All posts tagged: poverty

The Weight of Poverty Fell on Small Shoulders

The Weight of Poverty Fell on Small Shoulders

Published by Sam Flores

In the narrow lanes of Rawalpindi’s settlements, the constant hum of factory machines often replaces the sound of classroom bells. Children—some as young as seven or eight—spend their days gluing sandals for less than a dollar a day, trapped in a cycle where poverty pushes them into labor. This is not only a personal tragedy but also a systemic crisis shaped by policy gaps and the persistent pressure of economic hardship. Before fleeing to Pakistan, I was a high school student in Kabul with aspirations of becoming a pharmacist. I witnessed a relatively stable life—families like mine had access to food, shelter and a sense of everyday normalcy, along with the freedom to move without constant fear. However, everything changed after August 2021, when the Taliban took over. My father lost his job, and the economic stability that supported our household quickly disappeared. In the absence of that stability, our living conditions deteriorated, ultimately forcing us to leave Afghanistan and begin life in Pakistan as refugees. This experience is not isolated. Across Pakistan, many Afghan …

One economist’s villainous plan to manage global poverty

One economist’s villainous plan to manage global poverty

Published by Sam Flores

Writer and philosopher Ayn Rand was often accused of inventing cartoonish villains. Rogues such as Ellsworth Toohey in “The Fountainhead” would scheme to seize the global economy’s commanding heights in pursuit of a distorted sense of justice. But the people who hold such ideas don’t just appear in cartoons or in Rand’s novels. Enter Thomas Piketty and company. In early June, Piketty’s large team joined the French economist — whose work on inequality has made him something of a rock star even while being serially challenged for methodological errors, data imputations and cherry-picked baselines — to unveil what can only be described as a villainous plan. It’s a comprehensive program for global managed decline dressed up in the language of climate justice and equality. The plan is far too ambitious for most nations to accept. But given Piketty and his circle of economists’ influence on U.S. wealth taxes and prominent global policy proposals, we should take its underlying ideas seriously. Piketty’s plan would cap GDP per capita in wealthy countries at roughly $69,000, far less …

Energy crisis heightens risk of poverty and social exclusion: EU Commissioner Minzatu – Talking Europe

Energy crisis heightens risk of poverty and social exclusion: EU Commissioner Minzatu – Talking Europe

Published by Sam Flores

Our guest has an important role in promoting social policies in the European Union, at a time when much of the political oxygen is being sucked out by the competitiveness and simplification agenda, as well as by defence and security issues. Roxana Minzatu is Executive Vice-President of the European Commission and is in charge of social rights and skills, quality jobs and preparedness. Minzatu is a Romanian social democrat, a former minister for European funds in the Romanian government and a former MEP. She recently presented an anti-poverty strategy aimed at dealing with the fact that one in five Europeans – or 93 million people – are at risk of poverty or social exclusion. “I want to send a signal of optimism with this strategy. I don’t want to paint a bleak picture,” Minzatu tells the programme. “But the reality is that the numbers (of people at risk of poverty) are dynamic. The cost of living is rising, the energy shocks crisis, the invasion of Ukraine, and now the Middle East crisis. There are a …

EU to tell countries to fight poverty — without offering fresh cash – POLITICO

EU to tell countries to fight poverty — without offering fresh cash – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

“There is no strategy without money,” said Juliana Wahlgren, director of the European Anti-Poverty Network. “How are we going to implement it if, funding-wise, this is not a priority?” Poverty target slipping The EU wants to reduce the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion by at least 15 million from 2019 to 2030, and eradicate it by 2050. That target was set in 2021. But by 2025, that number had fallen by just 3.4 million, according to the draft of the strategy seen by POLITICO. Across the bloc in 2025, 20.9 percent of the population was at risk of poverty, down only marginally since 2019, when it stood at 21.1 percent. The picture varies sharply across the bloc. Romania and Bulgaria have reduced the share of people at risk of poverty by around a third over the past decade, while some of the EU’s richest countries have moved in the opposite direction. The Covid-19 pandemic reversed a trend of falling poverty numbers in France, Austria and Germany, among others. In those …

Coffee has positive impacts to your gut health — even when it’s decaf

Coffee has positive impacts to your gut health — even when it’s decaf

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Drinking coffeeis good for your gut health — whether it’s the fully caffeinated or decaf kind, according to a new study from researchers in Ireland. Even just three cups a day can help to improve mood and decrease stress levels, researchers said, adding to an increasing body of research showing the benefits of the morning brew. The researchers found that levels of healthy gut bacteria were increased in regular coffee drinkers, including Firmicutes bacteria that have been linked to positive emotions in women. Bacteria in the gut make up what is known as the gut microbiome, which in the intestine and regulate the immune system, brain and heart health. The findings could help drinkers better understand the impact of coffee on their health beyond stimulating caffeine and potentially even provide a reason for more people to drink coffee, although it does …

DOJ charges Southern Poverty Law Center with fraud

DOJ charges Southern Poverty Law Center with fraud

Published by Sam Flores

Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks during a press conference with FBI Director Kash Patel next to him, at the Department of Justice in Washington, April 21, 2026. Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images The Department of Justice on Tuesday announced a bombshell 11-count fraud indictment accusing the Southern Poverty Law Center of secretly funding leaders and organizers of white supremacist, racist and other hate groups that the civil rights group claimed to be battling. “The SPLC’s paid informants (‘field sources’) engaged in the active promotion of racist groups at the same time time that the SPLC was denouncing the same groups on its website,” alleges the indictment returned by a grand jury in the U.S. District Court in Montgomery, Alabama, on Tuesday. The SPLC, which is a nonprofit civil rights group, is charged with six counts of wire fraud, four counts of bank fraud and one count of money laundering. Between 2014 and 2023, the SPLC paid at least $3 million to eight individuals, some of whom were associated with the Ku …

Pope Leo XIV arrives in Angola, where oil wealth and mass poverty collide

Pope Leo XIV arrives in Angola, where oil wealth and mass poverty collide

Published by Sam Flores

NAIROBI (RNS) — Pope Leo XIV arrived in Angola on Saturday afternoon, touching down in the capital, Luanda, to begin a three-day visit expected to focus on economic inequality, youth unemployment and governance in one of Africa’s most resource-rich nations. The visit, part of his broader tour of Africa, brings the pope to a country where vast oil and mineral wealth contrasts sharply with widespread poverty — a reality religious leaders say is likely to shape his message in the days ahead. Religious leaders in the country told RNS they expect the pope will address both moral and structural challenges facing the country. “This visit is coming at a time when many people are questioning the direction of the country,” Fr. António Caetano Neto, a Catholic priest in Angola, told RNS by phone. “There is hope that the pope will speak about justice, accountability and the dignity of ordinary people.” Angola is overwhelmingly Christian, with more than 90% of the population adhering to various denominations. A former Portuguese colony, Angola is home to one of …