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International aid fell in 2024 for first time in five years – and is expected to get worse Foreign aid spending by 24 countries, including the US, UK and European Union, fell by more than $15bn last year – before the impact of huge cuts by Donald Trump have taken effect.

Spending on international aid by wealthy countries fell in 2024 for the first time in five years, data shows.

Funding from the Development Assistance Committee – a group of 24 territories that includes the US, UK, Australia, and EU member-states – fell by 7.1 per cent year-on-year, down $15.7bn, preliminary 2024 data published by the OECD on Wednesday shows.

This trend is expected to increase significantly as the US cuts huge swathes of its aid spending and other countries, including the UK, redirect aid money into other areas including defence

This is an overview of remarks by Nicola Dell’Arciprete, UNICEF Country Coordinator in Italy – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the Palais des Nations in Geneva

GENEVA, 15 April 2025 – "Ten years ago, around 1,050 people climbed aboard a flimsy wooden boat in Tripoli, Libya - a boat roughly the length of a tennis court. Many of them were fleeing war and conflict. They were hoping to reach safety in Europe. Instead, as night fell, their overcrowded boat went down, killing 1,022 people. Only 28 survived.

"Despite promises of “never again” following the 2015 disaster, an estimated 3,500 children have since died or disappeared attempting the same journey to Italy - a rate of roughly one child every day. In total, more than 20,800 lives have been lost on this perilous route.

"We know these figures are likely underestimates. Many shipwrecks go unrecorded, and many leave no survivors. In many cases it is impossible to verify the ages of those who die. The true number is likely much higher.

"Children account for nearly 17 per cent of those who make it across the Central Mediterranean to Italy. And of these, around 70 per cent are travelling alone, without a parent or legal guardian.

"Children arriving in Europe have fled from war, conflict, violence or extreme poverty. They have been in danger all the way - constantly at risk of exploitation and abuse.

"In desperation, they have taken potentially lethal risks to reach a safe haven. Many have put their lives in the hands of traffickers who have just one concern: money. Not safety. Not morality. Money.

"I saw this last week in Lampedusa, where there are children who had been crammed into dark, unventilated cargo holds. Some arrived in Italy with burned skin, caused by prolonged contact with fuel.

"This is the price of the lack of safe, legal pathways - a price that is paid by children. And it keeps the money flowing into the pockets of the traffickers.

"UNICEF is working on the ground in Italy with the Government and other partners to meet children’s immediate needs, and support their long-term integration into the communities where they now live. And we work in their countries of origin to ease the impact of the problems that fuel global refugee and migrant movements - from poverty to climate change and conflict.

"Now governments must do more. We call on them to use the Migration and Asylum Pact to prioritize the best interests of children. We call on them to ensure coordinated search and rescue, safe disembarkation, community-based reception, and access to asylum services. Ultimately, together we must do more to address the root causes in children's countries of origin that force them to risk their lives in the first place.

"We call for more investment in services for children - because every child in every reception centre is entitled to exactly the same rights and services as a child born in the European Union.

"We are entering the peak time of year for arrivals. In Lampedusa, I learned that around 1,000 people had arrived in recent days, including eighty unaccompanied children. The situation there is currently under control, and transfers are being managed fairly swiftly and efficiently. But there are concerns about where unaccompanied children are being sent, how long they stay in first-reception facilities and what happens when arrivals increase – inevitably – as we move into summer.

"A decade on from a tragedy that was meant to change everything, the reality is clear - the promises of “never again” have not been kept. With more children risking their lives to reach safety, the urgency to act with principle and resolve has never been greater.

"We need action now."

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/61918975

Massive, sustained protests led to the 2021 downfall of billionaire oligarch Andrej Babiš, dubbed ‘the Czech Trump’

Massive, sustained protests led to the 2021 downfall of billionaire oligarch Andrej Babiš, dubbed ‘the Czech Trump’

cross-posted from: https://futurology.today/post/4453232

The site previously hosted links to resources on long COVID, vaccines, and testing.

https://bsky.app/profile/theusasingers.bsky.social/post/3ln24ychc522m

More than a third of the money, to be provided over two years, will come as direct budget support to the PA and is aimed at improving financial sustainability, democratic governance and services to help the private sector develop.

The European Union has unveiled a financial aid package of up to €1.6 billion to support the Palestinian Authority (PA) and fund projects in the West Bank, Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.

The offer comes as Israel expanded its military offensive across Gaza over the weekend.

More than a third of the money, to be provided over two years, will come as direct budget support to the PA and is aimed at improving financial sustainability, democratic governance and services to help the private sector develop.

"Our programme aims to support the Palestinian people in building a sustainable future," said EU Mediterranean Commissioner Dubravka Šuica.

"It's about the governing capacity. It's about advancing economic recovery. It's about strengthening the resilience of the private sector."

Speaking to reporters after talks in Luxembourg with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, she said "a well-functioning and reformed Palestinian Authority must play a central role in the post-conflict governance of Gaza. This is our position."

Over €576 million in grants will go to fund projects in several sectors across the Palestinian territories, with €82 million going to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.

The private sector can benefit from up to €400 million euros in low-cost loans from the EU, the world's largest aid donor to the Palestinians.

Hungary's parliament has passed an amendment to the constitution that allows the government to ban public events by LGBTQ+ communities, a decision that legal scholars and critics are calling another step toward authoritarianism.

The amendment, which required a two-thirds vote, passed along party lines with 140 votes for and 21 against.

It was proposed by the ruling Fidesz-KDNP coalition led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

The amendment declares that children's rights to moral, physical and spiritual development supersede any right other than the right to life, including the right to peacefully assemble.

The amendment codifies a law fast-tracked through parliament in March that bans public events held by LGBTQ+ communities, including the popular Pride event in Budapest that draws thousands of visitors annually.

That law also allows authorities to use facial recognition tools to identify people who attend prohibited events and can come with fines of up to 200,000 Hungarian forints (€481).

Sort of cross-posted from https://sh.itjust.works/post/35988607

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/28012519

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/42020156

Can Canada create a food labeling system similar to this?

It's confusing trying to buy Canadian with all the variations of made in, assembled in, grown in, packaged in, etc. Can we copy the Australian food labeling system, perhaps replacing the kangeroo with a maple leaf? I find this much clearer.