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Articles by Sunit Bagree
How the UK fuels child undernutrition in low- and middle-income countries by enabling illicit finance
New research published today estimates that the countries most affected by child undernutrition experienced at least $309.8bn in trade-related illicit financial flows (IFFs) in 2024. Trade-related IFFs, such as those generated through the manipulation of customs invoices, are considered a major component of IFFs as a whole, which the UN defines as ‘financial flows that are illicit in origin, transfer or use, that reflect an exchange of value and that cross country borders’.
‘Bad Loans, Poor Nutrition’ one year on
On 19 September 2024, on the eve of the United Nations (UN) Summit of the Future, Results UK published Bad Loans, Poor Nutrition: Why debt justice – along with more and better ‘aid’ – is essential to end global malnutrition. This blog post outlines how we have used the report to advocate for debt justice over the past year. But first, here is a quick recap of the report’s main findings.
The world looks set to miss its 2025 targets on nutrition: how should the Paris summit respond?
Each Olympic/Paralympic games is now followed by a major global nutrition summit in the host city. Sunit Bagree of Results UK sets out what campaigners will be looking for this time, including billions in extra funding, giving grants not loans and supporting the most cost-effective interventions.
Overcoming global malnutrition requires debt justice
The global sovereign debt crisis is fuelling other crises. This includes the global malnutrition crisis, which sees a staggering 2.8 billion people unable to afford a healthy diet. Recent analysis by Results UK finds that the 16 countries most affected by food crises spent $40.3 billion – an average of 15.8% of government revenue – on external public debt payments last year.
Why the UN must take the lead on helping countries with debt
People carry bags of relief grains at a camp for the Internally Displaced People in Adadle district in the Somali region, Ethiopia, January 22, 2022.
Why the UN must take the lead on helping countries with debt
What’s the context? As world leaders meet for the Summit of the Future, it is time to reconsider how we tackle debt relief and the global food crisis Sunit Bagree is senior policy advocacy officer at Results UK, a non-profit which works on reducing poverty The 16 countries most affected by food crises spend around twice as much on average on foreign debt payments as they do on healthcare.
The UK must work for global debt justice
The grandly titled United Nations (UN) Summit of the Future officially takes place on 22-23 September. The UN is billing the Summit as a ‘once-in-a-generation opportunity’ to build ‘a new international consensus on how we deliver a better present and safeguard the future’. There can be little doubt that such a Summit is sorely needed. In many respects, our planet is characterised by inadequate cooperation in the face of deepening disasters.
‘Half Measures Will Not Decolonise International Development’ – Byline Times
Genuine anti-racist internationalism calls for much greater radicalism, writes Sunit Bagree Share EmailTwitterFacebook The murder of George Floyd three years ago today did not only unleash protests denouncing police brutality against black people – and impunity for these crimes – around the world. It also sparked or renewed discussions about historical and contemporary racism in many sectors, including international development, in which academics and advocates, among others, weighed in.
Texas Supreme Court blocks order that resumed abortions
The Texas Supreme Court blocked a lower court order late Friday night that said clinics could continue performing abortions, just days after some doctors had resumed seeing patients after the fall of Roe v. Wade. It was not immediately clear whether Texas clinics that had resumed seeing patients this week would halt services again. A hearing is scheduled for later this month.
Our leaders need to stop repeating the myth that refugees are an economic burden
Blogs Explore similar themes Human rightsUnited KingdomWorld-GlobalEmploymentInformal economyMigrationRefugeesSDGsTaxes and tax justiceCare economy The UK government’s plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda has rightly faced huge criticism. Even the Minister for Refugees, Lord Harrington, has declined to defend the appalling policy. The United Nations (UN) says the plan breaches international law and two legal challenges have already been launched against it.
Shironamhin: The band, the myth, the silver jubilee year
Shironamhin groupies can buckle up for a mythical 2021 as their favourite band in partnership with "Brandmyth Experiential" announced year- long events across the country and over the border in Nepal marking their silver jubilee. The mega concert will be held on March 11 in Dhaka as Shironamhin will collaborate with internationally renowned Mumbai Symphony Orchestra and other top Bangladeshi bands giving their fans what the band say is a "Once in a Blue Moon " experience.
Egypt pushes for calm after flare-up in Gaza hostilities
Egyptian officials Sunday pushed for Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip to rein in hostilities and adhere to a cease-fire in place since the war in May. The Egyptian efforts came a day after Hamas militants launched rockets into the Mediterranean Sea off central Israel, prompting Israel to carry out airstrikes on militant positions in Gaza early Sunday. No casualties were reported.
