International
Swiss give over $300 mn to global Covid fight
AFP/Editor
Switzerland said Wednesday it would provide over $300 million to help boost access to jabs, tests and treatments in the fight against Covid-19, and to ensure developing countries get their fair share.
The Swiss government voiced its commitment “to ensuring equitable access to vaccines, tests and medicines worldwide in order to combat the Covid-19 pandemic sustainably.”
In a statement, Bern said it planned to donate some 300 million Swiss francs ($328 million, 272 million euros) to the Access to Covid Tools (ACT) Accelerator.
The multi-billion-dollar global programme is coordinated by a range of international bodies including the World Health Organization, the Gavi vaccine alliance, and the World Bank.
It aims to help develop and ensure access to vaccines, medicines and tests against Covid-19 and strengthen healthcare systems.
“While great progress has been made in the development of tests, treatments and vaccines, broad and equitable worldwide access to these resources is lacking,” Bern said.
It voiced deep concern over the “emerging, highly contagious mutations of the virus”, which are complicating the pandemic fight.
“A quick, efficient end to the pandemic is very much in Switzerland’s interest,” it said, stressing that “the virus can only be successfully contained once its spread is curbed worldwide.”
The Swiss government said its main goal with supporting ACT-A was therefore to help developing countries.
It said that more than a third of the 300 million francs earmarked for ACT-A would go to Gavi, which works to improve access to vaccines in poorer countries, while some funding would go towards boosting research and development and access to Covid-19 tests and medicines.
The remaining funds, it said, would be used to strengthen local healthcare systems in developing countries.
The Swiss parliament will discuss the required supplementary credit during its summer session, Bern said.
ACT-A is in dire need of additional funds. It has sought $22 billion this year, but by the end of last week, it was still $19 billion short.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
International
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
he Vatican’s post offices and select collector shops began selling special edition stamps this week to mark the period between the death of Pope Francis and the election of his successor.
Known as “Sede Vacante” stamps, they feature an image used on official Vatican documents during the interregnum between popes — two crossed keys without the papal tiara. These stamps went on sale Monday and will remain valid for postal use only until the new pontiff appears at the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
Until then, they can be used to send letters, postcards, and parcels. “Once the new pope is elected, the stamps lose their postal validity, but their collectible value rises,” said Francesco Santarossa, who runs a collectors’ shop across from St. Peter’s Square.
The Vatican has issued the stamps in four denominations: €1.25, €1.30, €2.45, and €3.20. Each is inscribed with “Città del Vaticano” and “Sede Vacante MMXXV” — Latin for “Vacant See 2025.”
International
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
The conclave, which in the coming weeks must choose the successor to Pope Francis, will strictly follow a precise protocol refined over centuries.
The 135 cardinal electors, all under the age of 80, will cast their votes four times a day — except on the first day — until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority. The result will be announced to the world through the burning of the ballots with a chemical that produces the eagerly awaited white smoke, accompanied by the traditional cry of “Habemus Papam.”
The start date for the conclave could be announced today, as the cardinals are set to hold their fifth meeting since the pope’s passing. Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich suggested it could begin on May 5 or 6, following the traditional nine days of mourning. According to German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the conclave could last only “a few days.”
Although the late Argentine pontiff appointed the majority of the cardinal electors, this does not necessarily ensure the selection of a like-minded successor. Francis’ leadership style differed significantly from that of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a German theologian who was less fond of large public gatherings. It also marked a contrast with the popular Polish pope, John Paul II.
The Argentine Jesuit’s reformist papacy drew strong criticism from more conservative sectors of the Church, who are hoping for a doctrinally focused shift. His tenure was marked by efforts to combat clerical sexual abuse, elevate the role of women and laypeople, and advocate for the poor and migrants, among other causes.
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
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