Latest news with #emergencyfunding
National Post
02-06-2025
- General
- National Post
CUPE Calls for Urgent Support to Combat Wildfires
Article content OTTAWA, Ontario — As Prime Minister Carney meets with first ministers in Saskatoon, CUPE is calling on the federal government to take urgent action to support communities impacted by wildfires that are ravaging northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Article content Article content 'We commend the incredible effort of first responders and wildfire crews working to combat these wildfires and support the communities under threat,' said CUPE National President Mark Hancock. 'CUPE members are on the front lines, working tirelessly in health care centres and community facilities to support those in need.' Article content 'These fires are a stark reminder that the climate crisis is not a distant threat – it is here now,' said CUPE National Secretary-Treasurer Candace Rennick. 'We need strong action and coordination – not just to see us through this emergency but to build a more resilient future for all.' Article content CUPE is calling on the federal government to take the lead and coordinate urgent action to support evacuations and defend communities. The government must provide immediate emergency funding and resources to communities and First Nations, guarantee access to shelter and other supports for all displaced residents, and ensure Indigenous leadership has a seat at the table throughout this process. The federal government must also invest in public services and climate adaptation measures to reduce the risks to communities in the future. Article content 'This is the fourth-largest evacuation in Manitoba history, and Indigenous communities are being hit the hardest, being forced to evacuate without timely or adequate support,' said Gina McKay, CUPE Manitoba President and General Vice-President for the Prairie Region. 'The federal government needs to step up right now in a major way.' Article content 'Wildfires are threatening lives, displacing families, destroying property and stretching local response efforts,' said CUPE Saskatchewan President Kent Peterson. 'We need the support of our federal government right away.' Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content
Russia Today
22-05-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
EU hands US state media outlet €5.5 million lifeline
The European Union has pledged €5.5 million in emergency funding to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) to prop up the Cold War-era broadcaster, which is widely regarded as a Western propaganda outlet. Originally created in the 1950s and covertly financed by the CIA to disseminate pro-Western narratives into the Soviet bloc, RFE/RL has more recently operated under the oversight of the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM). In March, President Donald Trump signed an executive order eliminating most of the agency's funding as part of a sweeping cost-cutting agenda. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced the bloc's financial lifeline on Tuesday, describing it as 'short-term emergency funding' to support what she called a 'vital' mission. The €5.5 million package will act as a 'safety net' to help RFE/RL maintain operations in countries within Brussels's sphere of interest, including Russia, Belarus, Iran, and several Central Asian states. 'In a time of growing unfiltered content, independent journalism is more important than ever,' Kallas said following a meeting of EU foreign ministers. She acknowledged that Brusssels could not fully replace the lost American funding but emphasized the symbolic value of the move, urging individual member states to offer further support. Since Trump's defunding order, RFE/RL has furloughed staff, suspended programming, and launched legal challenges. Although a Washington judge temporarily halted the administration's decision in April, a federal appeals court later blocked the release of funds pending further litigation. The broadcaster has warned that it faces permanent shutdown in multiple regions if its financial crisis is not resolved. The Trump administration framed the defunding as part of a broader campaign to dismantle bureaucratic institutions that no longer align with US strategic interests. RFE/RL's leadership has disputed that rationale, with its president, Stephen Capus, calling the funding cuts a 'massive gift to America's enemies.' Administration officials and critics have argued that RFE/RL and its sister outlet, Voice of America (VOA), have lost their relevance and veered toward partisan editorializing. Tech billionaire Elon Musk, who heads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has publicly called for both outlets to be 'shut down,' writing on X: 'Nobody listens to them anymore.'
New York Times
21-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
E.U. Offers Emergency Funding for Radio Free Europe After Trump Cuts
The European Union said Tuesday that it was stepping in to provide emergency funding to Radio Free Europe, though the promised amount fell far short of what the news organization said it needed to stay afloat after the Trump administration froze federal support. Kaja Kallas, the European Union's top diplomat, announced that the bloc would provide 5.5 million euros ($6.2 million) to support Radio Free Europe, which provides independent reporting in countries with limited press freedoms. 'In a time of growing, unfiltered content, independent journalism is more important than ever,' Ms. Kallas said. But she added that the funding would be for the short term and that the European Union could not make up the news outlet's entire shortfall. Since taking office in January, President Trump has ordered the dismantling of Radio Free Europe's parent organization, the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which provides the broadcaster with $12 million in congressional funding each month. A U.S. District Court judge initially paused Mr. Trump's termination of the congressional grants, but this month a federal appeals court ruled that the Trump administration could continue to withhold the funds. Stephen Capus, the president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, said on Tuesday that he was grateful for the emergency E.U. funding to keep the operation running 'for a short while longer.' He said that the news organization was continuing to fight in court for the release of congressionally appropriated funds. 'RFE/RL's survival remains at risk as long as those funds are withheld,' he said in a statement. The news organization on Tuesday filed an emergency petition in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking its May funding. Radio Free Europe said last week that it had received its April funding from Congress, though it came six weeks later than scheduled, forcing the news organization to reduce programming and staff. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which has been funded by Congress since it began broadcasting during the Cold War, reports on human rights and corruption in several countries run by authoritarian governments. In the 1980s, it reported on the aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear accident, details of which the Soviet authorities had obscured. Today, it broadcasts in 23 countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as nations in Central Asia and the Caucasus.
Arab News
08-05-2025
- Business
- Arab News
IMF says Nigeria repays $3.4 billion COVID-19 funding
In April 2020, the IMF provided the financing to help Nigeria'Nigeria is expected to honor some additional payments,' Ebeke addedLAGOS: Nigeria has repaid $3.4 billion in emergency funding it received from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help the country cope with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic five years ago, the global lender said on April 2020, the IMF provided the financing to help Africa's largest oil exporter cope with a collapse in crude prices, which hit its finances and tipped the economy into resident representative to Nigeria Christian Ebeke said in a statement that, as of April 30, the country had 'fully repaid the financial support' it received under the Fund's Rapid Financing Instrument, a facility that provides urgent balance of payments funding to member nations.'Nigeria is expected to honor some additional payments in the form of Special Drawing Rights charges of about $30 million annually,' Ebeke most recent data from the Debt Management Office shows that Nigeria last year spent $4.66 billion to service its foreign debt, of which $1.63 billion was to the IMF.
Reuters
08-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
IMF says Nigeria repays $3.4 billion COVID-19 funding
LAGOS, May 8 (Reuters) - Nigeria has repaid $3.4 billion in emergency funding it received from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help the country cope with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic five years ago, the global lender said on Thursday. In April 2020, the IMF provided the financing to help Africa's largest oil exporter cope with a collapse in crude prices, which hit its finances and tipped the economy into recession. IMF resident representative to Nigeria Christian Ebeke said in a statement that, as of April 30, the country had "fully repaid the financial support" it received under the Fund's Rapid Financing Instrument, a facility that provides urgent balance of payments funding to member nations. "Nigeria is expected to honour some additional payments in the form of Special Drawing Rights charges of about US$30 million annually," Ebeke added. The most recent data from the Debt Management Office shows that Nigeria last year spent $4.66 billion to service its foreign debt, of which $1.63 billion was to the IMF.
