The majority of deaths recorded by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) were people who drowned in the Mediterranean. But other cases included people crossing the Sahara desert, drowning on boats in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea, and while travelling on the top of trains in Mexico.

Mark Goldring, Oxfam GB chief executive, said: "The images of Alan Kurdi's body washed up on a Turkish beach were heartbreaking and the public was rightly shocked and saddened by them. And yet in the year since, the situation has not improved for refugees and migrants who are risking everything in search of safety and a better life for their families. In fact, the routes they take have become deadlier still.

"To stop these needless deaths, we need a coordinated, global response to this crisis."

It is hoped the results of the census will inform major conservation policy decisions worldwide to ensure African elephants survival.

The pan-African survey of savanna elephants shows a decline of 30 per cent in African savanna elephant populations in 15 of the 18 countries surveyed.

The World Wildlife Fund’s Ginette Hemley, senior vice president for wildlife conservation, says: “These numbers have confirmed our fear: elephants continue to be slaughtered at disturbing rates in many parts of Africa, with deaths exceeding birth rates across much of the research area.

“This data rings the alarm for African states and the international community. Although many countries have taken steps to tackle the poaching crisis and illegal ivory trade, we must accelerate the speed and increase the impact of our efforts globally. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, but countries like Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and South Africa have shown that successful elephant conservation in Africa can be possible.

“Countries participating in this month’s CITES (Convention for the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) COP can make a real difference. Through international collaboration, we can put in place the strong legislation, enforcement, demand reduction and community conservation and cooperation efforts needed to end illegal ivory trade and secure a future for elephants.”

Philanthropist Paul Allen, said of the study, the first continent-wide, standardised survey of African savannah elephants, that: "Armed with this knowledge of dramatically declining elephant populations, we share a collective responsibility to take action and we must all work to ensure the preservation of this iconic species."

Over a two-year period, using standardised data collection and validation methods, the Great Elephant Census (GEC), determined the number and distribution of the great majority of African savanna elephants.

Final results show that Savanna elephant populations declined by 30 per cent (equal to 144,000 elephants) between 2007 and 2014. Also the current rate of decline is 8 per cent per year, primarily due to poaching. The rate of decline accelerated from 2007 to 2014.

352,271 elephants were counted in the 18 countries surveyed, a figure that represents at least 93 per cent of savanna elephants in these countries.

Alarmingly, high numbers of elephant carcasses were discovered in many protected areas, indicating that elephants are struggling both inside and outside parks.

"If we can't save the African elephant, what is the hope of conserving the rest of Africa's wildlife?" said Mike Chase, GEC principal investigator and founder of Elephants Without Borders. "I am hopeful that, with the right tools, research, conservation efforts and political will, we can help conserve elephants for decades to come."

UN Environment deputy head Ibrahim Thiaw has stated: "The findings of the Great Elephant Census show clearly that poaching is still decimating elephant herds across Africa. This practice makes no sense on any level, moral, economic or political.

"Elephants are already locally extinct in my own country, Mauritania, and I do not want to see this happen anywhere else; an imminent possibility in Cameroon and Mali, and further down the line in other countries, unless we accelerate action.

"There is reason for hope. Populations in some African nations are declining only slightly or even increasing. And support for tackling the crisis is increasingly backed by a growing public, political and private sector force for change, such as the Wild For Life campaign.

"Across Africa, nations are starting to see that wildlife is worth more alive than dead, and that it can generate revenue, through tourism for example, to fund the education, healthcare and infrastructure that will improve human well-being and drive economic growth.

"As depressing as these numbers are, I hope they act as a further spark for action and change. We know how to solve the crisis. The Great Elephant Census tells us we must act, and now."

“This project will help poor rural families in Chad deal with drought and its most serious consequences, such as income loss, severe food insecurity and malnutrition,” said Giuseppe Zampaglione, World Bank Task Team Leader for the Safety Nets Project.

