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Pope's Madagascar Mass attended by one million
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ANTANANARIVO - An estimated one million people attended a Mass celebrated by Pope Francis on the outskirts of Madagascar's capital city, Antananarivo, the Vatican said.
Worshippers braved the windswept dust to ensure a place at the Mass.
Catholics turned up early in the morning for the service at 10:00 local time to ensure finding a space.
Some even camped out days before.
On Sunday morning, the wind did not let up for the Pope or bishops taking part in the Mass.
Addressing worshippers, the Pope spoke out against what he termed the patronage which produces a few rich people while the vast majority live in grinding poverty.
"When 'family' becomes the decisive criterion for what we consider right and good, we end up justifying and even 'consecrating' practices that lead to the culture of privilege and exclusion: favouritism, patronage and - as a consequence - corruption", he said in his homily.
Many people wore white and yellow - the colours of the Vatican - and some even received communion while wearing Pope-branded T-shirts.(FA)
DRC President and UN chief meet at a ‘historic moment’ for democracy in the country
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KINSHASA - On the third and final day of his visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), UN chief António Guterres declared that the country is experiencing a historic moment, which could herald the development of democratic institutions.
Speaking to representatives of the press in the capital, Kinshasa, on Monday, Mr. Guterres said that, in a meeting earlier in the day with Félix Tshisekedi, the President of DRC, he had expressed his conviction that the country will see “a government that wants to transform the country, an opposition that also plays an important role in political life, with greater respect for human rights and with a vision for the future of Congo”.
The UN chief called on the international community to support the Congolese people and authorities in seizing the opportunity to strengthen their institutions; develop DRC sustainably, inclusively, and in security; and effectively respond to humanitarian problems.
Agreement reached on improved security measures
The UN Mission in DRC (MONUSCO) will strengthen its capacity to tackle armed ADF militants, announced the Secretary-General, and increase its cooperation with the DRC Armed Forces, with the aim of better responding to the security concerns of the population.
Mr. Guterres appealed to Congolese members of armed groups to lay down their weapons and integrate into the community, noting that the UN will do more to assist the demobilization, disarmament and reintegration of former combatants.
The UN, he added, will also intensify cooperation in the area of inclusive and sustainable development: “Congo has a huge wealth potential. This potential must serve the interests of the Congolese people and in the humanitarian field”.
The ultimate aim of the United Nations, continued the Secretary-General, is that MONUSCO will no longer be necessary, and that it can be replaced with a country team that concentrates on working with the government for the development and well-being of the Congolese people.
This, however, is a long-term aim and Mr. Guterres gave his assurance that the UN remains engaged with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and “will not abandon the Congolese people”.
New hope for Ebola victims
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KINSHASA - Ebola can no longer be called an incurable disease, scientists have said, after two of four drugs being trialled in the major outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo were found to have significantly reduced the death rate.
ZMapp, used during the massive Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, has been dropped along with Remdesivir after two monoclonal antibodies, which block the virus, had substantially more effect, said the World Health Organization and the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which was a co-sponsor of the trial.
The trial in the DRC, which started in November, has now been stopped. All Ebola treatment units will now use the two monoclonal antibody drugs.
“From now on, we will no longer say that Ebola is incurable,” said Prof Jean-Jacques Muyembe, the director general of the Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale in DRC, which has overseen the trial. “These advances will help save thousands of lives.”
One of the biggest obstacles in fighting the year-long DRC outbreak, the second biggest ever and now with 2,800 cases, has been the reluctance of those who fall sick to seek treatment.
It has not helped that the chances of survival have been low – up to 70% of those infected in the DRC have died. Muyembe said many people saw family members go into an Ebola treatment centre and come out dead.
“Now that 90% of their patients can go into the treatment centre and come out completely cured, they will start believing it and building trust in the population and community,” he said.
Anthony Fauci, the director of the US NIAID, said the overall mortality of those given ZMapp in the trial in four centres was 49% while that of Remdesivir was 53%. A monoclonal antibody drug made by Regeneron had the lowest overall death rate, at 29%, while the monoclonal antibody 114 made by Ridgeback Biotherapeutics had a mortality rate of 34%.
But the results in people who arrived at a treatment centre soon after they became sick, rather than staying at home, were even more impressive – with death rates of 24% on ZMapp, 33% with Remdesivir, 11% with 114 and just 6% with Regeneron’s drug.
On average, people who fall ill are not turning up at a treatment centre for four days, said Dr Michael Ryan from the World Health Organization. This reduces their chances of survival and makes it likely that the virus, spread through bodily fluids, will be transmitted to their families.
“The numbers might change,” said Fauci. “Not all the data has been accumulated.” The two monoclonal antibodies will both now be used in every treatment centre in DRC.
Fauci paid tribute to all of those involved in the trial in four towns: Beni, Katwa, Butembo and Mangina. NGOs including International Medical Corps and Médecins Sans Frontières “put their lives on the line every day to care for patients in extremely difficult conditions in the area where the outbreak is occurring,” he said.
Clinical trials in epidemic conditions are hard – even more so in Ebola outbreaks, where medical staff have to wear protective suits and all patients must be isolated.(FA)
Libya drone strike kills dozens
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TRIPOLI - At least 42 people have died in a drone strike in south-western Libya carried out by the forces of rebel Gen Khalifa Haftar, local officials say.
The strike hit a town hall meeting in the town of Murzuq, reports say.
Gen Haftar's forces - which are based in eastern Libya - say they targeted the town late on Sunday, but deny targeting civilians.
The country has been torn by conflict since the fall of long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
The air strike left "42 dead and more than 60 injured, 30 of them critically" at the town hall in Qalaa neighbourhood, where more than 200 people were at a meeting "to settle social differences", council official Ibrahim Omar told AFP news agency.
Local media earlier reported that the strike had hit a wedding party.
The UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) condemned the attack on social media and accused Gen Haftar's forces of carrying it out.
It also urged the UN to "carry out an investigation into the crimes committed by Haftar's militias in Murzuq".
Pro-Haftar media outlets said the attack had targeted Chadian mercenaries, which is how they refer to the Tebu ethnic group which opposes Gen Haftar.
Months of fighting between the GNA and Mr Haftar's forces has claimed more than 1,000 lives since April, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
This is the second time in two months that an air strike thought to be by Gen Haftar's forces has resulted in mass civilian casualties.
In June, some 44 people were killed in a migrant detention centre on the outskirts of Tripoli.
His forces seized Murzuq earlier this year as part of an offensive to take control of the oil-producing south - but they later withdrew.(FA)
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