标签： Oceania

During a recent official visit to Australia, the Duke of Sussex has delivered a raw, personal address on the ups and downs of modern fatherhood, throwing his support behind a landmark new study that will soon spark parliamentary debate over systemic gaps in support for first-time fathers. Prince Harry, the youngest son of Britain’s King Charles III, helped launch the Movember Foundation’s new report titled *More than a Provider* — an in-depth study of new fatherhood experiences from the global men’s mental health charity. The report pulls back the curtain on widespread neglect of paternal mental health that has long flown under the public and policy radar.

Opening up about his own journey into parenthood, Prince Harry shared a vulnerable, reassuring message for any new father grappling with the seismic life shift of welcoming a child: “You are not alone.” He warned against the dangerous cultural expectation that men should suppress their struggles, explaining that bottling up emotions does not make them disappear — instead, stress and uncertainty snowball over time, leaving fathers in a place where they cannot show up for their families, a position no one wants to reach. “To simply be seen, acknowledged and asked how you’re doing as a dad — that can be transformational,” he said. “Too many men go through this period without anyone checking in, even though it is such a big moment in their lives.”

Reflecting on his own transition to fatherhood, the Duke noted that the emotional and practical shift of becoming a parent begins the moment a pregnancy is announced, not nine months later when the child arrives. He emphasized that self-doubt and turbulence during this transition are normal: “It is messy, it’s a rollercoaster, and there are moments where you question yourself. We shouldn’t judge ourselves for that.”

The *More than a Provider* report draws on survey responses from 1,216 Australian first-time fathers to build its evidence base. While the vast majority of respondents — 84 percent — agreed that becoming a father gave their life deeper meaning, the study also laid bare critical shortcomings in the mental health and practical support available to new dads. The most staggering finding: three out of five new fathers reported that no one ever asked about their mental health, either during their partner’s pregnancy or in the first 12 months after their child’s birth. One in four respondents rated their overall physical and mental health as poor or fair in their first year of fatherhood, and 20 percent said they had experienced increased isolation and loneliness since welcoming their child.

Zac Seidler, global research director at Movember, explained that investing in paternal support during the transition to fatherhood benefits entire families: “Dads want to be present, involved and healthy for their families. The opportunity now is to keep building practical support around them, including routine check-ins, confident health workers and community programs that help dads stay connected.” Seidler added that fatherhood is one of the rare moments when men actively engage with the health system and reflect on their own well-being — yet systemic gaps leave this window of opportunity untapped, as few providers or loved ones think to ask how fathers are actually coping.

Moving forward, the report will be formally tabled in the Australian Parliament by a cross-party group of lawmakers, led by Dan Repacholi, Australia’s special envoy for men’s health. Repacholi echoed the report’s call for greater action, noting: “Becoming a dad is one of the proudest moments in a bloke’s life, but it can also be one of the hardest. This report shows that Aussie dads are stepping up for their kids and families in ways that are really positive. It also shows there is a real opportunity to make it easier for dads to talk about their health, get support early and stay connected during one of the biggest transitions of their lives.”

Footage of a high-stakes mountain rescue operation that unfolded earlier this year has been made public, detailing the nerve-wracking extraction of a rock climber who survived a devastating 8-meter fall after his climbing gear malfunctioned at a popular Victorian alpine destination.

The incident took place on the Horn, a well-known climbing spot located on Mount Buffalo, roughly 325 kilometers northeast of Melbourne. Standing at 1,723 meters above sea level at its highest plateau, Mount Buffalo draws hundreds of hikers and climbers annually for its challenging rock faces and scenic alpine views. On the day of the accident, a failure in the climber’s protective equipment sent him tumbling off the route he was ascending, leaving him stranded on a narrow, unstable ledge hundreds of meters above the valley floor.

A spokesperson for Ambulance Victoria confirmed that the climber suffered severe trauma from the fall, including suspected broken ribs. The impact of the fall left him briefly unconscious before emergency responders were called to the remote site. Multiple specialized emergency teams were deployed to the incident: a Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) air crew, paired with ground teams from Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance (MICA) with advanced life support capabilities.

Before the extraction could begin, the HEMS crew first completed a low-altitude reconnaissance flight over the ledge to evaluate whether a winch rescue could be carried out without putting responders at unacceptable risk. After confirming the operation was feasible, MICA Flight Paramedic Shaun Whitemore was lowered down onto the narrow ledge to treat the injured climber. Working in what emergency officials described as “extremely tight conditions,” Whitemore stabilized the climber’s injuries, administered potent pain relief, and applied splints to fractured ribs to prepare the patient for air extraction.

Once the climber was stabilized, he was successfully winched back up to the waiting rescue helicopter. He was then flown directly to Royal Melbourne Hospital, a major tertiary trauma center, to receive ongoing specialized medical care. Months after the successful operation, Ambulance Victoria has released on-the-scene footage and photos from the March rescue, shining a light on the extraordinary work of high-altitude emergency responders who carry out these risky missions to save lives.