The Safety Nets Project is financed by the International Development Association (IDA) and the Sahel Adaptive Social Protection Multi-Donor Trust Fund, and will support programmes targeting 6,200 poor households in the Sahelian belt and the South Sudan area with financial support. The project will also provide income-earning opportunities for almost 9,000 households in N’Djamena’s urban and periurban areas.

Paul Noumba Um, World Bank Country Director for Chad, stated that “the new safety nets program in Chad should help the country step up poverty reduction efforts by protecting a number of the most impoverished families from shocks and crises and allow them to continue investing in their children’s future,” adding that “safety nets are already helping improve the resilience and productivity of households across the entire continent, particularly in Niger and other countries.”

The warning comes as recent figures show that at least 130,000 older people have suffered some form of financial abuse from someone known to them since turning 65.

Caroline Abrahams, of the charity, says: “An ageing population brings many positives but also challenges, such as the steep rise in the numbers of older people with dementia and other cognitive problems; which we know are a major risk factor for financial abuse.”

Women are twice as likely as men to be victims of financial abuse in later life, with the majority being women aged 80 to 89 and living on their own, single or widowed, according to the charity.

Age UK is warning that financial abuse can have a serious impact on older people, both financially and emotionally, and loss of even a small amount can be catastrophic, especially for those on low incomes.

The charity offers a free advice service for older people who are affected by any of these issues.

The fundraising event, sponsored by Halepi Restaurant and co-hosted by Sky News presenter, Jacquie Beltrao and Sky Sports boxing expert, Johnny Nelson, hopes to raise £350,000 to help Londoners suffering from the medium to longer term physical and emotional effects of breast cancer.

Spiro says: “Sometimes in life it is important to step up to the plate. Over the last three months, I have been training hard at St Pancras Boxing Club in Kentish Town for what is going to be a show stopping night with a purpose." Spiro has already raised over £50,000 from friends, family and clients for his charity cause.

“I am humbled by the amazing work that Future Dreams commits to and am proud to be in a position to support this breast cancer cause, before an audience of 500 people...” he says.

The Fight Night boxing dinner is on Thursday 29th September 2016, at The Park Lane Hotel, London.

Future Dreams has raised over £2 million for cancer research. The charity fundraises for the Breakthrough Breast Cancer charity that supports breast cancer specific research, and also The Haven, a UK charity providing free one-to-one emotional and physical support.

Access to the worst-hit towns including Amatrice, Accumoli and Arquata del Tronto village has proved difficult but more than 500 Red Cross volunteers are on the ground providing emergency supplies, first aid and psychosocial support to people affected by the disaster, says the charity.

Italian Red Cross president Francesco Rocca said: “People are in shock. Hundreds of families have seen their houses collapse around them and they have lost everything.

“Our volunteers are with survivors now and trying to help them come to terms with this disaster.”

“Huge parts of the towns hit have been completely wrecked; houses, schools, churches, are all damaged or destroyed,” said Rocca

“Our priority is making sure people are safe and have the emergency support they need like food, water and medical care.”

The Italian Red Cross is running two mobile kitchens to provide hot meals to survivors in the worst-affected areas. Its fleet of ambulances and specialist vehicles are also working across the quake-hit area.

The Italian Red Cross is running an emergency appeal to support quake-hit communities, with information available via its website.

In addition, KCB Group will extend at least USD 200 million to farmers in the two countries in affordable loans over the next five years.

KCB Group CEO and Managing Director Kenya Joshua Oigara, said: “We believe that technology supported agribusiness is an emerging and fast growing frontier that will embolden the agricultural sector to be a stronger driver of economic expansion in the East African region.”

The MasterCard Foundation sees the partnership as a game-changing initiative that utilises technology to deliver solutions capable of lifting millions of households from poverty.

Ann Miles, Director of Financial Inclusion and Youth Livelihoods at the Foundation, said: “This partnership will help us understand to what extent access to mobile-based financial services and agricultural information can help smallholder farmers and pastoralists achieve higher productivity and returns, thus providing them with a pathway out of poverty.”

