6 h. ago Voices: Why it is time for a new era for global aid and development

The Fourth Financing for Development Conference in Seville must set a clear roadmap towards achieving three major changes, writes minister for international development Jenny Chapman

Politics

65 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

67 h. ago Voices: As Tesla’s sales continue to slump, is it time for Elon Musk to step aside?

The former ‘first buddy’ is back in the driving seat of his car business, but hasn’t been able to take the brakes off decline in the key European market since leaving the White House. So who else might be able to turn around the fortunes of the EV juggernaut, asks James Moore

Politics

3 d. ago Babcock hails ‘new era of defence’ as global threats prompt greater spending

The London-listed company reported higher profits and raised its financial outlook.

Events

3 d. ago Voices: Why it’s time you got off Google and used a different search engine instead

Britain’s competition regulator is concerned about the search giant’s market domination – as are watchdogs in the US and the EU. But might the problem yet fix itself, asks James Moore

Politics

3 d. ago Starmer: No tax rises on working people to reach 5% defence spending pledge

He said the current commitment to get defence spending up to 2.5% of GDP was coming from cuts to overseas development aid.

Economics

4 d. ago How did Spain come to be the only nation holding firm on its aid spending? | Ana Carbajosa

By refusing to slash funding to poorer nations, Spain became an outlier in the new world disorder. Next week it hosts a UN summit in Seville to prove itSpain swims against the tide. At a time when much of Europe is grappling with economic crises, caving in to populist anti-aid narratives and slashing development budgets, the country is increasing its financial support for the global south. Instead of planning future aid cuts, Spain has put ambitious goals for 2030 into law.Moreover, at a time when much of the world is looking inward and retreating from multilateralism, Spain will host a UN summit in Seville this month, the first of its kind in the global north. Dozens of heads of government, state and multilateral organisations will discuss how to finance development in a post-aid world, suffocated by military spending and unpayable debt in dozens of countries, particularly those in Africa. For the Spanish government, the forthcoming Seville summit is a clear political statement. Co...

Economics

4 d. ago How did Spain come to be one of the few nations holding firm on aid spending? | Ana Carbajosa

By refusing to slash funding to poorer nations, Spain became an outlier in the new world disorder. Next week it hosts a UN summit in Seville to prove itSpain swims against the tide. At a time when much of Europe is grappling with economic crises, caving in to populist anti-aid narratives and slashing development budgets, the country is increasing its financial support for the global south. Instead of planning future aid cuts, Spain has put ambitious goals for 2030 into law.Moreover, at a time when much of the world is looking inward and retreating from multilateralism, Spain will host a UN summit in Seville this month, the first of its kind in the global north. Dozens of heads of government, state and multilateral organisations will discuss how to finance development in a post-aid world, suffocated by military spending and unpayable debt in dozens of countries, particularly those in Africa. For the Spanish government, the forthcoming Seville summit is a clear political statement. Co...

Economics

8 d. ago Voices: It’s time every police force atoned for its homophobic witch

The formal apologies issued by 21 British chief constables for historic homophobia have strengthened community and trust, says Independent Pride List honoree, Peter Tatchell. But 24 other forces aren't seeing why this is so crucial

Events

8 d. ago Voices: It’s time every police force atoned for its homophobic witch hunts 

The formal apologies issued by 21 British chief constables for historic homophobia have strengthened community and trust, says Independent Pride List honoree, Peter Tatchell. But 24 other forces aren’t seeing why this is so crucial

Events

1 week ago Send in armed UN troops to protect aid convoys or risk ‘dystopia’, says expert

UN rapporteur calls for move as food deliveries are attacked and starvation becomes a weapon of war in Gaza and SudanUN peacekeepers should be routinely deployed to protect aid convoys from attack in places such as Gaza and Sudan, a senior United Nations expert has proposed.With starvation increasingly used as a weapon of war, Michael Fakhri said armed UN troops were now required to ensure that food reached vulnerable populations. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago WW3 fears in overdrive as UK government give defence spending boost over rising tensions

The Labour Government is planning on turning Britain into a 'defence industrial superpower' as the global security situation means a 'new era for defence and security'

Politics

2 w. ago Progress unravelled, and millions left vulnerable: how British aid cuts threaten British health too | Sarah Champion

The UK faces a critical choice: follow the global trend of disengagement or stand firm in backing health securityRight now, aid reductions across the globe are jeopardising decades of progress against preventable diseases, leaving millions of people vulnerable. This retreat from global health threatens to unravel hard-won advances against diseases we have nearly conquered.Polio, which paralysed hundreds of thousands of children annually just 40 years ago, has been eliminated in most parts of the world. Meanwhile, there has been a resurgence of diseases such as measles and cholera in populations besieged by conflict and climate emergencies.Sarah Champion is the Labour MP for Rotherham Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago I was killed by a truck and a divine voice said it wasn't my time... here's why I can't wait to die again

Up to 15 percent of the world's population have had a near-death experience, with many revealing that they saw heaven - but not everyone came back willingly .

Events

2 w. ago Aid cuts will do irreversible damage, warns UN development chief

Outgoing UNDP head says funding reductions by US, UK and others will harm systems that took decades to build

Events

2 w. ago Hamilton Accies supporters' chief voices new Broadwood concerns in 'critical' time

Accies Supporters' Association chairman David Equi says the club have 12 days to prove they have a ground for next season

Politics

3 w. ago Voices: Tiananmen massacre: It’s time to wake up and stand up to the butchers of Beijing

On the 36th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, Benedict Rogers says that the question is not whether China has changed – it hasn’t – but whether the free world has the courage to wake up and act on its morals

Events

4 w. ago Voices: It is time the left made a case for immigration – and how to control it

A credible migration plan means investing in UK skills, enforcing fair rules, and building a country where all workers – wherever they’re from – are treated with dignity, writes Paul Nowak

Politics

4 w. ago ‘I don’t want freebies’: outgoing AfDB head on why investment, not aid, will shape Africa’s future

After a decade helming the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina hands over to his successor this week. He explains his optimism despite the continent’s challengesThe man known as Africa’s “optimist-in-chief” faces one of his toughest challenges this year: handing over the reins of his beloved institution to his successor. After 10 years at the top of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina will this week see a new president elected at the bank’s annual meeting in Ivory Coast before a handover in September.Adesina will be passing on a bank that has grown dramatically during his tenure. “In 2015, the capital of the bank was $93bn. Today, the African Development Bank is $318bn.” Continue reading...

Politics