetting to learn about,” Falwell said in a statement to the Washington Examiner newpsaper.
Becki has admitted to the affair but refuted Granda’s claims that her husband watched.
At the Tree of Life Ministries, down the road from Liberty University, the senior pastor, Mike Dodson, did not have to look very far for sermon material about sin, redemption and what’s expected of a Christian, The New York Times reported on Aug. 25.
“You have watched one of the most influential leaders of this city, of the country and the world, the Christian community, go down,” Mr. Dodson said, bent with passion. “The Christian community is being laughed at.”
Christianity Today reported Aug. 25, “Falwell joins a regrettable list of prominent evangelical leaders brought down by sexual scandal.”
The newspaper said that critics also expressed frustration about the racial climate on campus, brought to the forefront by a divisive tweet in May that led several African Americans to cut ties with Liberty and dozens of African American alumni to call for his resignation.
epa09517870 A photo released by the official North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows Kim Jong-Un, general secretary of the Worker's Party of Korea, giving a speech during a commemorative lecture organized by the Central Committee of the WPK, celebrating a significant founding anniversary of the Party, at the office building of the Party's Central Committee in Pyongyang, North Korea, 10 October 2021 (issued 11 October 2021). EPA/KCNA EDITORIAL USE ONLY
Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the EU on the alignment of certain countries concerning restrictive measures against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
On 30 July 2020 the Council adopted Decision (CFSP) 2020/1136[1] amending Council Decision (CFSP) 2016/849.
The Council confirmed the list of individuals and entities subject to the EU’s autonomous sanctions against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The Candidate Countries Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Albania[2], the country of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidate Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova align themselves with this Council Decision.
They will ensure that their national policies conform to this Council Decision.
The European Union takes note of this commitment and welcomes it.
[1] Published on 30.07.2020 in the Official Journal of the European Union L 247/30.
[2] The Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Albania continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.
When the novel coronavirus pandemic implanted itself into humanity there was a rush to online worship, evoking all sorts of predictions about how people would change the way they go pray.
A new piece of research by Pew on Aug. 17 showed that one-third of U.S. adults have watched religious services online or on television in the past month.
A little over half of them – or 18 percent of all adults – say they began doing this for the first time during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Of course, if you’re worshipping remotely, you can’t hug the other members of your congregation or shake hands with your minister, priest, rabbi or imam,” writes Alan Cooperman in the Pew analysis.
“But you can wear whatever clothes you want, turn up (or down) the volume, forget about traffic in the parking lot, and easily check out that service you’ve heard about in a congregation across town or even across the country.”
LOTS LIKE VIRTUAL WORSHIP
Pew finds that whatever the reasons, lots of people like virtual worship.
Nine out of 10 Americans who have watched services online or on TV in the past month say they are either “very” satisfied (54 percent) or “somewhat” satisfied (37 percent) with the experience/
A mere 8 percent say they are “not too” or “not at all” satisfied, according to the Pew Research Center survey conducted in mid-July.
So what does this bode for the future?
By the time the COVID-19 pandemic has finally run its course, will Americans have lost the habit of going in person to a church, synagogue, temple or mosque? Asks Pew.
Some commentators have suggested that just as the pandemic has accelerated the trend toward shopping online and made Americans reliant on the internet for work, school, health and entertainment, so might many, if not all, varieties of religious experience move online in the 21st century.
But the Pew survey says that’s not what the people who’ve been worshipping online see in their future.
On the contrary, most U.S. adults overall say that when the pandemic is over, they expect to go back to attending religious services in person as often as they did before the coronavirus outbreak.
The reality is that few expect the pandemic to permanently alter their religious worship routines.
The survey dound that a substantial share of Americans (43 percent) say they didn’t attend religious services in person before the pandemic struck and they don’t plan to start going to a church or other house of worship when it’s all over.
But 42 percent of U.S. adults say they plan to resume going to religious services about as often as they did before the outbreak, while 10 percent say they will go more often than they used to, and just 5 percent expect to go less often.
Similarly, many Americans are not interested in virtual services.
Two-thirds of U.S. adults say they have not watched religious services online or on TV in the past month.
But among one-third of U.S. adults who recently watched services online or on TV, relatively few (19 percent of this group, or 6 percent of all adults) say that once the pandemic is over, they intend to watch religious services more often than they did before it started.