The funding is targeting smallholder farmers and pastoralists in the largely unbanked agricultural sector in the two countries.

KCB Group said in addition to its US$15 million (Ksh1.5 billion), it will spend $200 million (Kshs.20 billion) in credit to farmers under the program dubbed KCB MobiGro, highlighting its commitment towards supporting the agriculture sector in the region.

The initiative aims to reach farmers, 60 per cent of whom are women, in the dairy, livestock and food sub-sectors in the two countries.

KCB MobiGro will include provision of a mobile phone-based technology solution, M-Kulima that will enable small scale farmers to access financial services such as credit, insurance and savings through their mobile phones. The platform will also be used for information sharing on crop and livestock management, pricing, market trends, and linkages to value chain actors.

Funds will be spent on mobilising and training of smallholder and pastoralist farmers on financial literacy and business management to improve on production and stock management, extending mobile financial services to smallholder farmers, research and facilitating cross learning between producer organizations. Farmers will also be exposed to market opportunities for their produce under the project.

“At the same time, the majority of farmers operate on a small scale basis owing to limited access to finance, quality inputs and produce markets. We are taking a holistic approach to ensure farmers are equipped with all the essential resources required to enhance their livelihoods,” said Oigara.

Small scale farmers in Kenya cultivate on farms less than two acres in size using limited technology. These small farms, operated by roughly three million farming families, account for 75 percent of total agricultural production in Kenya, making them the main driver of the economy.

Oigara says while agriculture is the most significant economic sector in East Africa, contributing 30 per cent to the Kenyan GDP and employing over 60 percent of the population, only three percent of loans in the banking sector are channelled into agribusiness.

In all countries surveyed, consumers were most likely to say that mobile phone manufacturers should be responsible for providing people with the means to recycle their phones. The majority surveyed said that it was important that a new smartphone can be easily repaired if damaged.

Greenpeace East Asia conducted the survey as part of its True Innovation campaign, which challenges the technology sector to embrace innovation to protect the environment. The online research was conducted between July and August 2016, in Germany, Russia, Mexico, South Korea, USA and China.

“We believe true innovation means gadgets designed to last, to be repaired and recycled. It is time for tech leaders to rethink the way they make our electronics so that they are as innovative for our planet as they are for our lives,” said Chih An Lee, Global IT Campaigner at Greenpeace East Asia.

“If tech brands want to lead us into the future, they need to move towards closed-loop production and embrace the circular economy; something that can be good for their profits, for people and for the planet.”

Chinese (66 per cent) and South Korean respondents (64 per cent) are more likely to have ever had their phones repaired, compared to those in the US (28 per cent) and Germany (23 per cent). Nearly half surveyed believe that mobile phone manufacturers should be most responsible for making recycling accessible. This sentiment was strongest in Germany (61 per cent). Also 4 in 5 respondents considered it important that a new smartphone is not produced using hazardous chemicals.

“The humble smartphone puts enormous strain on our environment from the moment they are produced, often with hazardous chemicals, to the moment they are disposed of in huge e-waste sites,” said Chih An Lee.

“Over half of respondents across the countries surveyed agree that manufacturers are releasing too many new models, many designed to only last a few years. In fact, most users actually want their phones to be more easily dismantled, repaired and recycled.”

Mobile phones are some of the most frequently replaced of all small electronics products. A United Nations University report in 2014 showed that up to 3 million metric tonnes of e-waste is generated from small IT products, such as mobile phones and personal computers. This represents a massive waste of resources and a source of contamination from hazardous chemicals.

4 in 5 respondents in the survey believe it is important for a new smartphone to be easily repaired if damaged. This rises to as high as 95 per cent in China, 94 per cent in Mexico and 92 per cent in South Korea.

Now a new tool released by the FAO allows farmers, policy makers and scientists to calculate meat, milk and eggs production as well as greenhouse-gas emissions from livestock.

