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Straits Times
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
UN cuts aid appeal after donors slash budgets
FILE PHOTO: The United Nations headquarters building is pictured though a window with the UN logo in the foreground in the Manhattan borough of New York August 15, 2014. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File photo GENEVA - The United Nations on Monday slashed its aid appeal to donors by over a third, saying it was now seeking $29 billion to support 114 million people amid what it described as the deepest funding cuts ever. U.N. aid chief Tom Fletcher said that the scale of donor retrenchment had been so large that it has been "forced into a triage of human survival." "The math is cruel, and the consequences are heartbreaking. Too many people will not get the support they need, but we will save as many lives as we can," he said. In a statement, the U.N. said its request prioritises, but does not replace, an earlier appeal for over $47 billion launched in December 2024 - before U.S. President Donald Trump announced major cuts to foreign aid that he has himself described as "devastating". Other Western governments, which have previously accounted for the lion's share of humanitarian budgets, are also retrenching as they instead prioritise defence spending. The previous U.N. humanitarian appeal was less than 13% funded nearly halfway through the year, the U.N. said. "All we ask is one percent of what you chose to spend last year on war," said Fletcher. "But this isn't just an appeal for money - it's a call for global responsibility, for human solidarity, for a commitment to end the suffering," he said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
12 hours ago
- Politics
- The Star
UN cuts aid appeal after donors slash budgets
FILE PHOTO: The United Nations headquarters building is pictured though a window with the UN logo in the foreground in the Manhattan borough of New York August 15, 2014. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File photo GENEVA (Reuters) -The United Nations on Monday slashed its aid appeal to donors by over a third, saying it was now seeking $29 billion to support 114 million people amid what it described as the deepest funding cuts ever. U.N. aid chief Tom Fletcher said that the scale of donor retrenchment had been so large that it has been "forced into a triage of human survival." "The math is cruel, and the consequences are heartbreaking. Too many people will not get the support they need, but we will save as many lives as we can," he said. In a statement, the U.N. said its request prioritises, but does not replace, an earlier appeal for over $47 billion launched in December 2024 - before U.S. President Donald Trump announced major cuts to foreign aid that he has himself described as "devastating". Other Western governments, which have previously accounted for the lion's share of humanitarian budgets, are also retrenching as they instead prioritise defence spending. The previous U.N. humanitarian appeal was less than 13% funded nearly halfway through the year, the U.N. said. "All we ask is one percent of what you chose to spend last year on war," said Fletcher. "But this isn't just an appeal for money - it's a call for global responsibility, for human solidarity, for a commitment to end the suffering," he said. (Reporting by Emma Farge; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
Straits Times
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Straits Times
NFL teams vote to allow players to compete in LA28 flag football
FILE PHOTO: The NFL logo is pictured at an event in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., November 30, 2017. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri NFL teams vote to allow players to compete in LA28 flag football NEW YORK - National Football League teams voted in favour of a resolution allowing their players to compete in flag football at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, the NFL said on Tuesday. The league itself had long been on board with players competing in the Games, while multiple athletes - including two-time MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes - said they wanted to play. The plan cleared a key hurdle on Tuesday, as team owners gave their blessing at a league meeting in Minnesota. "It's an incredible honour for any athlete to represent their country in the Olympics, which is the pinnacle of global sport," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. "I know first-hand that the inclusion of flag football in the Olympics has sparked a tremendous amount of excitement among NFL players interested in the chance to compete for their country on the world stage. "We are thrilled that they will now have that chance." The league, NFLPA, Olympic entities and the sport's global governing body IFAF will now be left to work out the fine details, including injury protection measures, standards for field surfaces, as well as players' workload and schedule management. NFL players would be expected to go through a tryout or qualification process in order to compete for their national team like any other Olympic hopeful, the league said. NFL team owners voted unanimously in favour of the resolution, according to NFL Network. The announcement raises the tantalising possibility of a new "Dream Team," 36 years after the gold-medal winning U.S. basketball team laden with NBA stars. "Reverting back to being a kid and watching the track and field meets, watching basketball win the gold medal, so that's something that as a kid I always wanted to be a part of, but football wasn't global," Minnesota Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson said at a press conference. "So now we're expanding the game, it's pretty cool." "Dream Team" or not, the move is expected to give a major injection of star power into the flag football competition, with the potential to bring U.S. sport's biggest names to their home Games in a country where the NFL reigns supreme in popularity. "It really takes us a step closer to fulfilling our promise to have these be the greatest games that America is capable of hosting," Casey Wasserman, the LA28 chairperson