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The Guardian
20-06-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
£5bn UK overseas aid cuts cannot be challenged in court, say government lawyers
Cuts of £5bn to the UK overseas aid budget cannot be challenged in the courts, government lawyers have said, even though ministers have no plan to return spending to the legal commitment of 0.7 % of UK gross national income (GNI). The assertion by Treasury solicitors that ministers are immune from legal challenge over aid cuts comes in preliminary exchanges with the aid advocacy group One Campaign. It is the first step in what could prove a highly embarrassing judicial review. In the spring statement in March the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said she was slashing aid from 0.5% to 0.3 % of GNI. The international development minister, Jenny Chapman, recently said in a Guardian interview that this level of spending was the new normal. The 40% cut, due to be imposed by April 2027, is being billed as necessary to fund a new permanent increase in defence spending required by long-term changes to the security landscape. The previous aid cut, from 0.7 % to 0.5 %, imposed by Dominic Raab, the then Conservative foreign secretary, was billed as temporary. It was accompanied by aspirational timetables for aid spending to return to 0.7%, the target set out in the 2015 International Development Act entrenching that figure as the government commitment on overseas aid. One Campaign says that for ministers to comply with the law, they face a choice of either repealing the act, a vote that some Labour MPs will be reluctant to justify to their electorates, or to set out a credible pathway to return to the target. The campaign said it is impossible for ministers to keep legislation on the statute book that places duties upon them they intend to defy. In their legal defence – a written exchange on the legal merits between government and One Campaign prior to a potential judicial review – government lawyers claimed a section in the act shields ministers from all legal challenge. They said the act's only mechanism for securing accountability is through a ministerial report to parliament. They pointed to a section of the act on the ministerial duty to report to parliament that states the reporting duty 'does not affect the lawfulness of anything done or omitted to be done by any person'. The lawyers told One Campaign that 'this puts beyond doubt that parliament intended the courts would have no jurisdiction'. This interpretation is being contested by the Liberal Democrat peer Jeremy Purvis, who helped draft the legislation and steered it through parliament. He said ministers cannot hide behind the narrow section of the act on minister's reporting duty to claim it ousts the courts. He added: 'This government has not just missed the target but is changing it, and there is no scope to do this. 'The simple fact is the government is seeking to avoid a vote in parliament, avoid the courts and avoid all accountability for reneging on all requirements under the act.' He added the government had set out no pathway to return to 0.7 %. One Campaign says the cuts are likely to be devastating. Its director, Adrian Lovett, said there was no evidence that ministers had met the requirement to undertake impact assessments of the cuts on poverty reduction and gender equality. Ministers say they only have to make such an assessment when cuts to specific programmes are being made.
Calgary Herald
10-06-2025
- Business
- Calgary Herald
Bono's pro-Africa advocacy group coming to Calgary for G7 … but without him
Article content While Bono won't be among the high-powered guests attending the G7 summit in Kananaskis this coming weekend, his representatives say they hope his advocacy for causes in Africa will make an impact anyway. Article content Representatives for the One Campaign, which Bono founded more than two decades ago to fight poverty and preventable diseases, will host an event at Stephen Avenue near 3rd Street S.W. in downtown Calgary at 11 a.m. this Friday for what the group describes as an engaging and visual event ahead of the G7 meeting of world leaders in the picturesque mountains west of the city. Article content Article content Article content 'The event is designed to spark public dialogue about the trade war, Canada's energy potential, the need for trade diversification, and Canada's leadership on the world stage,' said campaign spokesman Justin MacAuley in a written statement, which also highlighted the retreat of the United States from its role in spurring global development. Article content Article content 'Prime Minister (Mark) Carney has a unique opportunity to fill that leadership gap, especially in relation to energy and Africa,' the group said. Article content Canada hasn't taken advantage of trade with Africa despite the potential for explosive economic and population growth, according to the One Campaign, missing out on billions of dollars' worth of imports and exports. Article content And while there is currently some amount of trade between Canada and African nations, mainly in autos, minerals and wheat, it pales in comparison to trade with Asia, the group argues. Article content Article content 'Since 2005, Canada's total imports from Africa have declined as a share of total imports,' says the campaign's website. 'Canada is missing a vital opportunity.' Article content Increasing economic ties with Africa could prove helpful as Canada continues to experience strained trade relations with the United States, the One Campaign added.
