5 h. ago Government stalling in efforts to cut foreign aid spent on asylum seekers

The government has been accused of ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’, with aid organisations claiming ministers are in danger of a ‘reckless repeat’ of the previous Conservative government

Politics

7 h. ago Home Office plans to spend £2.2bn of foreign aid on asylum support this year

International rules allow countries to count first-year costs of supporting refugees as overseas development assistance.

Economics

8 h. ago Labour struggling to slash 'unsustainable' foreign aid spending on asylum hotels, despite vow to end practice

The Government is spending £2.2 billion of overseas development funds to house migrants

Events

12 h. ago Labour is still spending £2.2bn a year of foreign aid on UK hotels for asylum seekers

Figures released by the Home Office show Labour only managed to reduce its spending on official development assistance between 2024/25 by around £1million.

Economics

54 h. ago US warns Starmer it is 'important' UK hits new Nato target for spending 3.5% of GDP on defence as Labour struggles to balance the books

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered the message as he met ministers from the military alliance in Brussels.

Events

1 week ago Donald Trump must reverse his aid cuts and lift the death sentence on HIV patients

Editorial: As a new Independent documentary shows, by shutting off US foreign aid and abruptly stopping the supply of HIV drugs to developing countries, the US president has punished some of the poorest people on the planet

Politics

1 week ago Voices: The UK should be taking the lead on international aid – not abandoning women and girls around the world

With aid budgets slashed and progress on gender equality under threat, the UK needs to continue support for sexual and reproductive rights, writes International Development Committee chair Sarah Champion

Politics

1 week ago US aid kept many hungry Somali children alive. Now that money is disappearing

The U.S. Agency for International Development once provided 65% of Somalia’s foreign aid

Society

1 week ago Revealed: The true cost of climate crisis for world’s poorest countries

Exclusive: Small-island states and conflict-vulnerable countries in Africa are suffering intensely as floods, droughts and hurricanes wreak havoc on communities and livelihoods

Events

2 w. ago More than 100,000 people are still awaiting an asylum decision despite Labour's vow to 'clear the backlog' (and a third are still in hotels) as new data reveals UK's asylum 'hotspots'

Newly-published Home Office figures showed, at the end of March this year, there were 78,745 cases (relating to 109,536 people) awaiting an initial decision.

Events

2 w. ago More than 60 charities demand UK reverse ‘shameful’ aid cuts that will expose women and girls to abuse

Exclusive: Cuts to spending will leave at least a million women and children at increased risk of violence, charities say

Events

2 w. ago South Africa says its budget can't cover for the deep US cuts in foreign aid

South Africa's finance minister says the country doesn’t have the funds to cover the over $430 million shortfall caused by the Trump administration’s cuts in foreign aid

Politics

2 w. ago Voices: This is the beginning of the end of international aid. What will the new world look like?

Donald Trump's attack on aid has been a long time coming, argue Heba Aly and Nilima Gulrajani. Now is the time to create a response fit for the 21st century

Politics

2 w. ago UK suspends trade talks with Israel and attacks ‘repellent’ extremism

Foreign secretary, David Lammy, condemns blocking of aid trucks and calls by Israeli ministers to ‘purify Gaza’Middle East crisis – live updatesUK-Israeli relations have plunged to their worst state for decades after the British foreign secretary, David Lammy, suspended negotiations over a new free trade deal, saying Israel’s cabinet ministers’ calls to “purify Gaza” by expelling Palestinians were repellent, monstrous and extremist.He also said wider talks about a future bilateral strategic roadmap with Israel were being reviewed. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago The Guardian view on the calls to save Gaza: Palestinians need deeds, not words | Editorial

Israel faces growing international condemnation. But more is required to restore aid and bring a ceasefireThe UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher fears that thousands of babies are at imminent risk of death in Gaza unless aid reaches them. Benjamin Netanyahu fears that foreign politicians could see too many pictures of Palestinian children like these.Two months after all supplies were cut off, the Israeli government denies the obvious truth: that Gaza is on the brink of famine. But on Monday night the prime minister announced that “minimal” aid deliveries would restart, saying his country’s “greatest friends in the world” had told him that they could not “accept images of mass hunger”. His entirely cynical response saw a handful of trucks permitted to cross; reportedly, 100 a day will now be allowed – grotesquely inadequate given the vast scale of need. Reaching the most vulnerable will be perilous and difficult anyway amid Israel’s intensified offensive. Mr Netanyahu vowed that Isra...

Politics

2 w. ago UK suspends trade talks with Israel and attacks ‘repellant’ extremism

Foreign secretary, David Lammy, condemns blocking of aid trucks and calls by Israeli ministers to ‘purify Gaza’Middle East crisis – live updatesUK-Israeli relations have plunged to their worst state for decades after the British foreign secretary, David Lammy, suspended negotiations over a new free trade deal, saying Israel’s cabinet ministers’ calls to “purify Gaza” by expelling Palestinians were repellant, monstrous and extremist.He also said wider talks about a future bilateral strategic roadmap with Israel were also being reviewed. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump eyes foreign aid funds to remove migrants including Ukrainians who came to the U.S. from war zones: report

Hundreds of thousands of migrants, including those from Ukraine and Haiti, are reportedly being considered in the plans

Events

2 w. ago Britain halts trade talks with Israel and summons ambassador for Foreign Office dressing down amid growing fury over aid blockade on Gaza

David Lammy told MPs Tzipi Hotovely would be told by Middle East minister Hamish Falconer that 'the 11-week block on aid to Gaza has been cruel and indefensible'.

Politics

2 w. ago Israel's UK ambassador summoned to the Foreign Office amid growing fury over aid blockade on Gaza

David Lammy told MPs Tzipi Hotovely would be told by Middle East minister Hamish Falconer that 'the 11-week block on aid to Gaza has been cruel and indefensible'.

Politics

3 w. ago Iranian nationals charged in alleged UK spy ring plot to aid foreign intelligence

The three men have been remanded in custody

Politics