5 h. ago Call for more taxes on smoking to make up cuts to global aid funding

It comes as a new World Health Organisation report says progress tackling tobacco use has slowed for the first time in more than 20 years

Economics

6 d. ago The Guardian view on Gaza’s engineered famine: stop arming the slaughter – or lose the rule of law | Editorial

As Palestinians starve amid the rubble, western governments defend Israel, fund armed aid and dismantle the very rules they claim to upholdGaza’s cries have been drowned out by Israel’s strikes on Iran, and the diplomatic pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu over the suffering has ebbed. Yet as the industrialised world urges de-escalation in the Middle East, the devastation continues. On Tuesday morning, witnesses described Israeli forces firing towards a crowd waiting for trucks loaded with flour, leaving more than 50 dead. These are not stray bullets in wartime chaos, they are the outcome of a system that makes relief deadly.As Médecins Sans Frontières declared this week, what is unfolding in Gaza is “the calculated evisceration of the very systems that sustain life”. That includes homes, markets, water networks and hospitals – with healthcare continually under attack. Last week, a UN commission found that more than 90% of the Gaza Strip’s schools and universities have be...

Politics

6 d. ago South Africa is at the heart of the HIV pandemic. What happens now the money has been cut?

With 12% of the population living with the virus, Trump’s sudden withdrawal of funding stands to undo decades of progressLebo is very afraid. She used to go to a clinic where sex workers such as her could get HIV medication without facing discrimination. But the dispensary, in Johannesburg’s run-down central Hillbrow district, shut down in January, when Donald Trump cut US funding to the global HIV response.“I’m weak. I’m an old woman,” says the 62-year-old. “So please, we need help; we are suffering.” Lebo, who only wants her first name shared, is now spending 30% of her monthly income of 1,500 rand (£62) on antiretroviral (ARV) medication. Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago Jane Goodall chimpanzee conservation project in Tanzania hit by USAid cuts

US agency had pledged almost $30m over five years to Hope Through Action initiative, which was launched in 2023The US government funding cuts will hit a chimpanzee conservation project nurtured by the primatologist Jane Goodall.USAid has been subjected to swingeing cuts under Donald Trump, with global effects that are still unfolding. Now it has emerged that the agency will withdraw from the Hope Through Action project managed by the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI). USAid had pledged $29.5m (£22m) over five years to the project, which was designed to protect endangered chimpanzees and their habitats in western Tanzania. Continue reading...

Events

8 d. ago Tyson Fury swears live on ITV while giving England Soccer Aid team pre

Made up of celebrities and footballing stars, the fundraising match sees the England team take on Soccer Aid World XI FC to raise money for Unicef.

Politics

1 week ago Sam Thompson talks 'breakdown' after Zara split ahead of awkward Louis Tomlinson meeting

Sam Thompson was set to team up with ex-girlfriend Zara McDermott's new partner Louis Tomlinson at the Soccer Aid fundraiser on Sunday night

Events

1 week ago Bear Grylls forced to quit Soccer Aid after 'stupid' injury just days before match

Adventurer Bear Grylls was set to play on Soccer Aid on Sunday, with the annual charity match raising funds for UNICEF, but he has now been forced to pull out

Events

1 week ago Keir Starmer must come to the defence of his chancellor’s spending review

Editorial: In spite of Rachel Reeves’s much-vaunted increase in MoD expenditure, a rise to 2.6 per cent of GDP can only be achieved by draining the overseas aid budget, reallocating intelligence agency funds, and other sleights of hand. When the prime minister faces Nato leaders, including Donald Trump, he will have no choice but to spin the numbers

Politics

1 week ago Aid cuts push global funding down by a third in 2025, UN data shows

Agency that coordinates humanitarian responses says that for 44 humanitarian crises it has prioritised this year, only around 11 per cent of the required funding as been confirmed, writes Nick Ferris

Politics

2 w. ago Books and Beats: Fundraising book launch for 'Elephant' by Gillian Shirreffs in aid of Beatson Cancer Charity

A not-to-be-missed literary afternoon celebrating the power of words, music and community will take place on Saturday, June 14 from 12 noon to 2pm at Glasgow University Union, as bestselling author Gillian Shirreffs launches her much-anticipated second book Elephant, in aid of Beatson Cancer Charity.

Science

2 w. ago Brits back cuts to foreign aid, benefits and Net Zero to fund the NHS and police

YouGov research has given an insight into the public's priorities as Rachel Reeves prepares to unveil departmental budgets for the next three years.

Events

2 w. ago Cuts to UK’s global vaccination funding would risk avoidable child deaths, experts warn

Exclusive: Scientists also say any reduction in Foreign Office funding for vaccine alliance Gavi would harm UK’s soft powerAny cut in UK funding to a global vaccination group would damage soft power and could make British less resilient to infectious diseases, as well as causing avoidable deaths among children, leading vaccine and aid experts have warned.Scientists including Sir Andrew Pollard, who led the development of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid vaccine, said a major cut in money for the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (Gavi) could also make the UK less able to respond to a future pandemic. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Procter & Gamble to cut up to 7,000 jobs amid economic and tariff pressure

The Tide detergent and Pampers maker plans global restructuring as US consumers pull back and trade costs riseProcter & Gamble will cut up to 7,000 jobs, or approximately 6% of its global workforce, in the next two years as the maker of Tide detergent and Pampers diapers wrestles with tariff-related costs and customers who have grown anxious about the economy. The job cuts, announced at the Deutsche Bank consumer conference in Paris on Thursday, make up about 15% of its current non-manufacturing workforce, said chief financial officer Andre Schulten. “This restructuring program is an important step toward ensuring our ability to deliver our long-term algorithm over the coming two to three years,” Schulten said. “It does not, however, remove the near-term challenges that we currently face.” Procter & Gamble, based in Cincinnati, had approximately 108,000 employees worldwide in June 2024. The cuts are part of a broader restructuring program. Procter & Gamble will also end ...

Economics

2 w. ago Pete Wicks savagely mocks Zara McDermott with hilarious sign as he cheers on Sam Thompson

Sam Thompson, who is currently completing a 260 mile Soccer Aid challenge to raise funds for Unicef, was left in stitches as his pal Pete Wicks cheered him on during his third day with a cheeky sign that poked fun at his ex, Zara McDermott.

Politics

2 w. ago Pennsylvania is suing the USDA over cutting funding to a $1 billion food aid program for states

Pennsylvania has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture, saying the agency, under President Donald Trump, illegally cut off funding through a program designed to distribute more than $1 billion to states

Economics

2 w. ago Queen Mary of Denmark dons daring ensemble to visit the Global Fashion Summit in Copenhagen

Queen Mary of Denmark cut a stylish figure during a visit to the Global Fashion Summit in Copenhagen this morning. The Queen, 53, put her best fashion foot forward as she arrived at DR Concert Hall.

Politics

3 w. ago Coatbridge dad tears muscle during his second Edinburgh marathon after breaking foot in first effort

But Lee Dornan, 36, would 'do it all over again' to benefit the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF) charity.

Sport