Turkey’s inflation hits a 19-year high of 36%
Turkey's yearly inflation climbed by the fastest pace in 19 years, jumping to 36.08% in December, official data showed on Monday. The Turkish Statistical Institute said the consumer price index increased by 13.58% in December from the previous month, further eroding peoples' purchasing power. The yearly increase in food prices was 43.8%, the data showed. The yearly inflation rate was the highest since September 2002.
OPINIONISTA: An open letter to SADC finance ministers on Covid-19 and debt justice
Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA), the successor to the Anti-Apartheid Movement, calls on SADC finance ministers to work together and demand the cancellation of all external government debt payments from the SADC region for the next 12 months. Dear SADC Ministers of Finance, As well as destroying people’s lives, the Covid-19 pandemic is devastating every part of the global economy.
International Undevelopment
It appears that the UK’s Department for International Development (DfID) will continue to exist as a separate government department. It was widely expected that DfID would become subsumed under the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as part of a significant restructuring of Whitehall. That DfID has escaped the axe (in the short-term at least) is to be welcomed. But this decision should not obscure the British government’s considerable failings in relation to international development.
OP-ED: SADC Summit must challenge rich countries on massive financial outflows from the region
South Africa alone loses at least $5.9-billion every year from trade-related illicit outflows, says the writer. Southern African governments cannot afford to ignore $30bn losses from trade-related illicit outflows and external government debt payments. As another Southern African Development Community (SADC) Summit rolls around, human rights defenders in the region, along with their allies around the world, can be forgiven for asking a simple question: what is the point?
Why we can’t forget Kate Osamor’s legacy on international development
Though not perfect, Osamor started Labour on a path to a genuinely democratic, progressive international aid policy. Here's what her successor must build on. Much has been written about the circumstances that led Labour’s Kate Osamor to resign as Shadow Secretary of State for International Development last weekend. But there is also a legacy at risk of being forgotten.
Despite record inequality, UK and EU won’t challenge Swaziland’s monarch
Swaziland held national elections on 21 September, but they were nothing more than a charade. As a recent study by journalist and former associate professor at the University of Swaziland, Richard Rooney, asserted before the election: “We can already name the winner—it will be the absolute monarch King Mswati III”. In Swaziland, political parties are banned from taking part in elections.
Yunus Centre refutes the unsubstantiated, again
Honourable Prime Minister recently (June, 2022) has made a series of serious allegations against Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus. Many of these allegations have been made years before and we responded to them at that time. Since these have been brought up again with some new allegations, media representatives and others are requesting us for our responses. We are responding to these requests.
N. Korea suggests balloons flown from South brought COVID-19
North Korea suggested Friday its COVID-19 outbreak began in people who had contact with balloons flown from South Korea - a highly questionable claim that appeared to be an attempt to hold its rival responsible amid increasing tensions over its nuclear program.
Teacher murder: Jitu’s ‘lover’ suspended
Haji Yunus Ali School and College authorities have suspended Taslima Akter Rima, a class-XI student of the college and 'lover' of Ashraful Ahsan Jitu, prime accused in teacher Utpal Kumar Sarkar murder case. Saiful Hasan, principal of the college, confirmed the matter to UNB on Saturday. "Taslima Akter has been suspended as the killing occurred centering the girl. If the primary investigation finds her involvement in the killing, she will also be expelled," said Saiful.
PM unveils country’s first business incubator aimed at building smart Bangladesh
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday inaugurated the country's first campus-based business incubator named after her martyred brother and heroic Freedom Fighter Sheikh Kamal at Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET). Sheikh Kamal IT Business Incubator is aimed at developing skilled graduates and successful entrepreneurs in the IT sector to help build a "smart Bangladesh" by 2041.
Shanghai, Beijing order new round of mass COVID-19 testing
Residents of parts of Shanghai and Beijing have been ordered to undergo further rounds of COVID-19 testing following the discovery of new cases in the two cities, while tight restrictions remain in place in Hong Kong, Macao and other Chinese cities. Shanghai has only just emerged from a strict lockdown that confined most of its 24 million residents to their homes for weeks and the new requirements have stirred concerns of a return of such harsh measures.
G-7 leaders united behind Ukraine, aim at Kremlin oil money
Leaders of the world's biggest developed economies said Tuesday they would explore far-reaching steps to cap Russia's income from oil sales that are financing its invasion of Ukraine and struck a united stance to support Kyiv for "as long as it takes" as the war grinds on. The final statement from the Group of Seven summit in Germany underlined their intent to impose "severe and immediate economic costs" on Russia.
Big cats in urban jungle: LA mountain lions, Mumbai leopards
Los Angeles and Mumbai, India, share many superlatives as pinnacles of cinema, fashion, and traffic congestion. But another similarity lurks in the shadows, most often seen at night walking silently on four paws. These metropolises are the world's only megacities of 10 million-plus where large felines - mountain lions in one, leopards in the other - thrive by breeding, hunting and maintaining territory within urban boundaries.
