14 h. ago UK pledge to global vaccine effort falls £400m to £1.25bn amid raft of aid cuts

Campaigners warn reduction could cost lives – even if Britain remains of the largest donors to the international Gavi alliance

Economics

14 h. ago Scientists criticise cut in UK funding for global vaccination group

Five-year £1.25bn pledge to Gavi is 40% cut in real terms, which experts say will cost lives in developing countriesThe UK has cut its funding to a leading global vaccination group by a quarter, a move that experts say will directly lead to the avoidable deaths of many thousands of children in developing countries.The Foreign Office billed the £1.25bn commitment over five years to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (Gavi) as a major boost to the group’s work as well as to the UK’s status as a developer of vaccines. A series of aid agencies praised the decision. Continue reading...

Politics

34 h. ago Global vaccination efforts stall, leaving millions of children vulnerable to preventable diseases

Global efforts to protect children against diseases like measles, polio and tuberculosis have stalled since 2010, leaving millions vulnerable to deadly infections

Politics

34 h. ago Millions of children at risk as global vaccine rates fall, study finds

Decline blamed on health inequalities, Covid disruption and soaring levels of misinformation and hesitancyMillions of children worldwide are at risk of lethal diseases because vaccine coverage has stalled or reversed amid persistent health inequalities and soaring levels of misinformation and hesitancy, the largest study of its kind has found.Major progress in rolling out jabs to billions of children in all corners of the globe over the last five decades has prevented the deaths of 154 million children, according to an analysis published in the Lancet. Continue reading...

Events

44 h. ago Premium Bonds prize fund rate will be cut from August, NS&I announces

One finance expert said the ‘writing has been on the wall’ for Premium Bond prizes since a recent Bank of England base rate cut.

Politics

4 d. ago Ancient trees are shipped to the UK, then burned – using billions in ‘green’ subsidies. Stop this madness now | Dale Vince

The evidence against the Drax power station is damning, yet the government wants to continue its massive public fundingHow green is this? We pay billions of pounds to cut down ancient forests in the US and Canada, ship the wood across the Atlantic in diesel tankers, then burn it in a Yorkshire-based power station.Welcome to the scandal of Drax, where Britain’s biggest polluter gets to play climate hero. The reality is that billions in public subsidies has enabled Drax to generate electricity by burning 300m trees. Now the government is trying to force through an extension that would grant Drax an estimated £1.8bn in public subsidies on top of the £11bn it has already pocketed, keeping this circus going until at least 2031.Dale Vince is a green energy industrialist and campaigner Continue reading...

Events

5 d. ago As the UN turns 80, its crucial humanitarian aid work faces a clouded future

As the United Nations marks its 80th anniversary, its humanitarian operations are increasingly in doubt as its top donor — the United States — has cut funding under the Trump administration and some other top Western countries have followed suit

Politics

5 d. ago Angela Rayner accused of waging 'class war' over her plans to cut funding for wealthier Southern areas so more can be spent in the North

Under Angela Rayner's shake-up, wealthier southern households face a raft of raids to help pay for the giveaway in Labour's traditional working-class areas.

Economics

5 d. ago Gay men in Africa blame President Trump for their recent HIV diagnoses after he cut prevention funding

Gay men in Nigeria said that they tested positive for HIV two months after losing access to a US-supplied drug that drastically decreases the risk of contracting the virus.

Politics

9 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

9 d. ago Judge extends pause on Trump’s efforts to block Harvard from enrolling international students

Harvard is challenging the Trump administration’s attempt to cut billions in funding in a separate lawsuit

Politics

1 week ago C of E warned over influence of ‘extreme views’ after cuts to anti

Bishop of Kirkstall says church has people ‘deeply resistant to any funding for racial justice’ after budget halvedThe Church of England is susceptible to the influence of “extreme views from abroad and at home”, a bishop has warned after church officials made a “brutal” cut in funding to tackle racism.There were people in the C of E who were “deeply resistant to any funding for racial justice”, said Arun Arora, the bishop of Kirkstall and joint leader of the church’s racial justice work. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Sadiq Khan swipes that Rachel Reeves risks 'levelling down London' as he warns Met could see officers cut after police funding squeeze

Sadiq Khan said he was 'disappointed' that the review unveiled by the Chancellor had not committed to new infrastructure in the capital.

Events

2 w. ago Government to end use of hotels for asylum seekers – Chancellor

Rachel Reeves set out how funding will be provided to cut the asylum backlog and save taxpayers billions of pounds.

Politics

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 Newsom is warned of ‘criminal tax evasion’ if he withholds federal taxes

California governor made threat amid reports Trump is weighing huge federal funding cuts targeting stateThe US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, has warned California governor Gavin Newsom that he would be guilty of “criminal tax evasion” if he withholds his state’s tax payments to the federal government amid threats of a funding cut by Donald Trump.Newsom had threatened to cut tax payments to the federal government two days ago after reports that Trump was preparing huge federal funding cuts targeting Democrat-dominated California, including its state university system. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Cyber charter schools in Pennsylvania would see funding cut under bill passed by the state House

A bill to reduce how much Pennsylvania school districts have to pay for cyber charter students is advancing in the state Legislature

Economics

3 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

3 w. ago Surge in Brits paying for private surgeries as NHS cuts back on 'limited value' operations

Private surgeries have seen a surge in operations that are considered 'low value' by the NHS as new figures reveal that funding has been cut for common procedures

Economics

3 w. ago Swinney plans political stunt at charity which had funding cut by SNP government

SUNDAY MAIL EXCLUSIVE: The First Minister's by-election blunder has been called hypocritical by Labour

Politics