Latest news with #YasuyoshiChiba
Ya Libnan
01-07-2025
- Health
- Ya Libnan
USAID cuts could cause 14 million deaths by 2030, Lancet study finds
File: A southern Sudanese boy sleeps on sacks of food distributed by the World Food Programme (WFP) in Juba on January 6, 2011. © Yasuyoshi Chiba, AFP The Trump administration's cuts to the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which provides 40 percent of humanitarian funding worldwide, could lead to 14 million deaths by 2030, a study in the Lancet found, potentially 'halting – and even reversing – two decades of progress in health among vulnerable populations'. More than 14 million of the world's most vulnerable people, a third of them small children, could die because of the Trump administration's dismantling of US foreign aid, research projected on Tuesday. The study in the prestigious Lancet journal was published as world and business leaders gather for a UN conference in Spain this week hoping to bolster the reeling aid sector. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) had provided over 40 percent of global humanitarian funding until Donald Trump returned to the White House in January. Two weeks later, Trump's then-close adviser – and world's richest man – Elon Musk boasted of having put the agency 'through the woodchipper'. The funding cuts 'risk abruptly halting – and even reversing – two decades of progress in health among vulnerable populations,' warned study co-author Davide Rasella, a researcher at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal). 'For many low- and middle-income countries, the resulting shock would be comparable in scale to a global pandemic or a major armed conflict,' he said in a statement. Looking back over data from 133 nations, the international team of researchers estimated that USAID funding had prevented 91 million deaths in developing countries between 2001 and 2021. They also used modelling to project how funding being slashed by 83 percent – the figure announced by the US government earlier this year – could affect death rates. The cuts could lead to more than 14 million avoidable deaths by 2030, the projections found. That number included over 4.5 million children under the age of five – or around 700,000 child deaths a year. For comparison, around 10 million soldiers are estimated to have been killed during World War I. Programmes supported by USAID were linked to a 15-percent decrease in deaths from all causes, the researchers found. For children under five, the drop in deaths was twice as steep at 32 percent. USAID funding was found to be particularly effective at staving off preventable deaths from disease. There were 65 percent fewer deaths from HIV / AIDS in countries receiving a high level of support compared to those with little or no USAID funding, the study found. Deaths from malaria and neglected tropical diseases were similarly cut in half. 'Time to scale up' After USAID was gutted, several other major donors including Germany , the UK and France followed suit in announcing plans to slash their foreign aid budgets. These aid reductions, particularly in the European Union , could lead to 'even more additional deaths in the coming years,' study co-author Caterina Monti of ISGlobal said. Trump's foreign aid cuts are a 'slow-running disaster', former USAID administrator says But the grim projections for deaths were based on the current amount of pledged aid, so could rapidly come down if the situation changes, the researchers emphasized. Dozens of world leaders are meeting in the Spanish city of Seville this week for the biggest aid conference in a decade. The US, however, will not attend. 'Now is the time to scale up, not scale back,' Rasella said. Before its funding was slashed, USAID represented 0.3 percent of all US federal spending. 'US citizens contribute about 17 cents per day to USAID, around $64 per year,' said study co-author James Macinko of the University of California, Los Angeles. 'I think most people would support continued USAID funding if they knew just how effective such a small contribution can be to saving millions of lives.' (FRANCE 24 with AFP)
GMA Network
25-05-2025
- Business
- GMA Network
Timor-Leste could join ASEAN bloc by October —minister
