Category Archives: Global development

UK will lead world on tackling famine and Covid with new department, says Raab

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Merging DfID and FCO will cement Britain ‘as a force for good’, Raab claims, but critics fear aid will be deprioritised

Dominic Raab pledged Britain will take the global lead in tackling coronavirus and the growing risk of famine in developing countries by combining diplomatic strength with “world-leading” aid expertise, as the newly merged Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) prepared to launch on Wednesday.

In his first appointment as head of the FCDO, the foreign secretary appointed Nick Dyer, acting permanent secretary of the former Department for International Development (DfID), as the UK’s first special envoy for famine prevention and humanitarian affairs.

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New employment law effectively ends Qatar’s exploitative kafala system

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Workers will be able switch jobs without employers’ permission, but rights groups say measure does not go far enough

Workers in Qatar may now change jobs without needing to obtain their employers’ permission, ending one of the most criticised elements of the country’s labour system.

The government has also announced an increase in the minimum wage, but rights groups have said the measure does not go far enough, leaving low wage workers earning as little as £1 an hour.

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Satellite images show rapid growth of glacial lakes worldwide

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Number of glacial lakes rose by 53% in 1990-2018 to reveal impact of increased meltwater

Glacial lakes have grown rapidly around the world in recent decades, according to satellite images that reveal the impact of increased meltwater draining off retreating glaciers.

Scientists analysed more than quarter of a million satellite images to assess how lakes formed by melting glaciers have been affected by global heating and other processes.

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Ban US cotton imports from Xinjiang, say human rights campaigners

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Petitions issued to US authorities cite ‘integral role of forced labour’ involving Uighur Muslims and other minority groups

Human rights campaigners are calling on US authorities to ban all imports of cotton from the Chinese province of Xinjiang after allegations of widespread forced labour.

Two identical petitions, delivered today to US Custom and Border Protection, cite “substantial evidence” that the Uighur community and other minority groups are being press-ganged into working in the region’s cotton fields.

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Inside Somalia: how Covid-19 created a perfect storm in a humanitarian crisis

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Covid could be ‘the straw that breaks the camel’s back’ health workers warn. Photographers Fardosa Hussein and Ismail Taxta captured a country battling seemingly insurmountable odds

Considering the country was in the middle of a pandemic, the silence at the entrance to Mogadishu’s De Martini hospital felt almost numbing, the expected noise replaced by stillness in its deserted, sanitised halls.

It sent a chill through me as I arrived in May to capture the work being done at what was, until recently, the Somali capital’s only hospital taking coronavirus patients. It felt like a prison.

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Recognise DfID expertise and influence in FCO merger, Raab urged

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Department for International Development gave ‘huge heft to global Britain’, says ex-secretary of state ahead of 2 September merger

Dominic Raab must recognise the “extraordinary influence and expertise” of staff at the Department for International Development (DfID) to maintain Britain’s position as a world leader, according to former Conservative development secretary Andrew Mitchell.

Mitchell, who was secretary of state from 2010 to 2012, said the DfID, which merges with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 2 September to become the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), had contributed “huge heft to global Britain” in terms of soft power.

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Indigenous tribe in Ecuador appeals for help to deal with coronavirus

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Achuar people blame illegal logging for spread and are asking international community for aid

Climate change and multinational corporations have long posed a threat to the people of the Amazon rainforest. Now, however, the region’s indigenous tribes face an even more immediate danger: coronavirus.

Despite living deep in the heartland of Ecuadorian rainforest, the indigenous Achuar tribal people have fallen victim to the pandemic. Over the last several weeks, Covid-19 has struck at the heart of the Achuar community in Ecuador, which is made up of 13,000 people living in 88 groups over 800,000 hectares (3,000 sq miles) along the Pastaza River basin. A further 15,000 Achuar are based in neighbouring Peru.

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It’s tempting to think only charities can end abuse in aid. But we need state backup | Frances Longley

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The UK government has gone quiet on global safeguarding. The new FCDO must work with NGOs to hold abusers accountable

When stories of sexual abuse, harassment and exploitation in the aid sector surfaced in February 2018, a firestorm of blame and recrimination broke out across British NGOs. Household names were vilified, and the secretary of state for international development publicly declared that we had lost our moral compass.

Stories from victims and survivors were horrific and needed to be heard. NGOs were ashamed that abuse was still happening on our watch. We apologised, made promises of improvement and change. We came together as a sector and rapidly acted. Policies, processes and training were improved across hundreds of organisations and thousands of staff around the globe.

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Covid turns tide on India’s Ganesh festival traditions

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Thousands of ritual statues are dunked into the sea off Mumbai each year – but coronavirus and pollution concerns are forcing change

In the quiet housing estate of Angrewadi in the heart of Girgaon in south Mumbai, people are celebrating the 100th consecutive year of the Ganesh Chaturthi, the Hindu festival of the elephant-headed god of new beginnings. Statues of Lord Ganesh are brought into homes and put on display for offerings and prayers.

On the 11th and final day of the festival, the ritual of Ganesh Visarjan takes place – falling this year on 1 September. The statues, normally made of soluble plaster of paris, are traditionally carried in a public procession with music and chanting, and are then immersed in either a river or the sea. Here, they slowly dissolve in a ceremony that dramatises the Hindu view of the ephemeral nature of life – but also causes widespread pollution.

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Boss vows to tackle misconduct claims at UN Green Climate Fund

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Yannick Glemarec responds to FT report of 40 complaints including racism and sexism

The head of the UN’s climate finance body has pledged to tackle complaints of misconduct at the organisation “as a matter of urgency”, after such claims against unidentified staff members were published.

