World Bank poised to host climate loss and damage fund, despite concerns

Reuters Countries moved a step closer on Saturday to getting a fund off the ground to help poor states damaged by climate disasters, despite reservations from developing nations and the United States. The deal to create a “loss and damage” fund was hailed as a breakthrough for developing country negotiators at United Nations climate talks […]
Niger junta says it will not back down despite “inhumane” sanctions

Niamey, Niger/Abuja, Nigeria Reuters The self-declared new leader of Niger on Wednesday said the junta would not bow to pressure to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, intensifying a standoff with the West African bloc which has threatened to intervene after last week’s coup. The Economic Community of West African States has imposed sanctions on Niger […]
Paris finance summit breaks new ground in climate, poverty fight

Barcelona, Spain Thomson Reuters Foundation A new patchwork of pledges from the world’s biggest development lenders, set to release hundreds of billions of dollars for poorer nations, has raised hopes the financial floodgates are finally starting to open in tackling climate change and poverty. Last week’s “Summit for a New Global Financing Pact” in Paris […]
Ukraine targets initial $US40 billion for ‘Green Marshall Plan’

London, UK Reuters War-torn Ukraine is seeking up to $US40 billion to fund the first part of a “Green Marshall Plan” to rebuild its economy, a senior Ukrainian government official told Reuters ahead of a summit this week. Politicians and financiers will discuss the country’s short-term funding issues as well as look at long-term reconstruction […]
Flood response: In Pakistan, homes get green, disaster-resilient redesign

As Pakistan tries to rebuild better after devastating floods, cheap, natural and easy-to-construct homes may be one answer. ZOFEEN T EBRAHIM, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports…
Global migration to grow, needs better management, says World Bank

Washington DC, US Reuters Rapid aging of both wealthy and middle-income countries will make their economies increasingly dependent on migration from poorer countries, and the process needs to be better managed, the World Bank said on Tuesday. The bank’s latest World Development Report said that about 184 million people across the world now live in […]
Essay: Billions still lack access to safe drinking water – this is a global human rights catastrophe

TAHSEEN JAFRY, director of the Mary Robinson Centre for Climate Justice at Glasgow Caledonian University, says that, alarmingly, there are more people now without access to clean water than there were three decades ago…
India’s workforce: As population booms, where are its working women?

ANNIE BANERJI and ANUJA of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on why India is being urged to bring women into the workforce by creating female-friendly jobs and conditions as its population and economy grow…
“Strong concerns”: Ethiopia digital ID prompts fears of ethnic profiling

ZECHARIAS ZELALEM, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on fears the rollout of digital ID Fayda in Ethiopia could entrench discrimination against Tigrayans and other ethnic minorities…
Essay: Mad world – global flashpoints to watch in 2023 in the era of ‘polycrisis’

In an article first published on The Conversation, SUSAN HARRIS RIMMER, director of the Policy Innovation Hub at the Griffith Business School in Australia, looks at what we can expect in 2023 after a year in which we saw “some of the most shocking humanitarian scenes in modern history”…