Palestinian Territories - At the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, Abu Gibril was so desperate for food to feed his family that he slaughtered two of his horses. "We had no other choice but to slaughter the horses to feed the children. Hunger is killing us," he told AFP....

As the West Bank grapples with its worst economic crisis in two decades, sparked by Israel's ban on Palestinian day laborers, poverty and despair escalate.

A report from the charity, published as the global elite hobnob at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, said their wealth rose from $405 billion in 2020 to $869 billion last year. Yet since 2020, nearly five billion people worldwide have grown poorer, Oxfam said.

DUBAI, UAE – For over 30 years, globalization has been the evergreen megatrend as global trade has helped lift some one billion people out of poverty, an expert has said. Yin Zou, the Executive Vice President of Corporate Development, DHL Group, wrote in the World Economic Forum that the COVID-19...

"The United Nations will keep rallying the world for peace, sustainable development and human rights. Let’s resolve to make 2024 a year of building trust and hope in all that we can accomplish together. I wish you a happy and peaceful New Year," the United Nations Secretary-General adds.

The impact of the conflict had reversed a slight recovery for Lebanon, which has battled a deep economic crisis for years, the Washington-based bank said in a report. "Prior to October 2023, economic growth was projected -- for the first time since 2018 -- to slightly expand in 2023," by...

The World Bank reports a severe economic downturn in Palestinian economy due to Israel-Hamas conflict, with Gaza's economic contribution falling from 36% to 17% since 2005.

The IMF said the debt relief will facilitate access to additional financial resources that will help it strengthen economy, reduce poverty, and promote job creation. Somalia is one of the poorest in the world, struggling to recover from decades of civil war, and with 70% of its population living on...

Sixty-nine million children live in poverty in the world's 40 richest countries, UNICEF said in a report, blasting Britain and France for their particularly bad standings. That's despite a drop in child poverty rates by around 8 percent in the 40 European Union and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia said on Thursday that policies to address climate change should not "crush the bones" of countries grappling with energy poverty, ahead of the COP28 climate talks in Dubai. Speaking at a conference on economic cooperation with Africa, the Gulf kingdom's energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin...

Marrakesh, Morocco-- The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) attaches great importance to finding solutions to economic problems such as the eradication of poverty and enhancing food security, according to the GCC Secretary General Jassem Mohamed Albudaiwi. He made the remarks in connection with the participation of the council member states in...

Dubai, UAE - Qatar has signed two agreements with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on its contributions towards IMF's poverty reduction and sustainable initiatives. The agreements were signed on the sidelines of the Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group (WBG) and the IMF in...

Benguerir, Morocco - US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday she backed efforts to boost the lending firepower of the IMF and World Bank to combat poverty and climate change. Speaking on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank annual meetings in Morocco, Yellen said the global lending system had already...

Jerusalem--Israel's restrictions and rising fiscal constraints in the Palestinian territories are severely impacting the economic conditions of Palestinians and hindering their access to timely life-saving healthcare, the World Bank said Monday. In a report titled "Racing Against Time", the World Bank said that overall the Palestinian economy was performing below...

The UN head said the summit will seek a "global rescue plan" on the targets of Sustainable Development Goals, as he acknowledged that only about 15% were on track to be met and that metrics on some were heading in reverse. He said the goals are "about the hopes, dreams,...

A million people have crossed Sudan's borders since April, fleeing the devastating war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, according to the United Nations. That figure would probably be higher, were it not for the fact that many like Omar needed passports renewed or issued from...

The International Monetary Fund renewed its criticism of Lebanon for failing to enact reforms demanded by creditors in return for releasing billions of dollars in emergency bailout loans. “Lebanon has not undertaken the urgently needed reforms,” said the IMF's Ernesto Ramirez Rigo in a statement at the end of a...

The comments from three regional Fed presidents with a vote on setting interest rates will likely solidify expectations that the US central bank intends to hold rates steady later this month amid growing signs of weaker labor market conditions. The Fed has raised its benchmark lending rate 11 times over...

DUBAI, UAE - The global Islamic microfinance industry has surpassed US$60 billion in value within the $3.8 trillion Islamic finance landscape. This achievement highlights the growing recognition of Islamic microfinance as a tool for poverty alleviation. The industry's potential to bridge financial gaps while adhering to Shariah principles positions it...

The conflict between the army under General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo broke out on April 15. "The war in Sudan is fuelling a humanitarian emergency of epic proportions," said Martin Griffiths, under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.

Beirut, Lebanon - Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets again on Monday in Syria's southern city of Sweida, local media and an activist reported, as dire living conditions stoke discontent in regime-held areas. Days of rare protests have erupted in the south after the government lifted fuel subsidies last week,...

On a riverbank in war-ravaged Syria's north, felling has reduced what was once a lush forest to dispersed trees and decimated trunks poking out from dry, crumbly soil. Syria's war has devastated the environment, triggering an "alarming" loss of forest cover across the country, Dutch peacebuilding group PAX warned in...

Idlib, Syria - Thousands of fans in Syria's last opposition bastion have packed into a stadium for the frenzied final of a football cup -- an escape valve amid years of conflict and misery. "I'm really happy today," said Mohammed al-Zeer, 28, from the northwestern city of Idlib. "Between the war...

The boat was spotted on Monday almost 200 miles from the island of Sal by a Spanish fishing boat, which alerted Cape Verde authorities, police said. Around 40 survivors and several dead bodies were found on the boat, but sources differed on the exact number. The local morgue said it...

NEW YORK, US – In the last three years, poverty rates in low-and lower-middle-income countries have surged, with the number of additional individuals living on less than $3.65-a-day reaching 165 million by 2023, said a United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in a new policy brief. According to the policy brief...

