Latest news with #SaveTheChildren
The Guardian
6 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
TfL blocks Save the Children advert calling for end to two-child benefit limit
Transport for London (TfL) has banned adverts from the charity Save The Children calling for the two-child limit on universal credit and child tax credit to be scrapped, deeming them in breach of its bar on 'political' advertising. The adverts, designed to look like a train departure board, carry the message: 'By the time you get to work another child in the UK will be dragged into poverty.' They were due to run in Westminster underground station to coincide with the government's comprehensive spending review due on 11 June. After the adverts were initially rejected, the charity changed a strap line from 'time for the UK government to scrap the two-child limit' to 'it's time to scrap the two-child limit,' but this was also rejected by the transport body. The two-child limit, introduced by the Conservative government in 2017, means parents are unable to receive universal credit or child tax credit for more than two children. Analysis by the End Child Poverty Coalition has shown that the cap is a 'key driver of child poverty' in the UK, and the Child Poverty Action Group found that scrapping the cap would lift 350,000 children out of poverty. According to Save The Children, an average of 109 children a day are pulled into poverty by the limit – equivalent to one every 13 minutes. Save The Children was told the adverts had been rejected for falling foul of TfL's ban on party political advertising. However, adverts by the housing charity Shelter, urging the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to invest in social housing, were accepted and ran earlier this spring. Meghan Meek-O'Connor, policy lead on child poverty at Save the Children UK, said: 'It is deeply disappointing that telling the truth about child poverty in this country should be seen as controversial or indeed political. 'We understand TfL have a difficult line to tread when approving or rejecting advertising on the underground. But in our eyes this advert is far less controversial than other adverts it has approved.' Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion 'We won't stop raising our voice to ensure that every child has the support they need to develop to their full potential,' she added. 'It shouldn't be controversial to tell the public that the two-child limit keeps children in poverty, and the situation is getting worse.' Last week TfL reversed a ban on adverts from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (Bpas) charity, after an intervention from the London mayor, Sadiq Khan. The posters called on people to lobby their MP to vote in favour of decriminalisation of abortion, and were initially rejected for bringing the Metropolitan police into disrepute. TfL has been approached for comment.
The National
12 hours ago
- General
- The National
UN demands Yemen's Houthis release aid workers held for year
The UN on Wednesday issued a new call for Yemen's Houthi rebels to release dozens of aid workers a year after their arrest by the group. The Iran -backed rebels, who control much of Yemen, detained 13 UN staff members, and more than 50 employees of aid groups last June. Between January 23-25 this year, the Houthis carried out another wave of arrests, detaining an additional eight UN staff members. Others have been detained since 2021, according to the UN. Two have died while in detention, one of them a Save the Children staff member and another an employee of the World Food Programme. 'As of today, 23 UN and five international non-governmental organisation personnel remain arbitrarily detained. Tragically, one UN staff member and another from Save the Children have died in detention,' the office of the UN envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said on Wednesday. 'Others have lost loved ones while being held, denied the chance to attend their funerals or say goodbye,' it added. Mr Grundberg's office said those detained have spent 'at least 365 days – and for some, over 1,000 days, isolated from their families, children, husbands, and wives, in flagrant breach of international law.' 'We call on the de facto authorities to deliver on their previous commitments, including those made to the director general of the World Health Organisation during his mission to Sanaa in December 2024,' it said. The UN and international NGOs will continue to work through all possible channels to secure the safe and immediate release of those arbitrarily detained, the office added. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday said those detained should have never been attacked by the rebels. 'I renew my call for their immediate and unconditional release,' Mr Guterres said. 'The UN and its humanitarian partners should never be targeted, arrested or detained while carrying out their mandates for the benefit of the people they serve,' he said. Since the arrests were made, the UN has limited its deployments and suspended activities in parts of the country. At the time of the arrests, the Houthis said an 'American-Israeli spy cell' was operating under the cover of aid groups, an accusation firmly rejected by the UN. Mr Guterres also lamented the 'deplorable tragedy' of the death in detention of a World Food Programme staffer in February. At the time, WFP executive director Cindy McCain said the worker who died in detention was named Ahmed and that he was a 'devoted humanitarian and father of two' who had helped deliver life-saving food assistance. He had been working for the agency since 2017, according to the agency. He was one of seven staffers detained by the Houthi rebels on January 23 this year. Mrs McCain said she was 'heartbroken and outraged by the tragic loss'. In October 2023, Save the Children confirmed the death of a staff member who died in detention in Yemen and called for an immediate independent investigation. Safety and security director Hisham Al Hakimi was detained on 9 September while off duty. He died a month and a half later. Mr Al Hakimi, aged 44 and a husband and father of four, was a dedicated member of the Save the Children family since 2006, the organisation said.