Timor-Leste is the youngest country in Southeast Asia, having gained independence from Indonesia in 2002 after 24 years of occupation. Yasuyoshi Chiba/ AFP KUALA LUMPUR — Timor-Leste is a step closer to fulfilling its longstanding wish to join the Southeast Asian regional bloc and could become its 11th member state by October, Malaysia's foreign minister said on Sunday. Mohamad Hasan said on the sidelines ahead of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Kuala Lumpur that Dili "has made meaningful progress in implementing a roadmap" for it to join. Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, is one of the world's poorest countries and some concerns remain around whether it could participate meaningfully in ASEAN's development agenda. However, the bloc's foreign ministers voiced "strong support for Timor-Leste's full membership in ASEAN, particularly in its efforts to fulfil the remaining criteria," Mohamad told a news conference. The top Malaysian diplomat did not give details on issues still outstanding but full membership could be granted at ASEAN's next regional meeting in October, chaired this year by Malaysia. ASEAN member states will "now begin undertaking their respective domestic legal procedure with a view to finalize Timor-Leste's accession process by the 47th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in October, hopefully," Mohamad said. Timor-Leste is the youngest country in Southeast Asia, having gained independence from Indonesia in 2002 after 24 years of occupation. Its president, Jose Ramos-Horta, has long campaigned for ASEAN membership and an application was first submitted by the former Portuguese colony of around 1.3 million people in 2011. Dili was granted observer status to the regional body in 2022 but its full membership has been delayed by various challenges. Timor-Leste is grappling with high levels of inequality, malnourishment and unemployment and remains heavily reliant on oil, with little diversification into other sectors. It also faces challenges in infrastructure development and human resource capacity, seen as critical for effective participation in ASEAN's economic community. — AFP
The Guardian
13-05-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Vesak Day 2025: celebrations of Buddha
Vesak, also known as Buddha Jayanti, Buddha Purnima and Buddha Day, is a holiday traditionally observed by Buddhists and some Hindus in south and southeast Asia as well as Tibet and Mongolia Photograph: Devi Rahman/AFP/Getty Images Visitors watch as hot air balloons are launched at Ngawen Temple complex in Muntilan, Central Java, Indonesia Photograph: Devi Rahman/AFP/Getty Images Dancers perform in the Progo River in Magelang, Central Java, as others release fish in a traditional life-release ritual held on the eve of Vesak Day, in Magelang, Central Java Photograph: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images Buddhist monks take part in a ritual on Vesak Day in Magelang, Central Java. Photograph: Dwi Oblo/Reuters A giant thangka, a canvas painting of Buddha, is held up for people to walk under to receive blessings from the Buddha for the coming year, in Ipoh, Malaysia Photograph: Fazry Ismail/EPA People visit a Pandal, a temporary platform decorated with illuminated panels illustrating episodes from the life of Buddha, in Colombo, Sri Lanka Photograph: Thilina Kaluthotage/Reuters People pour fragrant water over a statue of Buddha to symbolise inner purification and act as a reminder to clear their minds of negative thoughts, at Tunjungan Plaza in Surabaya, Indonesia Photograph:Thousands of lanterns are released in front of Borobudur Temple, the world's largest Buddhist monument and a Unesco World Heritage Site, in Magelang Photograph: ZUMA Press/Alamy Live News A monk prays during celebrations organised by the Maha Bodhi Society in Bangalore, India Photograph: Jagadeesh Nv/EPA Devotees with lotus flowers offer prayers at the Kelaniya Temple Photograph: Ishara S Kodikara/AFP/Getty Images A man holds a giant incense stick during celebrations at the Enlightened Heart Tibetan Buddhist Temple in Ipoh, Malaysia Photograph: Fazry Ismail/EPA Devotees visit the Kelaniya Temple at a suburb of Colombo, Sri Lanka Photograph: Ishara S Kodikara/AFP/Getty Images People light oil lamps as part of their prayers at the Kelaniya Temple Photograph: Thilina Kaluthotage/Reuters A Buddhist monk walks around the Wat Dhammakaya Temple in Pathum Thani, north of Bangkok Photograph: Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP/Getty Images People gather around a lantern installation in Colombo, Sri Lanka Photograph: Ishara S Kodikara/AFP/Getty Images Buddhist monks carry candle lights at a ceremony at the Wat Saket Temple in Bangkok, Thailand Photograph: Chalinee Thirasupa/Reuters A Buddha bathing ritual at the Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery in Singapore Photograph: Edgar Su/Reuters People visit the statue of Gautama Buddha to offer prayers at the Global Vipassana Pagoda, in Mumbai, India Photograph: Divyakant Solanki/EPA Temples are decorated with flowers, and offerings of food and flowers are given to the monks Photograph: ZUMA Press/Alamy Live News A woman lights candles at a temple in Denpasar, Bali Photograph: Made Nagi/EPA A temple volunteer lays out candle offerings at the Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery in Singapore Photograph: Edgar Su/Reuters Buddhist monks pose for a photo after praying at Borobudur Temple in Magelang, Central Java Photograph: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images A depiction of a reclining Buddha made from electric candles at Wat Dhammakaya Temple in Pathum Thani Photograph: Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP/Getty Images
