Without “history-defying” rates of economic growth, global economies will not meet the goal of ending extreme poverty by the end of the decade, a report from the World Bank has shown.
The latest “Poverty and Shared Prosperity” report said that the Covid-19 pandemic dealt the primary setback to global poverty-reduction efforts and the Russian invasion of Ukraine has threatened to compound those historic hurdles.
“Progress in reducing extreme poverty has essentially halted in tandem with subdued global economic growth,” said World Bank President David Malpass.
“Adjustments of macroeconomic policies are needed to improve the allocation of global capital, foster currency stability, reduce inflation and restart growth in median income.”
The alternative, he added, is the status quo: slowing global growth, higher interest rates, greater risk aversion and fragility in developing countries.
The pandemic pushed about 70 million people into extreme poverty in 2020, the report said — the largest one-year increase since global poverty monitoring began in 1990.
By the end of 2020, an estimated 719 million people subsisted on less than $2.15 a day.
That exacerbated global inequality, with the most impoverished having shouldered the heaviest burden of global economic setbacks: income losses averaged 4 per cent for the poorest 40 per cent, double the losses of the wealthiest 20 per cent of the income distribution.
The World Bank argued in the report that strong fiscal policy measures made “a notable difference” in mitigating the pandemic's global economic impact, noting the average poverty rate in developing economies would have been 2.4 percentage points higher without a fiscal response.
“Yet government spending proved far more beneficial to poverty reduction in the wealthiest countries, which generally managed to fully offset Covid-19’s impact on poverty through fiscal policy and other emergency support measures,” the report said.
The World Bank released the report in tandem with its latest analysis on the Middle East's economic outlook, which highlighted how the regional economy avoided the worst impacts of global inflation and grew “faster” than expected, but it needs government reform to address “uneven” regional distribution of economic security.
Roberta Gatti, the World Bank's chief economist for Mena, said that inflation and setbacks from the Russia-Ukraine war must be addressed quickly to stave off a “silent crisis” of more long-lasting consequences.
“Let's say tomorrow inflation magically disappears. Temporary shocks can have permanent consequences,” said Ms Gatti at the Mena report's launch event at the Middle East Institute in Washington.
She argued that the Mena region in particular must work on transparency to better address looming consequences.
“With inflation, food prices go up, nutrition of children worsens, nutrition of pregnant mothers worsens … what keeps me up at night is that it's important to make this cost surface, so that policymakers know how to make trade-offs.”
Speaking on the panel with Ms Gatti, Ferid Belhaj, the World Bank's vice president for Mena, called on the region to take the economic signals as cause for government reform.
“The state is overwhelmingly present in the economy in Mena through state-owned enterprises that are mismanaged and that are frankly becoming a drain on the budget and a drain on the mere survival of the economies of these countries,” said Mr Belhaj.
“There is a revolution to be made, it's a big word, but at the end of the day, that's what you want.
“What we're talking about is, frankly, a revolution in terms of the state of mind and having a totally new approach to this work, the relationship between the state and the citizen, that will be built on trust and accountability.”
Nearly half of Afghanistan's people threatened by starvation — video
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What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Short-term let permits explained
Homeowners and tenants are allowed to list their properties for rental by registering through the Dubai Tourism website to obtain a permit.
Tenants also require a letter of no objection from their landlord before being allowed to list the property.
There is a cost of Dh1,590 before starting the process, with an additional licence fee of Dh300 per bedroom being rented in your home for the duration of the rental, which ranges from three months to a year.
Anyone hoping to list a property for rental must also provide a copy of their title deeds and Ejari, as well as their Emirates ID.
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand
UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final
more from Janine di Giovanni
Race results:
1. Thani Al Qemzi (UAE) Team Abu Dhabi: 46.44 min
2. Peter Morin (FRA) CTIC F1 Shenzhen China Team: 0.91sec
3. Sami Selio (FIN) Mad-Croc Baba Racing Team: 31.43sec
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
The Bio
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Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
Abu Dhabi card
5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 2,400m
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 2,200m
6pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 1,400m
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7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m
The National selections:
5pm: Valcartier
5.30pm: AF Taraha
6pm: Dhafra
6.30pm: Maqam
7pm: AF Mekhbat
7.30pm: Ezz Al Rawasi
Scores
New Zealand 266 for 9 in 50 overs
Pakistan 219 all out in 47.2 overs
New Zealand win by 47 runs
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Specs
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The specs
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More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