A routine international flight departing Australia turned into a terrifying ordeal this week, when sudden, unanticipated severe turbulence threw the cabin into chaos and left multiple passengers and crew members injured, airline and medical authorities have confirmed. The incident unfolded on Cathay Pacific Flight CX156, roughly two hours ahead of its scheduled landing at Hong Kong International Airport, catching crew and travelers completely off guard as breakfast service was just getting underway. Without any prior warning from the cockpit or activation of the seatbelt sign, two successive waves of violent turbulence hit the aircraft just 15 to 20 seconds apart, sending loose objects—from smartphones and breakfast trays to hot coffee and food items—flying throughout the cabin. Unbelted passengers and crew members, who were moving through the aisles to serve meals, were thrown violently upward, with many striking the overhead cabin panels before falling back into seats or the aisle floor. When the turbulence subsided, the cabin was left in disarray: food splattered across seats, walls and floors, spilled drinks soaked through passenger belongings, and injured people waited for assistance. Among those on board the flight were four traveling doctors, who immediately stepped in to provide urgent first aid to the injured before landing. Cathay Pacific later confirmed official injury counts: 10 people total, including six cabin crew members and four passengers, were hurt during the event. Eight of those injured required inpatient hospital care after the aircraft landed safely at approximately 6:45 a.m. local time in Hong Kong. Nicholas Stevenson, a Cairns-based businessman who was a passenger on the flight, described the harrowing experience to Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), recalling that the sudden drop and jolting left many travelers convinced the plane would crash. “I thought the plane was going down. There were phones flying, coffees smashed into the roof, food absolutely everywhere,” Stevenson said. “People were screaming. There was a lot of people really freaking out.” He added that the turbulence struck at the moment the cabin crew had just woken passengers, turned on the cabin lights, and began distributing breakfast meals, leaving no time for people to return to their seats and fasten their belts. “There was no seatbelt sign or warning before hand,” Stevenson explained. “The first one [episode of turbulence] caught everyone completely off guard… Anyone that didn’t have their belts on hit the roof.” Speaking after landing, the pilot told passengers the turbulence was caused by an overnight thunderstorm cell that evaded early detection, according to Stevenson. Because of the darkness covering the region at the time, the storm system did not appear on the aircraft’s weather radar until it was too late to avoid the turbulence. With the plane already close to its destination and no immediate alternate landing site available to divert to, the crew continued the flight to Hong Kong. After landing, all able passengers were asked to remain in their seats while first responders escorted injured passengers and crew off the aircraft first for immediate medical care. Representatives for Cathay Pacific confirmed the details of the incident to ABC, and media outlets have since reached out to the airline for further comment on safety protocols and potential changes to procedures. The incident has renewed casual conversation among travel experts about the persistent risk of unexpected clear-air or thunderstorm-related turbulence, even on routine long-haul flights, and the importance of keeping seatbelts fastened whenever seated during flight.

Eight minutes ago, AFP updated the death toll from a catastrophic building collapse at a construction site north of the Philippine capital, confirming four fatalities with approximately 17 people still unaccounted for nearly 36 hours after the disaster struck.

The nine-story under-construction structure gave way in pre-dawn hours Sunday in Angeles City, roughly 80 kilometers north of Manila. As the building collapsed, it crashed into an adjacent adjacent hotel, killing one Malaysian guest staying at the property. Immediately after the disaster, two construction workers were pulled alive from the tangled wreckage, but both succumbed to their injuries overnight despite desperate efforts by medical teams to save them.

Regional fire bureau spokesperson Maria Leah Sajili explained to AFP the grim circumstances of the two workers’ deaths: “The first of the two was pulled out alive, but unfortunately, his body gave out and he did not survive. Doctors could not resuscitate him. The other one suffered a cardiac arrest around 3:00 am (1900 GMT Sunday). Doctors could not attend to him as he was still pinned down.”

On Monday morning, rescue crews recovered a fourth unidentified body from the rubble, though officials have not yet confirmed whether this victim was already counted among the missing. As of Monday afternoon, 17 people remain listed as missing, the vast majority of whom are construction workers who were sleeping on the construction site when the collapse occurred.

Families of the missing have flocked to the area, waiting anxiously for any update on their loved ones amid agonizing uncertainty. Lea Casilao, 47, whose boyfriend is among the unaccounted for, traveled from her home in northern Manila to Angeles City on Sunday, bringing rice and canned goods for her partner unaware the accident had already happened. She spent Sunday night sleeping in a local government building near the site, sharing her heartbreak with reporters: “It’s very difficult, it is breaking my heart to wait for something uncertain.”

In Bulacan province, not far from Angeles City, Stephanie Batar and her mother only learned of the disaster Monday morning via social media, and have been unable to reach Batar’s 64-year-old father, who had just started a six-month contract at the site weeks earlier. “I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t stand. It’s very painful and we did not know what to do,” Batar told AFP.

Alfredo Albis, a 55-year-old worker who survived the collapse because he was sleeping in a worker barracks just five meters from the fallen building, lost two cousins who are still trapped in the rubble. “They were working here to earn for their families and (they) are missing,” he said, adding he fears the worst for his relatives.

Investigations into the exact cause of the collapse are still ongoing, but regulatory records reveal the construction project was already flagged for serious safety violations just months earlier. Geraldine Panlilio, regional director of the Philippine labor department, told Manila radio station DZMM her office ordered a temporary shutdown of the project in September 2024 after inspectors documented multiple violations of national occupational safety standards.

“Our labor inspectors had monitored poor working conditions, a violation that would put our workers at risk,” Panlilio said. She added that the construction crew lacked basic required safety equipment including hard hats, work boots, safety belts and lifelines, and also worked in poorly lit sites with no mandatory safety warning signage. Construction resumed one month after the shutdown after the project’s contractor reportedly corrected the cited violations and met minimum regulatory requirements.

Officials confirmed that while up to 70 workers were employed at the site, most had left for the weekend to return to their homes, which likely reduced the final death toll. Rescue operations continue at the site, but Sajili noted that search efforts for trapped survivors face extraordinary logistical challenges: “rescue in (a) building collapse is very challenging since any sudden shift triggered by the movements of our rescuers can cause areas to move and people under can get crushed.”

She added that if thermal scanners fail to detect any more signs of life in the rubble, heavy mechanical equipment including excavators will be brought in to clear debris and recover remaining victims. No official timeline has been announced for the transition to recovery operations.