The new UK government should increase its role in international aid, as the rise of the far-right in Europe has caused overseas development budgets to drop, the head of the International Rescue Committee said on Wednesday.
David Miliband, a former Labour Party cabinet minister who now leads the New York-based international NGO, said that aid budgets were “under disproportionate stress” as populist sentiment in Europe had grown.
European countries that once led the global fight against poverty are increasingly diverting funds, with populist leaders hostile towards the climate change debate.
“There is a real temptation for far-right parties to weave together overseas aid and scepticism about the climate crisis,” Mr Miliband said on Wednesday.
This shifting political landscape comes as the world’s poorest countries could see “deepening levels of extreme poverty” as conflict and climate change overlap.
The 16 countries most vulnerable to climate change were also affected by conflict, accounting for 44 per cent of the world’s poor, Mr Miliband said, quoting recent IRC figures. The list of countries includes Syria, Sudan and Myanmar.
“The trends are towards a deepening of the overlap and the deepening of the extreme poverty,” he said, speaking at Chatham House on Wednesday.
Mr Miliband, who will be meeting the new Labour government this week, called for the UK to be “ambitious” but without “hubris” about its global role.
“Of course, the UK cannot and should not offer a quick fix to these problems but we are still one of the world's richest countries. We have platforms that are not available to others," he said.
The UK's overseas aid budgets dropped significantly in the past decade under a Conservative leadership, and now was the time to reinstate some of them, Mr Miliband said.
“The government is spoilt for choice where it has to put its efforts. There’s goodwill. There’s international interest in where the UK is going to go. There’s an opportunity to bring the policy brain back into this."
The UK was gripped by far-right riots over the summer, with attacks on mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers.
But Prime Minister Keir Starmer was unlikely to ride the waves of populism seen elsewhere in Europe, Mr Miliband said. “The government here have been principled and clear about that.”
Mr Miliband did not think it was necessary for the UK to immediately restore its commitment of 0.7 per cent GDP for overseas aid – the UN target that the UK dropped to 0.5 per cent as a result of the pandemic.
"We know that the UK government has pledged that the restoration ... can only be achieved when economic conditions allow," he said.
Instead, Mr Miliband proposed reinstating a 50 per cent target of overseas aid going to fragile and conflict states, which had dropped to 15 per cent since 2015, and to work with grant-giving multilateral institutions such as the World Bank's International Development Association.
The UK could also "put itself at the front" of initiatives supporting climate change adaptation.
Mr Miliband served as environment secretary under Tony Blair, and Foreign Secretary under Gordon Brown. The debate on climate change had changed since he was in government, he said.
“The parties were competing to expand and extend their commitment," Mr Miliband said. "When Tony Blair appointed me, he said, 'we can’t have the Tories setting the agenda on this. We need to make sure that we’re ahead of the game'. We’re in a very different situation now.”
He praised UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy’s recruitment of economist and academic Minouche Shafik to lead a review of Britain’s approach to international development.
With western aid faltering, other wealthy countries should also help fill the gap, Mr Miliband said.
“The fact that the aid system is disproportionately dependent on the traditional West is not healthy. It's not only the traditional West that’s got economic power today.
“There’s also a lot of questions being asked about those countries that have benefitted from rising incomes in the last 15 years, what are they putting into global aid system,” he said, without naming the countries.
Those wealthy nations were giving priority to aid budgets through direct agreements with other countries, at the expense of funding multilateral institutions and international NGOs.
“Certainly through the multilateral system it's relatively low, there are bilateral efforts being made,” he said.
Getting there
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town daily. Flights cost from about Dh3,325, with a flying time of 8hours and 15 minutes. From there, fly South African Airlines or Air Namibia to Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, for about Dh850. Flying time is 2 hours.
The stay
Wilderness Little Kulala offers stays from £460 (Dh2,135) per person, per night. It is one of seven Wilderness Safari lodges in Namibia; www.wilderness-safaris.com.
Skeleton Coast Safaris’ four-day adventure involves joining a very small group in a private plane, flying to some of the remotest areas in the world, with each night spent at a different camp. It costs from US$8,335.30 (Dh30,611); www.skeletoncoastsafaris.com
The Lowdown
Us
Director: Jordan Peele
Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseqph, Evan Alex and Elisabeth Moss
Rating: 4/5
From Conquest to Deportation
Jeronim Perovic, Hurst
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
RESULTS
2pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (Dirt) 1,000m
Winner: AF Mozhell, Saif Al Balushi (jockey), Khalifa Al Neyadi (trainer)
2.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Majdi, Szczepan Mazur, Abdallah Al Hammadi.
3pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: AF Athabeh, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.
3.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: AF Eshaar, Bernardo Pinheiro, Khalifa Al Neyadi
4pm: Gulf Cup presented by Longines Prestige (PA) Dh150,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: Al Roba’a Al Khali, Al Moatasem Al Balushi, Younis Al Kalbani
4.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh40,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Apolo Kid, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muahiri
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Disability on screen
Empire — neuromuscular disease myasthenia gravis; bipolar disorder; post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Rosewood and Transparent — heart issues
24: Legacy — PTSD;
Superstore and NCIS: New Orleans — wheelchair-bound
Taken and This Is Us — cancer
Trial & Error — cognitive disorder prosopagnosia (facial blindness and dyslexia)
Grey’s Anatomy — prosthetic leg
Scorpion — obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety
Switched at Birth — deafness
One Mississippi, Wentworth and Transparent — double mastectomy
Dragons — double amputee
Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule
- 1st Test India won by 304 runs at Galle
- 2nd Test India won by innings and 53 runs at Colombo
- 3rd Test August 12-16 at Pallekele
Result
UAE (S. Tagliabue 90 1') 1-2 Uzbekistan (Shokhruz Norkhonov 48', 86')
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
MATCH INFO
Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Son 1', Kane 8' & 16') West Ham United 3 (Balbuena 82', Sanchez og 85', Lanzini 90' 4)
Man of the match Harry Kane
'The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey'
Rating: 3/5
Directors: Ramin Bahrani, Debbie Allen, Hanelle Culpepper, Guillermo Navarro
Writers: Walter Mosley
Stars: Samuel L Jackson, Dominique Fishback, Walton Goggins
Indoor Cricket World Cup
Venue Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE squad Saqib Nazir (captain), Aaqib Malik, Fahad Al Hashmi, Isuru Umesh, Nadir Hussain, Sachin Talwar, Nashwan Nasir, Prashath Kumara, Ramveer Rai, Sameer Nayyak, Umar Shah, Vikrant Shetty
UAE v Zimbabwe A, 50 over series
Fixtures
Thursday, Nov 9 - 9.30am, ICC Academy, Dubai
Saturday, Nov 11 – 9.30am, ICC Academy, Dubai
Monday, Nov 13 – 2pm, Dubai International Stadium
Thursday, Nov 16 – 2pm, ICC Academy, Dubai
Saturday, Nov 18 – 9.30am, ICC Academy, Dubai
Honeymoonish
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Match info
Uefa Champions League Group H
Juventus v Valencia, Tuesday, midnight (UAE)
Joy%20Ride%20
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