Latest Poverty News

Chicago is keeping hundreds of migrants at airports while waiting on shelters and tents

Oct. 01, 2023 01:28 AM EDT

CHICAGO (AP) — Hidden behind a heavy black curtain in one of the nation’s busiest airports is Chicago’s unsettling response to a growing population of asylum-seekers arriving by plane. Hundreds of migrants, from babies to the elderly, live inside a shuttle bus center at...

Rising poverty grips Argentina as runaway inflation takes its toll

Sep. 27, 2023 18:26 PM EDT

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — With tired faces, residents of a homeless shelter in Argentina’s capital pass through the main entrance and line up to receive a hot drink and a slice of cake for an afternoon snack. Places like the Bepo Ghezzi Social Inclusion Center in the Parque...

The spotlight is on Ukraine at UN leaders' gathering, but is there room for other global priorities?

Sep. 17, 2023 20:42 PM EDT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The war in Ukraine and its visiting president take center stage at the United Nations this week, but developing countries will be vying for the spotlight as well as they push for faster action on poverty and inequality at the first full-on meeting of world leaders since the...

UN calls for more fairness for developing nations at a G77 summit in Cuba

Sep. 15, 2023 16:31 PM EDT

HAVANA (AP) — The U.N. secretary-general called Friday for nations to build a world that is more fair for developing countries, as he kicked off a summit in Cuba of the G77 group of emerging economies plus China. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that while many of the...

Suriname prepares for its first offshore oil project that is expected to ease deep poverty

Sep. 13, 2023 17:52 PM EDT

PARAMARIBO, Suriname (AP) — Suriname for the first time in its history will see offshore oil drilling in its waters after French company TotalEnergies on Wednesday announced a $9 billion project expected to boost the impoverished country’s economy and ease austerity measures imposed by the...

Child poverty in the US jumped and income declined in 2022 as coronavirus pandemic benefits ended

Sep. 12, 2023 16:01 PM EDT

Child poverty in the United States more than doubled and median household income declined last year when coronavirus pandemic-era government benefits expired and inflation kept rising, according to figures released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau. At the same time, the official...

UN says Colombia's coca crop at all-time high as officials promote new drug policies

Sep. 11, 2023 17:57 PM EDT

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Coca cultivation reached an all-time high in Colombia last year, the U.N. said, as the administration of President Gustavo Petro struggles to reduce poverty in remote areas and contain armed groups that are profiting from the cocaine trade. The new findings...

Dominican president suspends visas for Haitians and threatens to close border with its neighbor

Sep. 11, 2023 15:33 PM EDT

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — The president of the Dominican Republic announced Monday that he has suspended issuing visas to Haitians, and he threatened to shut down land, air and sea traffic between the two neighbors over their latest dispute. President Luis Abinader's...

UN envoy urges donor support for battered Syria facing an economic crisis

Sep. 10, 2023 08:06 AM EDT

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The United Nations special envoy for Syria Sunday urged donors not to reduce their funding as the war-torn country's economic crisis spirals. Syrian President Bashar Assad’s decision last month to double public sector wages and pensions further skyrocketed...

UN report on Ecuador links crime with poverty, faults government for not ending bonded labor

Sep. 08, 2023 17:41 PM EDT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A U.N. envoy urged Ecuador's leaders Friday to boost enforcement of labor laws and end popular fuel subsidies as part of key policy changes needed alongside their continuing efforts to combat the drug-related crime that has undermined the country's peaceful image. ...