Palestinians give bullet that killed journalist to US team
The Palestinian Authority on Saturday said it has given the bullet that killed Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh to American forensic experts, taking a step toward resolving a standoff with Israel over the investigation into her death. The announcement came just over a week before President Joe Biden is to visit Israel and the occupied West Bank for meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. It signaled that both sides may be working to find a solution to the deadlock.
Record Tk 3.16 crore toll collected from Padma Bridge on day 6
Business Record Tk 3.16 crore toll collected from Padma Bridge on day 6
Video shows Akron police kill Black man in hail of gunfire
A Black man was unarmed when Akron police chased him on foot and killed him in a hail of gunfire, but officers believed he had shot at them earlier from a vehicle and feared he was preparing to fire again, authorities said Sunday at a news conference. Akron police released video of the shooting of Jayland Walker, 25, who was killed June 27 in a pursuit that had started with an attempted traffic stop. The mayor called the shooting "heartbreaking" while asking for patience from the community.
India stops Kashmiri photojournalist from flying to Paris
Pulitzer Prize-winning Kashmiri photojournalist said on Saturday that she was stopped by Indian immigration authorities from flying to Paris without giving any reason. In a tweet, Sanna Irshad Mattoo said she was scheduled to travel from New Delhi to Paris for a book launch and photography exhibition as one of 10 winners of the Serendipity Arles Grant 2020. "Despite procuring a French visa, I was stopped at the immigration desk at Delhi airport," she said.
Ex-Alibaba employee says ex-boss should be charged with rape
A former employee of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has accused her then-manager of trying to rape her on a business trip last year as she pushes police to review charges in a case that has cast a rare spotlight on workplace harassment in the country. The employee, a woman identified only by her last name Zhou, alleged in a lengthy account posted online this week that there were inconsistencies in a police statement about the case that she says led to online victim blaming against her.
International aid is racist, say MPs – academics must help decolonise it
"Racism manifests in the very structure of international aid; the sector still reflects the power relationships of colonialism." So say the MPs of the UK parliament's International Development Committee in a damning report on racism in the foreign aid sector, published yesterday. How does racism show itself in international aid?
Restriction on motorcycle driving, ride-sharing for a week during Eid
Motorcycles will not be allowed to ply on highways without legitimate reason for a week from three days ahead of Eid till three days after it and ride-sharing will also remain restricted outside approved areas. The decision was made in a meeting led by Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader at the ministry on Sunday for ensuring safe and unhampered journey during Eid.
Rescuers recover 26 dead from mudslide in India’s northeast
Fresh rain and falling boulders on Saturday hampered rescuers who have so far pulled out 26 bodies from the debris of a mudslide that wiped out a railroad construction site in India's northeast, officials said. Rescue work is expected to continue for a couple of days in rugged hilly terrain with little hope of finding survivors among 37 people still missing since Wednesday night. Pankaj Kavidayal, a rescue official, said 21 of the confirmed 26 dead were members of the Territorial Army.
A budget that doesn’t speak to the people
The Finance Bill 2022, in essence the approved budget for the next fiscal, was quietly passed in Parliament before it was prorogued on Wednesday, June 29. As these words get written, that new fiscal -2022-23 - is in fact already upon us. The final passage to get the bill through parliament made for some interesting viewing, particularly in all the wrangling over the specificities of the scheme proposed by the Finance Ministry during the presentation of the budget.
Hong Kong under 25 years of Chinese rule
The following are key events in the history of Hong Kong, which marked the 25th anniversary of its handover from British to Chinese rule on Friday. China had promised the territory could retain its civil, economic and political liberties for 50 years under the "one country, two systems" framework. However, in recent years Beijing has severely limited rights to free speech and assembly and virtually eliminated political opposition under the rubric of maintaining national security.
With no fuel and no cash, Sri Lanka keeps schools closed
Cash-strapped Sri Lanka on Sunday extended school closures for one week because there isn't enough fuel for teachers and parents to get children to classrooms, and the energy minister appealed to the country's expatriates to send money home through banks to finance new oil purchases. A huge foreign debt has left the Indian Ocean island with none of the suppliers willing to sell fuel on credit.
Sylhet’s worst flood: Amid all the devastation, education may suffer longest
The monsoon floods that ravaged the Sylhet region have turned the studies of over 455,000 students in 1522 institutions uncertain as they lost their books and educational materials amid no sign of immediate reopening of their classes. The authorities are compiling a report on the extent of damages caused by the worst floods to hit the region in living memory this month, according to Prof Shahedul Khabir Chwodhury, director of Department of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE), Sylhet.
