Africa: Mobile money taxes risk driving poor out of digital economy
KENT MENSAH and NITA BHALLA, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, report on how moves to roll out an e-levy on mobile money transactions in cash-strapped African nations, could hurt the poorest…
In Cuba’s poorest neighbourhoods, youths could face decades in jail after protests
La Guinera, Cuba Reuters Young Cuban protesters from Havana’s poorest neighbourhoods face decades behind bars at upcoming trials, relatives and rights groups said, amid a crackdown on some of those who took part in last year’s unprecedented anti-government demonstrations. The 11th to 12th July protests saw thousands take to the streets in towns and cities across the […]
Postcards: For struggling Afghan family, the next meal is a matter of faith
As the year comes to an end, JAMES MACKENZIE, MOHAMMAD YUNUS YAWAR and ALI KHARA, of Reuters, report from Afghanistan on the plight of the poor…
Look beyond the lights and remember the poor, Pope says on Christmas Eve
Vatican CityReuters Pope Francis, leading the world’s Roman Catholics into Christmas, said on Friday that people who are indifferent to the poor offend God, urging all to “look beyond all the lights and decorations” and remember the neediest. Francis, ushering in the ninth Christmas of his pontificate, celebrated a solemn vigil Mass in St Peter’s […]
Don’t judge the poor, often victims of injustice, says Pope who also urged “courage” for leaders in addressing climate change
Vatican CityAP Pope Francis decried societies which rush indifferently past the poor, often judging them instead of helping them, as he celebrated Sunday Mass in St Peter’s Basilica attended by 2,000 indigent people. During his homily, Francis also made an made the appeal against what he called “growing indifference” to the poor, who, he said, […]
Pope pledges to continue being a “pest” in defence of the poor
Vatican CityReuters Pope Francis said on Saturday he realises some people, including within the church, consider him to be “a pest” for defending the poor and most vulnerable, but that it won’t stop him as it is part of Christianity. “Thinking about these situations [of exclusion and inequality], I make a pest of myself with […]
Ranks of Mexican poor swell to reach nearly half the population
Mexico CityReuters Mexico’s poverty rate grew to nearly 44 per cent at the end of last year, government data released on Thursday showed, worsened by an economic slump as the coronavirus pandemic led to steep budget cuts, business closures and layoffs. Some 3.8 million more Mexicans fell below the official poverty line in 2020 to […]
Essay: India’s vaccine rollout is ignoring the many inequities in its society
In an article first published on The Conversation, RAJIB DASGUPTA, chair of the Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health at Jawaharlal Nehru University, looks at the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in India..
Companies, not poor, get most COVID-19 aid in developing world, says study
Nairobi, KenyaThomson Reuters Foundation Developing countries have used most of their COVID-19 recovery funds to bail out big business, neglecting millions of people who have been pushed into poverty including cash-in-hand workers, women and the disabled, a study showed on Thursday. In eight countries, an average of 63 per cent of pandemic-related state aid went […]
Essay: As India’s COVID crisis worsens, leaders play the blame game while the poor suffer once again
In an article published on The Conversation, SUJEET KUMAR, a senior research fellow at the Centre for the Study of Law and Governance at Jawaharlal Nehru University, says its time for India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi “to show decisive leadership”…