Yannick Glemarec, the executive director of the Green Climate Fund, told the Guardian: “We need to continue working on building the culture of the organisation. Trust is key for our organisation.”

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Grassroots groups hold Beirut together, yet big NGOs suck up the cash | Hayat Mirshad

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Local charities work constantly to support Lebanese society. It’s time they had a fair share of foreign aid

Every person in Lebanon has probably been asked: “Where were you during the Beirut port explosion?”

My response is always the same: I was here, in Beirut.

On 4 August, when the explosion ignited our skies, I was here – fighting for my life as windows, doors, and buildings collapsed around me. I was still here in the painful hours that followed, working with fellow activists to spearhead clean-up efforts, distribute food and rescue neighbours trapped under the rubble. And when it was revealed that our government’s alleged negligence led to the fatal blast, I remained here – on the streets with my sisters – to demand justice.

We were among the first to respond to this disaster. We were here before international aid workers arrived, before France hosted an international aid conference for the humanitarian response, and before the dust settled on our now devastated city.

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The amphibians of Alhambra – a photo essay

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Its stunning Moorish architecture makes the Spanish monument one of the world’s most visited. But photographer Ugo Mellone found the resident frogs, toads and newts just as fascinating

The Alhambra, which sits on a hill in Granada, Andalucía, is the only preserved palatine city of the Islamic period and a Unesco world heritage site. Once the residence of the Nasrid sultans, it is one of the most visited national monuments in the world.

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Netflix portrayal of female Indian Air Force pilot flies into flak

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Gunjan Saxena was one of the first women in the IAF, but her biopic has drawn rebukes from fellow officers over sexism claims

Former and current members of the Indian military have criticised a Netflix film for portraying the armed forces as rife with gender discrimination.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has written to an Indian censor board, as well as Dharma Productions, which produced the film, and Netflix to complain that Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl “presented some situations that are misleading and portray an inappropriate work culture especially against women in the IAF”.

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Dengue breakthrough after mosquitoes laced with natural bacteria

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Infections in Indonesian city plummet after release of mosquitoes injected with Wolbachia bacteria

Infecting mosquitoes with a naturally occurring bacteria dramatically reduces their ability to transmit dengue, according to a breakthrough study that could pave the way to eliminating the disease.

Research conducted in Indonesia, where dengue is endemic, found that releasing mosquitoes infected with the bacteria Wolbachia into parts of Yogyakarta city reduced the number of dengue infections by 77% compared with untreated areas.

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The Children’s Place cancels millions of dollars of garment orders from Ethiopia

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Largest US childrenswear retailer blames Covid for move, as employees say they are struggling to buy food after wage cuts

The largest childrenswear retailer in the US has cancelled millions of dollars worth of clothing orders from suppliers in Ethiopia because of the coronavirus pandemic, pushing companies into debt and leaving employees facing pay cuts.

The Children’s Place (TCP), which has more than 1,000 stores in the US and 90 around the world and had a turnover of $2bn (£1.5bn) last year, cancelled orders from Ethiopia in March and delayed payments by six months for orders completed in January and February, suppliers told the Guardian.

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Chile police using Covid-19 quarantine as pretext to crush protest, activists say

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Demonstrations over hunger by people thrown out of work by the pandemic have been met with violent repression

Violeta Delgado was at a protest over food shortages under Chile’s coronavirus lockdowns when the police arrived and fired off a volley of teargas rounds.

Delgado, who was seven months pregnant, says she put her hands up to show she was unarmed, but was struck by a police vehicle and knocked to the ground.

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Africa’s triumph over wild polio shows the power of regional unity | Matshidiso Moeti

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The legacy of a successful battle is now helping combat Covid, but we must stay vigilant, says WHO’s Africa regional director

Africa has declared victory over a virus that once paralysed 75,000 children on the continent every year.

Four years have now passed since wild polio was last detected in Africa. After a year of rigorously evaluating polio data from all 47 countries in the WHO’s African region, an independent body of experts announced during a virtual ceremony on Tuesdaythat the continent was free of wild polio.

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Coronavirus has made every day a struggle to survive amid the squalor of Cox’s Bazar | Farid Alam

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Once I flew kites and dreamed of being a teacher. Now it’s hard to see a better future for me or my family

When I was born in Kutupalong camp, Bangladesh, it was a very different place. I remember as a child laughing and flying kites with my friends. Kites are not flying around our camps any more. There is little laughter.

Just months ago, we lived in a different world. We used to go outside a lot, seeking freedom from our little bamboo and plastic homes. But with Covid-19 we cannot. Often we are told to stay inside. It’s hot and cramped, with nine of us in one room.

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Leadership of merged DfID evidence of ‘hostile takeover’ by FCO, say critics

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NGOs and MPs fear appointments to Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office reflects unbalanced priorities

The UK’s ambassador to the EU is to become political director of the newly merged Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), one of seven senior officials who will form the core of the leadership team when the department launches next week.

Tim Barrow is one of five appointees from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office chosen to serve on the board of the FCDO. Two further appointments are officials from the Department for International Development (DfID).

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‘They think they’ll be left to die’: pandemic shakes already fragile Venezuela

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Venezuela’s official Covid-19 death toll stands just over 300, but hospital employees suggest the true situation may be far worse

As they are hauled into Maracaibo’s University hospital, pale, wheezing and panicked, a recurring cry emerges from the mouths of coronavirus patients in this bedraggled Venezuelan metropolis.

“Save me!” they plead as they enter A&E, according to hospital staff too scared to give their names. “Please don’t let me die!”

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