All posts tagged: Poverty and Development

Pope Leo says not seeking ‘new debate’ with Trump on trip to Angola | Religion News

Pope Leo says not seeking ‘new debate’ with Trump on trip to Angola | Religion News

Published by Sam Flores

Leo is the third pontiff to visit the fossil fuel-rich country after John Paul II in 1992 and Benedict XVI in 2009. Published On 18 Apr 202618 Apr 2026 Pope Leo XIV has downplayed his recent back-and-forth with United States President Donald Trump over the Middle East as he travels to Angola on the third leg of a landmark African tour. Leo, the third pontiff to visit the fossil fuel-rich country after John Paul II in 1992 and Benedict XVI in 2009, is expected to arrive at 3pm (14:00 GMT) on Saturday in the capital, Luanda, where billboards bearing his image have been erected to welcome him. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list The pope, who visited Cameroon for three days before flying to Luanda, is also slated to meet Angola’s President Joao Lourenco and deliver a speech in the country, where about 44 percent of the population identifies as Catholic. The trip comes after Leo’s appeals for an end to the US-Israel war on Iran, and his condemnation of those who claim …

‘Erosion of a country’s future’: What has the war cost Sudan? | Conflict News

‘Erosion of a country’s future’: What has the war cost Sudan? | Conflict News

Published by Sam Flores

Three years into its civil war, Sudan has become unrecognisable with more than 40,000 people killed, about 14 million of its people – a quarter of the population – forced to flee their homes and civilian infrastructure across the country extensively damaged. “We are not just facing a crisis – we are witnessing the systematic erosion of a country’s future,” Luca Renda, the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP’s) resident representative in Sudan, told Al Jazeera. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list A report by the UNDP and the Institute for Security Studies lays out the scale of Sudan’s economic collapse since the war began in 2023 due to a power struggle between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Even under the most optimistic scenario of peace being achieved in 2026, Sudan would still lose an estimated $18.8bn in its gross domestic product (GDP) by 2043, the report said, illustrating just how deeply the war has already reshaped the country’s economic trajectory. The report warned that the damage goes beyond lost …

Maradona’s childhood home becomes soup kitchen for those in need | Football News

Maradona’s childhood home becomes soup kitchen for those in need | Football News

Published by Sam Flores

Published On 14 Apr 202614 Apr 2026 The late Argentinian football legend’s childhood home has been converted into a soup kitchen serving those affected by President Javier Milei’s austerity measures. At 523 Amazor street in Fiorito, a Buenos Aires suburb where the “Golden Boy” experienced extreme poverty growing up, locals can now receive meals and clothing assistance. This neighbourhood of about 50,000 residents living in modest brick homes features numerous murals commemorating the career of the iconic number 10, who passed away in 2020 at the age of 60. As a criminal negligence trial begins on Tuesday against the seven-member medical team responsible for Maradona’s final care following brain surgery, his childhood community continues his legacy of compassion. Neighbours visit “Diego’s house” carrying containers that volunteers fill with chicken stew and other meals prepared in large cauldrons in the yard, while cumbia music – Maradona’s preferred genre – plays in the background. “Diego would say there is a lot of hunger and we have to help, because the need is so great,” explained Diego Gavilan, …

How Carney’s ‘build fast’ push divides Canada’s Indigenous peoples | Business and Economy

How Carney’s ‘build fast’ push divides Canada’s Indigenous peoples | Business and Economy

Published by Sam Flores

Vancouver, Canada – Prime Minister Mark Carney’s efforts to unite Canadians around protecting the nation’s economy from the US are hitting roadblocks as he nears one year in power. Indigenous peoples across Canada are increasingly divided over Carney’s aggressive push to expand resource extraction and projects on their ancestral lands. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list Some experts question how his government can advance its agenda while respecting Indigenous rights enshrined in the country’s constitution. March 14 will mark one year since Carney, former head of Canada’s central bank, was sworn into office. After an election last year, his centrist Liberal party formed a minority government with the highest share of the popular vote in 40 years. A key to Carney’s victory was his pledge to “stand strong” against US trade threats and grow Canada’s economic sovereignty, an assertive approach the prime minister has called “elbows up”. “In the face of global trade shifts … we will build big and build fast to create a stronger, more sustainable, more independent economy,” Carney said in …

Cuba’s economy on edge: Fuel shortages and rising hardship | Politics

Cuba’s economy on edge: Fuel shortages and rising hardship | Politics

Published by Sam Flores

Havana, Cuba – Eight days before United States President Donald Trump signed an executive order threatening tariffs on countries supplying oil to Cuba, 26-year-old twins Sandra and Sabrina Gonzalez received a devastating email. “Due to U.S. regulatory requirements, Airbnb must deactivate certain listings. Unfortunately, this applies to your listing(s) in Cuba … All upcoming reservations will be canceled today,” reads the email dated January 21. “By that point, all our booking dates had been blocked, and all our reservations from January to April had been automatically cancelled,” said Sandra, a resident of Havana. Sandra’s family has been running two bed-and-breakfasts through Airbnb since 2016, when Cuba’s tourism industry boomed following the historic normalisation of relations under the administration of former US President Barack Obama. Their business survived Trump’s tourism sanctions during his first term and the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. After further research, the sisters discovered that only Cuban hosts with US bank accounts linked to their listings had been affected. In a bid to salvage the situation, they tried to reach their guests …

In Zimbabwe, millions choose funeral insurance over pricey medical cover | Health News

In Zimbabwe, millions choose funeral insurance over pricey medical cover | Health News

Published by Sam Flores

Harare, Zimbabwe – Ngoni Mutambararo’s uncle, Steward Ganda, 60, spent the last months of his life at home, trying to recover from a severe ailment on his own. Ganda suffered from severe pain in his legs that left him confined to bed and unable to tend the small tuck shop he ran in Kambuzuma, a low-income suburb in Harare. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Like millions of Zimbabweans without health insurance and unable to cover hospital expenses, he had hoped to soldier through and get well without medical attention. But as the weeks and months passed, his condition deteriorated. Eventually, family members convinced him to consult a physician, and he was first admitted to Sally Mugabe Central Hospital. Doctors initially suspected he’d suffered a stroke. But on further inspection, they told the family he may have a kidney-related issue and needed to see a specialist, a nephrologist whose consultation fee was $600. With no savings, Ganda’s family spent a month late last year trying to gather the money, hoping it would save …

G20 fails to deliver on sovereign debt distress | Debt News

G20 fails to deliver on sovereign debt distress | Debt News

Published by Sam Flores

Heads of state from the world’s most powerful countries gathered in Johannesburg, South Africa, over the weekend for a summit that had been billed, under South Africa’s G20 presidency, as a turning point for addressing debt distress across the Global South. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa had consistently framed the issue as central to his agenda, arguing that spiralling repayment costs have left governments, particularly in Africa, with little room to fund essential services like healthcare and education. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list But despite repeated pledges – including in the leaders’ summit declaration to “strengthen the implementation of the G20 Common Framework” – South Africa did not deliver any new proposals for easing fiscal constraints in indebted nations. Hopes that world leaders would use the G20 summit to tackle sovereign debt distress were further dashed when United States President Donald Trump, at odds with South Africa over domestic policies, skipped the meeting altogether amid Washington’s retreat from multilateralism. The summit also marked the close of a brief period of Global South …