Irish Independent
31-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Independent
Bono tells Joe Rogan US global aid cuts have led to 300,000 deaths and reveals conversations with Marco Rubio
When Mr Trump took office earlier this year, DOGE, led by Mr Musk, was set up to cut wasteful spending in the US government. The Trump administration has moved to cut funding to government foreign aid agency USAID and other global initiatives, including the United States President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR), which has saved more than 25 million lives since it was established in 2003. During an appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Bono told host Joe Rogan of how the world's relationship with the US seems to be changing, and revealed he is in contact with US secretary of state Marco Rubio. 'I think America's more vulnerable now than it's ever been. It feels like America's fallen out of love with the rest of the world. I don't think the world wants to fall out of love with America,' he said He then cited a report estimating 300,000 people have already died as a result of cuts made to USAID funding and said food intended for foreign aid is being left to rot because the workers who had access to it have been fired. "There's food rotting in boats, in warehouses. There is - this will f**k you off - you will not be happy, no American will, but there is, I think it's 50,000 tonnes of food that are stored in Djibouti, South Africa, Dubai and - wait for it - Houston, Texas. "And that is rotting rather than going to Gaza, rather than going to Sudan, because the people who know the codes for the warehouse are fired, they're gone. What is that? That's not America, is it?" Mr Rogan agreed there "have been organisations that do tremendous good all throughout the world" but added there was "a money laundering operation" with no oversight that saw billions or trillions of dollars of US public money go missing. The levels of waste, abuse and fraud in the US government claimed by Mr Trump and Mr Musk have been disputed by fact checkers in the American and international media. Mr Musk has responded to the claims made by Bono in a post on his social media platform X: 'He's such a liar/idiot. Zero people have died!' he wrote. ADVERTISEMENT During his conversation with Mr Rogan, Bono said a Christian aid organisation working with malnourished children is being forced to 'choose which child to pull off the IVs' because of funding cuts. "It just seems to me like a kind of, I don't know if evil is a strong word, too strong a word, but what we know about pure evil is it rejoices in the deaths, the squandering of human life, particularly children's. "It actually rejoices in it and whether it's incompetence, whether it's unintended consequences, it's not too late for people.' Bono said he is contact with Mr Rubio, who does not agree people are dying as a result of cuts to funding. "I have conversations with Marco Rubio. He's convinced people aren't dying yet. I don't know who's telling him, or not telling him, rather. But his instincts are correct.' He said Mr Rubio used to wear an armband for the One Campaign, the organisation co-founded by Bono in 2004 for providing aid in Africa. "Americans, no matter what political colour, you seem them, just the size, they just grow in stature when they know they're being useful.'
Reuters
29-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Mauritania's Tah elected president of AfDB, Africa's top development bank
ABIDJAN, May 29 (Reuters) - Former Mauritanian Finance Minister Sidi Ould Tah has been elected president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), the lender said on Thursday, after a poll during the bank's annual meeting in Ivory Coast. He will replace Akinwumi Adesina, a Nigerian economist who will step down in September after completing the maximum two five-year terms in office. The AfDB, which has $318 billion in capital, is owned by 54 African states and non-regional nations including the U.S., Japan and Saudi Arabia. Its biggest shareholder is Nigeria. Tah will take over as the bank grapples with Washington's plans to cut $555 million in funding to its African Development Fund (ADF), which offers low-priced financing to more than 30 of the continent's poorest nations. "African economies are under immense pressure, facing multiple crises like rising debt burdens, climate shocks, inflation and limited fiscal space," said Serah Makka, executive director for Africa at One, a group that campaigns against extreme poverty. Between sclerotic infrastructure and climate investment needs, African nations have huge financing needs. The AfDB has pegged the annual financing gap for structural transformation at more than $400 billion - or nearly 14% of the continent's projected GDP by 2030. The bank is aiming to raise $25 billion in its current replenishment round, which concludes in November. The last round, three years ago, raised $8.9 billion. Tah will have to either persuade the U.S. to reinstate the funding or seek to replace the lost cash elsewhere, either from other African members or wealthier countries outside the continent who want a bigger say in the bank's activities, such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates or China, analysts said. Apart from constrained funding sources, the president-elect will also have to help heavily indebted African economies avert potential debt distress and meet historically high investment needs despite limited access to international funding. The AfDB is in the process of helping to set up a financial stability mechanism (AFSM) for the continent to prevent countries from tipping into debt-induced crises. "The AFSM directly responds to one of Africa's most pressing financial vulnerabilities, the rising burden of short-term, non-concessional debt that threatens economic stability across the continent," Makka said, adding that the continent's cost of capital is often 5 to 8 percentage points higher than that of developed countries. Tah will also help African nations steer through the turmoil caused by U.S. trade tariffs, volatility in the prices of commodities such as oil - a core revenue source for several countries - and risk aversion from some investors that could make it tough to keep money flowing into the continent. The lender on Tuesday cut this year's Africa growth forecast, citing the impact of tariffs.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Bono Shares Bold Statement After Bruce Springsteen's Controversial Political Comments
shared a strong statement when recently asked about the situation involving Bruce Springsteen's political comments criticizing and the President's response. While visiting the late-night show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, host Jimmy Kimmel brought up the recent events, asking Bono, "Whose side are you on, Trump or Bruce Springsteen?" 🎬 The U2 singer took a moment to consider his answer before saying, "I think there's only one 'Boss' in America," referring to Springsteen's famous nickname, "The Boss." But then Kimmel brought up a message from Trump posted to his social media platform Truth Social in which he claimed that people like Bono, Springsteen, , and were paid by Kamala Harris for endorsements during her presidential campaign. Bono first stated, "To be in the company of Bruce Springsteen, Beyoncé, and Oprah, I'd play tambourine in that band," before clarifying that he and U2 "have never been paid or played a show to support any candidate from any parts." The Irish activist hypothesized that part of the reason Trump included him in that group was that he co-founded the nonprofit organization One Campaign, which states on its website that it "fights for a more just world by demanding the investments needed to create economic opportunities and healthier lives in Africa." Bono went on, saying that people from all walks of life are "very, very, very angry with the person that they voted into office having demolished instruments of mercy and compassion, like USAID and PEPFAR." He then shared a strong final statement: "They are not happy, and there will be trouble."Bono Shares Bold Statement After Bruce Springsteen's Controversial Political Comments first appeared on Parade on May 28, 2025
