WASHINGTON, Oct. 24, 2025 — A new report from the Education Data Initiative reveals that student lunch debt has reached nearly $200 million a year, highlighting the financial strain on families and schools across the country. The mounting debt has forced districts to make difficult choices, with some turning to alternative meals or debt collection, […]
Continue Reading
The tragedy came amid concerns that worsening conditions for refugees and asylum-seekers in North Africa are pushing more families to embark on perilous journeys. The boat, which had departed from the Tunisian village of Salakta, capsized shortly after setting off, killing nine women, 19 men and 12 children under the age of five, according to […]
Continue Reading
TUNIS, Oct. 23, 2025 — The imprisonment of Sonia Dahmani, a Tunisian lawyer, writer, and outspoken media commentator, has become a defining case in the country’s democratic backsliding. Convicted on multiple anti-state charges for her televised and radio commentary, Dahmani is serving a five-year sentence while facing two additional trials that could extend her imprisonment […]
Continue Reading
The European Commission welcomes the adoption by EU Member States of the 19th package of sanctions against Russia. The new package of sanctions substantially increases the pressure on the Russian war economy, targeting key sectors such as energy, finance, the military industrial base, special economic zones, as well as enablers and profiteers of its war […]
Continue Reading
ELKTON, Va., Oct. 23, 2025 — Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. has begun construction on a 400,000-square-foot Center of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Manufacturing at its long-standing Elkton site in Rockingham County. The project, valued at $3 billion, represents one of the company’s largest single-site investments in the United States. Expansion of a Historic Site Merck […]
Continue Reading
SEATTLE, Oct. 23, 2025 — A new analysis from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), published in The Lancet, shows that ischemic heart disease has once again overtaken COVID-19 as the leading global cause of death. The findings highlight the enduring toll of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and […]
Continue Reading
This is the second blog in CGAP’s Digital Merchant Payments series. Read the first blog for context on the urgent need to accelerate digital merchant payments. Despite mobile money’s remarkable success in Sub-Saharan Africa—with approximately 856 million registered mobile money accounts processing over 912 billion USD annually —digital merchant payments (DMP) remain stubbornly limited. Cash […]
Continue Reading
PARIS, Oct. 23, 2025 — In a landmark move for European transportation, Eurostar has announced a €2 billion investment in up to 50 new double-decker electric trains, supported by the French government and manufactured by Alstom. The fleet, named Eurostar Celestia, will be the first of its kind to operate through the Channel Tunnel, significantly […]
Continue Reading
Pakistan, once again, has been hit by devastating floods that have displaced thousands, disrupted livelihoods, and highlighted the country’s acute vulnerability to climate change, even as many are still recovering from the floods of 2022. For financial service providers (FSPs) working with low-income communities, such crises underscore an urgent question: how can they build […]
Continue Reading
DUBLIN, Oct. 23, 2025 — As Ireland prepares to elect its next president on October 24, the race has crystallized into a contest between Catherine Connolly, an independent TD known for her progressive activism, and Heather Humphreys, a seasoned cabinet minister representing Fine Gael. The winner will succeed President Michael D. Higgins, whose term concludes […]
Continue Reading