Japan Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Japan Times
Most expecting and new mothers in poverty lack funds for basic necessities: survey
Around 80% of pregnant women and new mothers who applied to a nongovernmental organization for assistance with baby supplies say they don't have enough money to cover their basic living expenses, according to a recent survey by, according to a recent survey it conducted. Save the Children Japan, a local unit of an international NGO, began its Hello! Baby Box initiative in May 2022 to provide essential items for newborns, with the aim of reducing the burden of child care costs for women facing economic or other difficulties. The NGO conducted the survey between October and December last year among 254 women who had applied for support through the organization. All participants responded to the survey, the results of which were released last month. When asked about their specific concerns, 82% cited the cost of raising children, followed by 78% who said they lacked money for basic living expenses. Respondents were allowed to select multiple answers. Among those who had received government assistance payments, over 40% said the funds were used for daily necessities, including utilities, as well as baby products. The findings underscore how state support is often diverted to cover essential day-to-day costs and consumables needed for child-rearing. A total of 49.2% of the respondents were unemployed. This trend has remained largely unchanged over the past three years, according to the NGO, with around 50% of applicants consistently declaring themselves as such. 'Part-time or temporary workers' accounted for 24.8% of respondents, and 'full-time employees,' 9.8%. Some 31.9% said they had never worked before while 25.6% revealed that pregnancy led them to quit their jobs. The results also showed that 78% of respondents were either single or raising a child alone. When asked if there was someone aside from a spouse or partner whom they could rely on, such as family or friends, 64.2% of respondents said they had 'no one.' Nearly half described their financial situation as 'barely getting by,' 30% said they were dipping into savings and 22% said they were incurring debt — meaning more than half were actively short on funds. 'Based on the results of this survey, we will continue to urge the Children and Families Agency, relevant ministries, and local governments to strengthen support measures — such as providing baby care items like diapers — for low-income households and especially vulnerable pregnant and postpartum women,' Save the Children Japan wrote in a statement.
The Sun
2 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Ex-Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich threatened with legal action over £2.3bn proceeds from sale of club
FORMER Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is being threatened with legal action over the £2.3billion proceeds from his sale of the club. The cash was supposed to go on humanitarian projects in Ukraine. But British government officials and Abramovich have failed to reach an agreement. The money has been sitting in a bank account since the 58-year-old was forced to sell in 2022 due to his links with tyrant Vladimir Putin. The Government has lost patience after three years of talks with the Russian oligarch failed to resolve the situation. In a joint statement, Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: 'The Government is determined to see the proceeds from the sale of Chelsea Football Club reach humanitarian causes in Ukraine, following Russia's illegal full-scale invasion. 'We are deeply frustrated that it has not been possible to reach agreement on this with Mr Abramovich so far. 'While the door for negotiations will remain open, we are fully prepared to pursue this through the courts if required, to ensure people suffering in Ukraine can benefit from these proceeds as soon as possible.' Pressure was growing on the Government for some time to take a harder line on Abramovich. Charities like Save The Children and senior political figures like Lord Foulkes, a former chairman of Scottish club Hearts, urged first the previous Conservative administration and then the current Labour Government to find a way to end the deadlock. 1
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Mitsubishi Electric In-house Donation Program to Aid Victims of Earthquake in Myanmar
TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 1, 2025-- Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6503) announced today that the Mitsubishi Electric Group has donated a cumulative 7.4 million yen through an in-house matching-gift program — the Mitsubishi Electric SOCIO-ROOTS Fund — to aid people affected by the earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28. Donations were collected at Mitsubishi Electric group offices. Contributions from employees amounted to 3.7 million yen, which the company then doubled, and the total was donated on May 30 to Save the Children Japan's disaster relief program responding to the earthquake in Myanmar. To date, Mitsubishi Electric has already made a separate corporate donation of 10 million yen, as announced on April 7. The Mitsubishi Electric Group once again expresses its deepest sympathies to those affected by the disaster and its sincerest best wishes for a speedy recovery. For the full text, please visit: View source version on CONTACT: Customer Inquiries Sustainability Strategic Planning and Administration Division Sustainability Innovation Group Mitsubishi Electric Corporation [email protected] Inquiries Takeyoshi Komatsu Public Relations Division Mitsubishi Electric Corporation Tel: +81-3-3218-2332 [email protected] KEYWORD: ASIA PACIFIC MYANMAR JAPAN SINGAPORE SOUTHEAST ASIA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: OTHER MANUFACTURING ENVIRONMENT TECHNOLOGY NATURAL DISASTERS MANUFACTURING PHILANTHROPY HARDWARE FUND RAISING CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SOURCE: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation Copyright Business Wire 2025. PUB: 06/01/2025 11:00 PM/DISC: 06/01/2025 11:01 PM
