Latest news with #charities
BBC News
a day ago
- General
- BBC News
BBC Learning English - Learning English from the News / Sudan war: 'World's worst humanitarian crisis'
(Photo by Osman Bakir/Anadolu via Getty Images) ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ The story Paramilitaries have declared a rival government in Sudan, two years into a war in the country. The war has been described by charities and aid agencies as the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world today. More than 12 million people have been forced to leave their homes because of the war and charities say 30 million people in the country need aid, such as food and medication. News headlines Two years of war in Sudan: a devastating combination of record displacement and dwindling aid UNHCR, the UN refugee agency Sudan's years of war - BBC smuggles in phones to reveal hunger and fear BBC News Analysis: Sudan has an opportunity to turn the corner on war Semafor Key words and phrases dwindling gradually getting smaller or less common The company's dwindling profits are worrying for investors. smuggle take things or people from or to a place secretly The bank robber smuggled in a gun under his coat. turn the corner improve a situation The country has really turned the corner on youth unemployment. Lots more young people are finding work. Next If you like learning English from the news, click here.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Neighbours on one street found themselves richer today after lottery win
Lucky neighbours had plenty to celebrate today, as the week got off to an amazing start for them. Residents on Booth Road in Little Lever are £1,000 richer today after striking it lucky in the People's Postcode Lottery. READ MORE: Bolton residents win prize on People's Postcode Lottery Subscriptions to the postcode lottery support a range of charities across the UK. The People's Postcode Lottery manages lotteries for 20 charities, with each one having one draw a month. The lottery supports "a wide range of charities and good causes across Britain and around the world". To date, they've provided more than £1.1 Billion in funding which is helping thousands of organisations and projects. A spokesman for the lottery said: "Drum roll please. "It's time to announce today's Daily Prize winners. "There's a lovely £1000 on its way to you if you play with one of these 20 lucky postcodes." (Image: Google Maps) The Little Lever address BL3 1JP was among those picked in the draw. Subscriptions to the postcode lottery support a range of charities across the UK. The People's Postcode Lottery manages lotteries for 20 charities, with each one having one draw a month. The lottery supports "a wide range of charities and good causes across Britain and around the world". To date, they've provided more than £1.1 Billion in funding which is helping thousands of organisations and projects.
The Guardian
27-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Minister gives strongest sign yet Labour could end two-child benefit limit
The Labour government's 'moral purpose' is for fewer children to grow up in poverty, the education secretary has said, in the strongest hint yet that ministers intend to end the two-child benefit limit. Bridget Phillipson said to those charities that have been campaigning for an end to the restriction: 'We hear them … We want to make this change happen, and it will be the moral mission of this Labour government to ensure that fewer children grow up in poverty.' She said the government had to pay heed to the cost of ending the policy, estimated at about £3.5bn, and that the final decision would be reached as part of the child poverty taskforce she co-chairs. 'It's why I'm in politics. It's what this Labour government is all about. We will make different decisions to support children and families,' she said. 'That is the moral purpose of this Labor government. We are determined to bring down the numbers of children growing up in poverty. I know myself the impact it has. I've experienced it myself growing up. So it's really personal to me.' Phillipson said the government was already taking significant steps via an expansion of funded childcare, cheaper school uniforms and breakfast clubs, and she said allowing parents to work more hours was crucial to alleviating poverty. Charities have said the two-child benefit limit is one of the key drivers of child poverty. Recent research has suggested about 100 children are pulled into poverty every day by the limit, meaning up to 20,000 could be affected by a six-month delay. Phillipson said it remained part of their considerations. 'I've always been clear that it's on the table,' she said. 'The price tag associated with this is big. But what I would also say, where it comes to the price tag, the cost of inaction is also incredibly high, because this scars the life chances of children in our country. 'That's devastating for those children and families, but actually, for all of us as a society, we miss out on the tremendous contribution and talent of so many people.' Asked why ministers would not take action faster, Phillipson told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'They are not changes that a Labour government would ever have introduced. But seeking to unwind that and to change the social security system is not easy, and it costs a lot of money, and we've got to get this right.' Her comments come on the day the Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, is expected to back ending the two-child benefit limit. But the Conservatives have attacked Labour and Reform for considering the change, which is not broadly backed by the wider public in polls, saying people should take responsibility for the numbers of children they have. Phillipson said that was an unfair critique in many cases. 'I've had conversations with people I represent, with constituents who made perfectly reasonable and rational decisions to have a number of children, to have three children, say, and something terrible happens in their lives. 'In the case of one constituent I met, they lost their partner who died unexpectedly, they then find themselves unable to access the full support that they had anticipated for their whole family, even when they made what was a perfectly reasonable choice around family size.' Phillipson said the changes to the rules 'actually haven't had an impact on the decisions that people are making around family size, all it has done has pushed more children into poverty.' But she said ending the limit was 'not the only way that we can make change happen. It's crucial that we consider it … there are lots of ways we can do this, but the commitment that I will give to you … is that this Labour government is determined to ensure that fewer children grow up in poverty, and we will do what is necessary to make that a reality.'