and president, told Reuters. A lifelong Cleveland Browns fan who was a ball boy for the team when he was a kid, Wasserman said he was keenly aware of the spotlight that the NFL players could bring to the Olympic stage. "These athletes, yes, they will bring an immense amount of attention to the flag football tournament, but they will bring in an immense amount of the attention to the entire Olympic programme, because this will be truly life-altering for them as well," he said. The NFL has ramped up its promotion of the sport, a non-contact format of American football, since the IOC approved it for the LA28 programme in 2023, with an eye toward drawing more women into an arena long dominated by men. The Olympics will also go a long way towards boosting the NFL's longstanding international ambitions, as the league has moved to globalise the game. Six men's teams and six women's teams are expected to compete in flag football at the 2028 Los Angeles Games, with 10 players per team competing in a five-on-five format. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Straits Times
NFL-Teams vote to permit players to compete in LA28 Olympic flag football
FILE PHOTO: The NFL logo is pictured at an event in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., November 30, 2017. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri NEW YORK - National Football League teams voted in favour of a resolution allowing their players to compete in flag football at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, the NFL said on Tuesday. The league itself had long been on board with players competing in the Games, while multiple athletes - including two-time MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes - said they wanted to play. The plan cleared a key hurdle on Tuesday, as team owners gave their blessing at a league meeting in Minnesota. "It's an incredible honour for any athlete to represent their country in the Olympics, which is the pinnacle of global sport," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. "I know first-hand that the inclusion of flag football in the Olympics has sparked a tremendous amount of excitement among NFL players interested in the chance to compete for their country on the world stage. "We are thrilled that they will now have that chance." The league, NFLPA, Olympic entities and the sport's global governing body IFAF will now be left to work out the fine details, including injury protection measures, standards for field surfaces, as well as players' workload and schedule management. The move could see a major injection of star power into the flag football competition, with the potential to bring U.S. sport's biggest names to their home Games in a country where the NFL reigns supreme in popularity. NFL players would be expected to go through a tryout or qualification process in order to compete for their national team - like any other Olympic hopeful - the league said. The NFL has ramped up its promotion of the sport, a non-contact format of American football, since the IOC approved it for the LA28 programme in 2023, with an eye toward drawing more women into an arena long dominated by men. The Olympics will also go a long way towards boosting the NFL's longstanding international ambitions, as the league has moved to globalise the game. Six men's teams and six women's teams are expected to compete in flag football at the 2028 Los Angeles Games, with 10 players per team competing in a five-on-five format. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
24-04-2025
- Health
- Straits Times
Aid funding disrupts child vaccinations almost as much as pandemic, says UN
The United Nations headquarters building is pictured with a UN logo in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., March 1, 2022. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri Aid funding disrupts child vaccinations almost as much as pandemic, says UN LONDON - Global aid funding cuts, led by the United States, are disrupting efforts to vaccinate children against deadly diseases almost as much as the COVID-19 pandemic did, the United Nations said on Thursday. Outbreaks of infectious diseases, including measles, meningitis and yellow fever, have been increasing globally. Emergency and routine vaccinations meanwhile were significantly affected in nearly half of countries at the start of April due to the funding cuts, according to reports from World Health Organization offices in 108 largely low and lower-middle income countries. Cuts to funding also reduced vaccine supplies and hampered disease surveillance, the WHO and UNICEF said in a joint release with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. "Setbacks (are) at a similar level to what we saw during COVID-19. We cannot afford to lose ground in the fight against preventable disease," said Catherine Russell, UNICEF executive director. COVID-19 caused what was called the largest backslide in childhood vaccination in a generation, and aid funding cuts, led by the U.S. – formerly the world's largest donor – risked the same outcome, the joint release said. They called for funding for childhood immunisation to be maintained ahead of Gavi's funding round, which will be launched in June. The group is seeking $9 billion for its work from 2026-2030. Sania Nishtar, Gavi's chief executive officer, said it was possible to fight the rise of infectious diseases but only if the group is fully funded. Measles cases have increased year-on-year since 2021, while meningitis surged in Africa last year and yellow fever cases also rose after declines in the last decade, the agencies said. Last month, an internal U.S. government document showed it would follow its cuts to UNICEF and the WHO, part of wider plans to streamline and focus foreign aid to align with the "America First" policy, by cancelling its contribution of around $300 million annually to Gavi. Last week, the U.S. State Department told Reuters it had nominated Mark Lloyd, assistant administrator for global health, to Gavi's 28-person board. The U.S. seat had previously been vacant. Both the U.S. State Department and Gavi declined to comment about what this could mean for U.S. funding. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
