Tim Large
Tim Large has been AlertNet's deputy editor since 2003. Prior to that, he was a correspondent with Reuters in Tokyo, a staff writer on a major Japanese daily and news editor of a popular science website. He has written widely on politics, economics, social issues and the arts. He is also a passionate photographer.
China emerges as a major new aid player
By Tim Large
News today that Japan will finally stop shelling out development aid to China after half a century of multi-billion-yen grants and concessionary loans marks a watershed, and not just in Sino-Japanese relations.
Tokyo's decision to turn off the aid tap by the time of the Beijing Olympics in 2008 reflects China's sprinting economic growth and double-digit increases in defence spending. Japan has long chafed at subsidising its giant neighbour as cheap Chinese imports flood its markets and Beijing continues to thumb its nose at Tokyo's quest for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council.
... Full article
By Tim Large
News today that Japan will finally stop shelling out development aid to China after half a century of multi-billion-yen grants and concessionary loans marks a watershed, and not just in Sino-Japanese relations.
Tokyo's decision to turn off the aid tap by the time of the Beijing Olympics in 2008 reflects China's sprinting economic growth and double-digit increases in defence spending. Japan has long chafed at subsidising its giant neighbour as cheap Chinese imports flood its markets and Beijing continues to thumb its nose at Tokyo's quest for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council.
... Full article
Peru braces for crisis as mercury plummets
By Tim Large
High in the Andes of central and southern Peru, it gets bone-achingly cold. But this winter is harsher than usual. As the temperature falls as low as minus 25 degrees Centigrade (minus 13 Fahrenheit), the government has declared a state of emergency.
In the catalogue of natural disasters, cold weather rarely ranks alongside floods, earthquakes and hurricanes. But 2 million Peruvians are now hunkering down to endure the icy blasts, and the government says it is considering evacuating people living higher than 4,000 metres (13,000 feet) above sea level.
... Full article
By Tim Large
High in the Andes of central and southern Peru, it gets bone-achingly cold. But this winter is harsher than usual. As the temperature falls as low as minus 25 degrees Centigrade (minus 13 Fahrenheit), the government has declared a state of emergency.
In the catalogue of natural disasters, cold weather rarely ranks alongside floods, earthquakes and hurricanes. But 2 million Peruvians are now hunkering down to endure the icy blasts, and the government says it is considering evacuating people living higher than 4,000 metres (13,000 feet) above sea level.
... Full article
World Food Programme edges towards cash over carry
By Tim Large
A few days after Josette Sheeran took over as new head of the U.N. World Food Programme in April, she headed to Addis Ababa to visit the Ethiopian capital's bustling central grain market. Sheeran chatted with farmers, traders and market experts. Her mission, she said, was to listen and learn. Coming so early in her tenure as WFP chief, the trip signalled a recognition that times are changing for the U.N. food agency. No longer does it merely dole out in-kind donations from rich countries coddled in subsidies and tariffs. Increasingly, WFP is a major player in local markets too, using cash donations to buy food for the hungry. ... Full article
By Tim Large
A few days after Josette Sheeran took over as new head of the U.N. World Food Programme in April, she headed to Addis Ababa to visit the Ethiopian capital's bustling central grain market. Sheeran chatted with farmers, traders and market experts. Her mission, she said, was to listen and learn. Coming so early in her tenure as WFP chief, the trip signalled a recognition that times are changing for the U.N. food agency. No longer does it merely dole out in-kind donations from rich countries coddled in subsidies and tariffs. Increasingly, WFP is a major player in local markets too, using cash donations to buy food for the hungry. ... Full article
Hi-tech pirates track Somali aid treasure
By Tim Large
Forget hooks and cutlasses. Modern-day pirates off the coast of lawless Somalia tote AK-47s, satellite phones and GPS navigation systems as they prey on aid vessels.
Attacks on U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) shipments have become so common that the United Nations has called for international action against "a plague of piracy" that's threatening to cut aid to a million people.
... Full article
By Tim Large
Forget hooks and cutlasses. Modern-day pirates off the coast of lawless Somalia tote AK-47s, satellite phones and GPS navigation systems as they prey on aid vessels.
Attacks on U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) shipments have become so common that the United Nations has called for international action against "a plague of piracy" that's threatening to cut aid to a million people.
... Full article
AID WORKER DIARY: Home away from a violent home in Congo
By Luciano Calestini
At the best of times, it's not easy to get to the village of Nyanzale. Nestled in the foothills that characterise much of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the usual way to reach the picturesque hamlet is by road from Goma, the nearest major town. Normally that takes a day by vehicle, if the road is dry - and safe. It has taken our UNICEF team 30 minutes by U.N. helicopter to visit the area for a monitoring trip.
Today, around 21,000 of the people we work with in Nyanzale are from elsewhere. They traveled by foot, through the forest, in secret, on foot-worn tracks, to avoid becoming caught in the cross-fire of a new wave of fighting.
... Full article
Next entries
By Luciano Calestini
At the best of times, it's not easy to get to the village of Nyanzale. Nestled in the foothills that characterise much of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the usual way to reach the picturesque hamlet is by road from Goma, the nearest major town. Normally that takes a day by vehicle, if the road is dry - and safe. It has taken our UNICEF team 30 minutes by U.N. helicopter to visit the area for a monitoring trip.
Today, around 21,000 of the people we work with in Nyanzale are from elsewhere. They traveled by foot, through the forest, in secret, on foot-worn tracks, to avoid becoming caught in the cross-fire of a new wave of fighting.
... Full article