Forbes
25-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
How To Make Charitable Gifts More Effective And Reap More Benefits
Most people wait until late in the year to plan their charitable gifts with the goal of making the gifts by December 31. That traditional approach often leaves a lot of money and other benefits on the table. Often, gifts are made simply by writing a check or donating some assets. The first step to more effective charitable giving is to establish a charitable giving plan. Determine how much wealth you want to donate to charity over time, how much you want to make in lifetime gifts, and how much you want to leave in estate bequests. Also, determine the goals of your giving, especially the causes or charities you want to support. The next step in effective giving is to evaluate the different ways to give, other than writing a check. Charitable giving can provide more than an income tax deduction. Additional benefits might be sheltering capital gains and receiving lifetime income, among others. You gain significant value by starting early in the year and integrating charitable giving with the rest of your retirement and estate plans. Remember that to receive a tax deduction for charitable gifts you must itemize expenses on Schedule A. A minority of taxpayers have itemized expenses since the 2017 tax law doubled the standard deduction, because you only use Schedule A when the total of your itemized expenses exceeds the standard deduction. One way around that problem is to bunch several years of planned charitable contributions into one year. An increasingly-popular way to bunch donations is to contribute a significant amount of money or property to a donor-advised fund. You qualify to deduct the value of the gift (or gifts) you made to the DAF during the calendar year. After funding a DAF account, you recommend contributions from the DAF to charities over time in any pattern you want. There's no minimum annual charitable contribution requirement. You might want to use a DAF to bunch deductions when your other itemized expenses plus the DAF contributions bring your total itemized expenses well above the standard deduction amount. You maintain some control over the DAF account, including choosing how it is invested. The investment returns compound tax-free in the account. Some of the best ways to make charitable contributions don't involve cash. Donating appreciated investments from taxable accounts reaps significant tax benefits in addition to bunching charitable contributions in one year. Most DAFs and other charities accept contributions of a wide range of assets, such as stocks, mutual funds, real estate, digital currencies, and more. Your tax deduction is the fair market value of the property on the date of the gift. There are no capital gains taxes due on the appreciation that occurred while you owned the property. So, you sheltered the capital gains from taxes, qualified for a deduction of the property's value, and the charity will benefit from the property's full value. That's more beneficial than selling the investment and paying taxes on the gain while separately writing a check to charity. Several charitable giving strategies generate an additional benefit: regular income. One strategy is to make a contribution to the charity in return for a charitable gift annuity. The charity pays income to you for either life or a period of years, whichever you select. You can schedule the income to begin immediately or at a later age. The CGA pays less income than a comparable commercial annuity. The difference in income is your gift to the charity and qualifies as an itemized expense deduction in the year of the gift. The amount of the deduction is determined using current interest rates and a formula issued by the IRS. Suppose a married couple ages 65 and one 66, donate $100,000 worth of property with a $50,000 basis to a charity in return for a charitable gift annuity with monthly lifetime payments to begin immediately. At recent interest rates, they would qualify for a charitable contribution deduction of $33,248 in the year of the gift. They'd receive $4,800 annually, paid in monthly installments, no matter how long they live. For 24.6 years, 56.5% or $2,712 of the annual payments would be tax free. The rest would be divided between long-term capital gains and ordinary income. After that, the entirety of each payment would be taxed as ordinary income. The details depend on the donors' age and interest rates in the month the gift is made. Another gift that generates regular income is the charitable remainder trust. You donate cash or appreciated property to the trust. The trust sells any property tax free and reinvests the proceeds. You receive annual income from the trust for either