UNITED NATIONS - The COVID-19 pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis and the war in Ukraine have pushed 165 million people into poverty since 2020, the United Nations said, calling for a pause in debt repayments for developing countries. Because of these shocks, 75 million people will have fallen into extreme poverty,...

Sudanese who cross into Egypt's south must then buy a bus ticket to take them to the nearest major city, Aswan, around 200 kilometres north of the border. They are greeted there by volunteers who offer a hot meal -- the first for many since embarking on the perilous desert...

"Only a few cases of child abandonment" were officially documented before the war broke out in 2011, according to the Washington-based group Syrians for Truth and Justice, which records human rights abuses in the country. But between early 2021 and late 2022, more than 100 children -- 62 of them girls...

Sudan is the world's largest producer of the raw gum which is a major source of foreign currency for the northeast African nation. The sector has survived repeated conflicts, a warming climate and decades of sanctions.

The oil derived from the famed Damask rose--named after the ancient city of Damascus located just across the mountain range separating Lebanon and Syria--is a staple of perfumers.

On average, a soldier used to earn about $800 a month before the crisis, but the value of the Lebanese currency, the pound, has since crashed and salaries are now worth around just $100. Since June last year, Qatar and the United States have announced millions to help prop up...

A country that describes itself as a "start-up nation" now boasts of higher per capita GDP than many European countries. But amid success, there are many glaring inequalities.

A split between Hamas and the PA, which administers the Israeli-occupied West Bank, often leads to disputes over taxation and Hilu said the new fees are harming Gaza's "already ailing economy". The territory has been under a crippling Israeli-led blockade since Hamas -- designated a "terrorist" entity by the United States, the...

Seeking a "durable way forward" for the war-scarred Afghanistan, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is convening an international meeting in May. The closed-door gathering will feature special envoys on Afghanistan from various countries who aim to "clarify expectation" on concerns including the Taliban authorities' restrictions on women.

Just days ahead of the 20th anniversary of the US-led invasion that resulted in war, chaos, and political instability, Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said that his government had prepared a three-year budget for the oil-dependent economy traditionally plagued by budgetary delays. The bill will include financial aid to...

Wars and conflicts have made it more difficult for millions of people to live in dignity and have in turn hampered efforts to bring about global peace, adds Abdelsalam during a session titled “Migration as a Manifestation of Global Poverty, Inequality, climate change and conflict”.

In February, Economy Minister Amin Salaam announced that supermarkets would be able to start pricing items in dollars, while customers could pay in dollars or Lebanese pounds at the volatile market rate. Domestically produced fruit and vegetables were still priced in the local currency. Some restaurants and clothing shops had...

Children in Iraq work as apprentice mechanics and rubbish collectors, in shisha cafes or hair salons, and washing car windows and selling paper tissues by the roadside. Employing children is punishable by prison time or a fine, but "with many families left without a breadwinner, mothers have been forced to...

Lebanese protesters blocked roads and burnt tires near the central bank in Beirut as the local currency plummeted to a new low against the dollar. Since 2019, Lebanon has been in an economic crisis dubbed by the World Bank as one of the worst in recent global history, pushing much...

Hundreds of Tunisians, including supporters of the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party, marched Saturday after opponents of President Kais Saied called for protests over worsening economic crisis. Ennahdha had dominated parliament until Saied grabbed power on July 25, 2021, sacking the government and freezing parliament before appointing a new cabinet and ruling...

United Nations, United States--An estimated five million children under the age of five died in 2021, the United Nations said Tuesday, urging health care investment in underserved communities around the globe to avoid this "immense, intolerable and mostly preventable loss of life." "Every day, far too many parents are facing the trauma...

Global monthly wages fell in real terms to -0.9 per cent in the first half of the year, the study found.

Lawmakers in crisis-hit Lebanon failed to elect a new president for an eighth time, despite the deepening impact of the political deadlock on the country's economic woes. Lebanon has been without a head of state for a month after president Michel Aoun left office at the end of October with...

In a dry country where access to water is already far below the 1,700 cubic meters per resident per year the United Nations defines as "water stressed", the drought-tolerant cactus is a safer bet compared with thirstier crops.

Already governed by a caretaker cabinet, crisis-hit Lebanon is hurtling towards an imminent power vacuum, with just days before the current president's term finishes at the end of the month. Aoun was elected in 2016 after a more than two-year vacancy at the presidential palace, as lawmakers made 45 failed...

Subsidies on basic goods are a highly sensitive political issue in Tunisia, where a public finance crisis has caused repeated shortages of subsidised flour, sugar and other basic goods in recent months. The North African country is years into a grinding economic downturn exacerbated by inflation that hit nine percent...

Paris, France— Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the resulting economic fallout have thrown four million children into poverty across eastern Europe and Central Asia, the UN children's agency said Monday. "Children are bearing the heaviest burden of the economic crisis caused by the war in Ukraine," UNICEF said. The conflict "and...

The exchange rate reached more than 5,000 Syrian pounds to the US dollar for the first time since the start of the conflict more than a decade ago. Syria's official exchange rate has stood at around 3,015 pounds to the greenback since Sept-- compared to 47 pounds to the dollar...

The agency's report, published ahead of meetings of International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and also of G20 finance ministers in Washington, highlighted the need for swift action. But UNDP chief Achim Steiner told reporters in Geneva that despite repeated warnings, "little has happened so far, and the risks have...

The UN and Oxfam have previously decried the unequal distribution of vaccines from richer Western countries to lower-income ones, particularly in Africa, putting lives at risk.