3 feet of rain sets up 4th round of flood misery for Sydney
More than 30,000 residents of Sydney and its surrounds were told to evacuate or prepare to abandon their homes Monday as Australia's largest city faces its fourth, and possibly worst, round of flooding in less than a year and a half. Days of torrential rain caused dams to overflow and waterways to break their banks, bringing a new flood emergency to parts of the city of 5 million people.
Bus falls into deep gorge in northern India, killing 16
A passenger bus slid off a mountain road and fell into a deep gorge in northern India on Monday, killing 16 people, including schoolchildren, a government official said. Rescue workers pulled out the badly injured from the wreckage of the vehicle and sent them to a hospital, Ashutosh Garg, a senior administrator for the district of Kullu in Himachal Pradesh state, told news agency Press Trust of India. Another official, Prashant Sirkek Singh, said about 20 passengers were traveling in the bus.
BAN vs WI Test Series 2022: How Bangladesh’s players performed against the Windies
Shakib Al Hasan believes Bangladesh have to develop a Test culture in order to be a competitive side in the format. He made this comment after Bangladesh's humbling 10-wicket loss to the West Indies on Monday (June 27) in St. Lucia. The visiting team suffered a 2-0 defeat in the BAN vs WI Test Series 2022. The performances of Bangladeshi players in the series are discussed in this article.
Haldar syndrome in the financial sector
Leasing and financing companies (although we call them NBFIs) have lost deposits recently. Several people of that sector have said that the negative effect of P.K. Haldar's looting spree spread over almost a decade is responsible. Blaming Haldar is very much in fashion now. Among other things, he has now become the fall guy for all ills that ails the sector.
China’s top diplomat visits Myanmar amid opposition protest
China's top diplomat on Saturday arrived on his first visit to Myanmar since the military seized power last year to attend a regional meeting that the government said was a recognition of its legitimacy and opponents protested as a violation of peace efforts. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will join counterparts from Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam in a meeting of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation group in the central city of Bagan, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Death toll from flood crosses 100 with 7 more deaths
Nature Death toll from flood crosses 100 with 7 more deaths
Desperate families of migrants from Mexico
Desperate families of migrants from Mexico and Central America frantically sought word of their loved ones as authorities began the grim task of identifying 51 people who died after being abandoned in a tractor-trailer without air conditioning in the sweltering heat in the U.S. state of Texas. It was the deadliest tragedy to claim the lives of migrants smuggled across the border from Mexico. The driver of the truck and two other people were arrested, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas told the AP.
Parliament passed the Finance Bill 2022
Parliament passed the Finance Bill 2022, with some much-debated provisions, to grant legal cover to a new national budget which critics say should have been more welfare-oriented in a time of crisis - although the government seems to hardly recognise it. The new fiscal measures included amnesty for whitening offshore movable assets and a cap of Tk 3.6 million as allowable limit for cash transaction for corporate taxpayers.
Govt suspends vehicle purchase, projects’ honorarium to cut costs in FY23
Considering global financial situation, the government has decided to suspend purchasing vehicles, including ships and aircrafts, for all government, semi-government, autonomous, statutory, state-owned companies and financial institutions. The Finance Division issued an office circular in this regard.
Many people over-exaggerating impact of sanctions: US ambassador
US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas thinks that many people are "over-exaggerating" the impact of the sanctions imposed on the elite force Rab and some officials but acknowledges that it did have an impact on the overall relations. "Yes, the sanctions did have an impact. I think many people are over-exaggerating the impact because the relationship we have is so broad and we deal with so many issues," he told Voice of America Bangla Service in an interview at the US Department of State.
Padma Bridge opens: Sheikh Hasina's finest hour
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday declared that Padma Bridge is not just a concrete infrastructure of brick, cement, steel and iron, rather this is a symbol of nation's pride, honour and ability. "The bridge belongs to the people of Bangladesh. It involves our passion, our creativity, our courage, our endurance and our perseverance," she said. The premier was addressing the grand opening ceremony of the country's largest bridge -Padma Bridge- over the mighty Padma River at Mawa end.
UN Ocean Conference: Bangladesh reaffirms commitment to achieve SDG-14
The Ocean Conference, co-hosted by the Governments of Kenya and Portugal, comes at a critical time as the world is seeking to address many of the deep-rooted problems of our societies laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic and which will require major structural transformations and common shared solutions that are anchored in the SDGs. To mobilize action, the Conference sought to propel much needed science-based innovative solutions aimed at starting a new chapter of global ocean action.
Hope and despair: Kathy Gannon on 35 years in Afghanistan
The Afghan policeman opened fire on us with his AK-47, emptying 26 bullets into the back of the car. Seven slammed into me, and at least as many into my colleague, Associated Press photographer Anja Niedringhaus. She died at my side. Anja weighed heavy against my shoulder. I tried to look at her but I couldn't move. I looked down; all I could see was what looked like a stump where my left hand had been.
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