life or a period of years, whichever you select. The payments can be either a fixed amount (known as a charitable remainder annuity trust, or CRAT) or a fixed percentage of the annual trust value (known as a charitable remainder unitrust, or CRUT). After you pass away or the income period ends, the charity receives whatever is left in the trust, called the remainder interest. In either case, you qualify for a charitable contribution deduction in the year of the gift equal to the present value of the charity's remainder interest. You don't owe capital gains taxes immediately on the gain you had in the property. Instead, part of each income payment will be taxed as a long-term capital gain over your life expectancy. The tax code puts minimum and maximum limits on the annual income that can be paid by a charitable remainder trust. Another strategy that should be considered by anyone who is charitably inclined and older than age 70½ is making qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) from a traditional IRA. In a QCD, you tell the retirement account custodian to distribute part of the account to a charity. You receive no deduction, but the distribution isn't included in your gross income. Plus, if you're taking required minimum distributions (RMDs), the contribution counts toward your RMD for the year. I've discussed QCDs in detail in the past. Donating a permanent life insurance policy you no longer need can generate tax benefits. When you transfer a policy with a paid-up cash value to charity, you qualify for a charitable contribution deduction equal to the paid-up value. The charity will name itself the beneficiary. The life insurance benefits won't be included in your estate and will benefit the charity. When the life insurance isn't fully paid up, you can transfer ownership to the charity. You make contributions to the charity to pay the future premiums, which qualify as deductible charitable contributions.
BBC News
22-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Energy price cap: Ofgem expected to confirm fall in prices
Energy regulator Ofgem is shortly expected to announce a fall in domestic gas and electricity prices for millions of households from July - the first drop for a regulator's price cap, which is set every three months, affects the amount paid for energy by 22 million households in England, Scotland and have forecast a fall of more than £100 in the annual bill for a home using a typical amount of gas and say cheaper bills would be welcome but many people still struggle to pay, and millions of customers collectively owe about £4bn to suppliers. Ofgem will announce the price cap for July to the end of September at 07:00 BST. The price cap does not apply in Northern Ireland, which has its own energy market. Summer relief Although the cap changes every three months, the regulator illustrates the effect of this with the annual bill for a household using a typical amount of gas and typical household is assumed to use 11,500 kWh of gas and 2,700 kWh of electricity a year with a single bill for gas and electricity, settled by direct at the energy consultancy Cornwall Insight have forecast a drop in the annual bill of £129, a fall of nearly 7%.The fall would mean a typical annual bill for a dual-fuel customer paying by direct debit would cost £1,720, down from the current level of £1, would also more than reverse the £111 increase in a typical bill under the current price cap, which came into force at the start of can also estimate their own potential saving by knocking 7% off their monthly direct debit. However, prices would still be higher than a year earlier, and significantly above levels seen at the start of the bills in recent years have also led to ballooning levels of customer debt to suppliers, with just under £4bn owed."The cost of living is still incredibly high, and many people, especially those who are vulnerable or have low incomes, are dealing with energy debt built up over the last few years of sky-high bills," said Matthew Cole, chief executive of the Fuel Bank Foundation, a fuel poverty charity."A slight drop in prices won't fix that. People are still being forced to make tough choices between topping up the meter or putting food on the table." Winter fuel payment row The price cap announcement comes just two days after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer signalled a partial U-turn on cuts to winter fuel than 10 million pensioners lost out on the payments, worth up to £300, when the top-up became means-tested last Sir Keir told the Commons on Wednesday that the government wanted "more pensioners" to be eligible remains unclear how many will regain their entitlement for the payments, how that will be achieved, or when the changes will take effect.