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Yahoo
Images of 'exhausted South Korean firefighters' bear signs of AI generation
"They are truly, truly admirable," reads the Korean-language caption of an image shared on Threads on March 27, 2025. It shows a group of firemen -- some sitting on the ground, others standing in the rain -- looking completely exhausted, with part of a fire engine visible behind them. In a separate post the following day, the Threads user shared another image of a firefighter -- his face smudged with soot and an inferno blazing in the background -- with the caption: "This single photo says it all. They are working incredibly hard... Please do your best until the very end." The pictures circulated as more than a dozen fires scorched wide swathes of South Korea's southeast and forced around 37,000 people to flee (archived link). Thirty-one people have been killed in the fires, the country's largest and deadliest on record, as of April 4 (archived link). The images were also included in similar posts elsewhere on Threads, X, Instagram and Facebook, and the image was featured in a media report with credit given to an unnamed reader. The pictures, however, are inconsistent with photos of firefighters taken during the wildfires. The firefighters' clothing and the fire engine in the circulating images differ from how they appear in photos taken by AFP photojournalists Anthony Wallace and Yasuyoshi Chiba amid efforts to contain the deadly wildfires. "Both images have clear visual artefacts as AI-generated," Siwei Lyu, director of the University at Buffalo's Media Forensic Lab, told AFP in an April 4 email (archived link). Lyu said figures and objects in the first image, including the firefighters' clothing and the fire engine, are misshapen and "lack realistic details". In the second image, there is an "extra hand near the glove". Moreover, the AI detection tool Hive found both images were 'likely to be AI-generated'. AFP has debunked other misinformation about South Korea's wildfires here and here.
AFP
07-04-2025
- AFP
Images of 'exhausted South Korean firefighters' bear signs of AI generation
"They are truly, truly admirable," reads the Korean-language caption of an image shared on Threads on March 27, 2025. It shows a group of firemen -- some sitting on the ground, others standing in the rain -- looking completely exhausted, with part of a fire engine visible behind them. In a separate post the following day, the Threads user shared another image of a firefighter -- his face smudged with soot and an inferno blazing in the background -- with the caption: "This single photo says it all. They are working incredibly hard... Please do your best until the very end." The pictures circulated as more than a dozen fires scorched wide swathes of South Korea's southeast and forced around 37,000 people to flee (archived link). Thirty-one people have been killed in the fires, the country's largest and deadliest on record, as of April 4 (archived link). Image Screenshots of the false Threads posts, captured on April 4, 2025 The images were also included in similar posts elsewhere on Threads, X, Instagram and Facebook, and the image was featured in . The pictures, however, are inconsistent with . Visual anomalies The firefighters' clothing and the fire engine in the circulating images differ from how they appear in by AFP photojournalists Anthony Wallace and Yasuyoshi Chiba amid efforts to contain the deadly wildfires. Image Comparison of the falsely shared image (top left) and AFP photos, with visual discrepancies highlighted by AFP "Both images have clear visual artefacts as AI-generated," Siwei Lyu, director of the University at Buffalo's Media Forensic Lab, told AFP in an April 4 email (archived link). Lyu said figures and objects in the first image, including the firefighters' clothing and the fire engine, are misshapen and "lack realistic details". In the second image, there is an "extra hand near the glove". Image Signs of AI generation in the images shared in the false posts, highlighted by AFP Moreover, the found both images were 'likely to be AI-generated'. Image Screenshots from Hive, taken on April 4, 2025 AFP has debunked other misinformation about South Korea's wildfires here and here.
