Explainer – How Western sanctions target Russia
Reuters The United States, Britain and other Western nations have hit Russia with new sanctions following Russian’s invasion of Ukraine on Thursday. The European Union broadly agreed new measures, details of which were to be discussed by EU foreign ministers at an emergency session on Friday. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Vice-President […]
“No to the IMF”: thousands protest in Argentina against debt deal
Buenos Aires, ArgentinaReuters Thousands of Argentines marched through the streets of Buenos Aires on Tuesday to protest against a likely deal with the International Monetary Fund to revamp more than $US40 billion of debt the country cannot pay back. The protesters paraded through the capital with banners saying “no to paying the IMF” and “no […]
Poor nations pay highest debt service in 20 years – campaigners
Johannesburg, South AfricaReuters Developing countries are paying more to service their debt than at any other time in the past two decades, with a heavier burden on the horizon if the United States raises interest rates this year as expected, a leading debt campaigner said on Monday. Many developing nations have been hit hard by […]
Unchecked debt “dagger through heart” for global recovery, says UN chief
New York City, USReuters UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Monday that if left unchecked debt distress in the world’s most vulnerable countries would be “a dagger through the heart of global recovery” from the coronavirus pandemic. “The international community has taken a few positive steps, but it is time for a quantum leap in […]
Essay: Fear, shame and losing sleep – why young adults are struggling during the pandemic
EMMA JACKSON, director for Christians Against Poverty (CAP) Scotland, says more work is needed to address the stigma and shame that still exists around debt, especially for young adults during the “exceptionally hard” situation in which they now live…
Debt to personal data: Five threats to digital rights in Africa in 2020
Johannesburg, South Africa/Nairobi, KenyaThomson Reuters Foundation From internet blackouts to contact tracing apps, digital rights across Africa were spotlighted in 2020 as millions of people were forced online to work, study and socialise amid lockdowns to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus. Rights advocates and research groups raised concerns that measures enacted to curb […]
Christians Against Poverty joins call for Australia to keep responsible lending laws
Christians Against Poverty is among some 125 organisations and almost 100 prominent Australians which have signed an open letter warning Australian senators to block plans to remove so-called “responsible lending laws”. The Federal Government has proposed removing the laws which were introduced in 2009 in the wake of the global financial crisis to ensure people […]
Special report – Expose reveals child labour in Cambodian brick kilns despite crackdown
Phnom Penh, CambodiaThomson Reuters Foundation Cambodian children are working in brick kilns across the country despite a recent government declaration that all furnaces were free of child labour following a state crackdown, a Thomson Reuters Foundation expose has found. Kiln visits by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, a soon-to-be-released survey by the workers union, and interviews […]
Struggling to survive, Syrian refugees in Lebanon fall deeper into debt
Thomson Reuters Foundation Syrian refugees in Lebanon are falling deeper into debt, with 2018 being the worst year yet, as more families marry off children to cope financially, according to a report by the United Nations released on Wednesday. The study by the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, the World Food Programme and UNICEF stated that […]