GLEAM-i, the Global Livestock Environmental Assessment Model interactive, has been designed as a user-friendly, open, livestock specific tool designed to support the calculation of emissions and production.

Developed by FAO's Animal Production and Health Division to support policy and practice change to achieve sustainable livestock development, the simple to use tool is run using Excel software, and is built with farmers and community organisations working in remote rural areas in mind, for instance.

It includes variables such as countries and regions, the number and types of livestock, feed materials, as well as conditions under which animals are kept.

"The objective of GLEAM is to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ensure that livestock activities are as efficient as possible so that they can continue to contribute to people's food, nutrition and livelihood needs while utilizing fewer natural resources," explains Anne Mottet, Livestock Policy Officer at FAO.

FAO research based on GLEAM has found that with affordable changes, livestock farmers can increase production and reduce emissions by nearly a third.

Livestock farming is particularly important for developing countries but it’s estimated that the sector is responsible for 14.5 per cent of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions.

Precise information about the environmental footprint of livestock supply chains will help stakeholders to take better-informed decisions and reduce greenhouse gases emissions, says the FAO.

"For example, governments can use GLEAM-i to prepare national inventories and to develop policies for improved efficiency in animal husbandry, feed and manure management," Mottet says.

The initiative currently supports a range of national and international projects, including climate smart agriculture initiatives in Ecuador, Niger, Zambia and Malawi, as well as other projects in South America, South East Asia and, East and West Africa.

The Institute of Biological Problems of the North (Russian Academy of Sciences) and WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) have collaborated to identify vital stopover areas for the dunlin, the shorebird known to migrate up to 7500 km (4700 miles) to reach its destination.

The nature tech scientific collaboration is an effort to understand the threats and inform conservation priorities related to intertidal habitat, 65 per cent of which has been lost over the last 50 years.

The coastal habitat is critical to the survival of countless birds during migration on the East Asian Australasian Flyway.

“To prevent declines in populations of birds that breed in the Arctic, we must understand their needs after leaving the breeding grounds,” said Dr Rebecca Bentzen, Avian Research Coordinator with WCS and lead author of the study.

Bentzen said: “We need to work collaboratively with our international colleagues to provide the best possible protection for the habitat of migrating shorebirds at each stage of their annual movements. This project is a perfect example of what we can learn when we work together to address common problems.”

In order to track dunlin migrations, Russian researchers attached small geolocators to the legs of the birds. The devices, which weigh less than a paper clip, register light levels in relation to an internal timer, which can be used to estimate latitude and longitude and hence the flight pattern of the bird when it is recaptured upon return to its breeding grounds.

The data collected over the four-year study showed that dunlin captured during the breeding season in Chukotka wintered in China, South Korea, and Vietnam, primarily between the south coast of Bohai Bay, the Yellow Sea, and Gulf of Tonkin in China. The scientists were able to determine other vital information, such as the location and amount of time spent at stopover locations.

Unfortunately while this research provides greater understanding of the critical habitats that allows these birds to thrive, it also raises new conservation challenges.

“Stopover sites have largely been overlooked as conservation priorities,” said Bentzen. “By only focusing on certain stages of the life cycles of these birds, be it their time on the breeding grounds or where they winter, we have missed a key element of their annual cycles. It doesn’t matter how well we protect the breeding grounds, if these stopover sites are not adequately protected, dunlins and other species will never make it to the breeding grounds.”

Arctic shorebirds breeding in Chukotka and Alaska depend upon key coastal intertidal sites along their migratory route to find food to supply energy on their flights. Such intertidal habitats are rapidly being lost to human development, resulting in marked declines of all species that have been studied on the flyway.

Along with those scientists directly involved from Russia and the US, citizen scientists along the flyway also got involved in the study. The information from the study helps justify the need for conservation action at key stopover points and wintering areas, says the WCS charity.

The project received financial support from the John D and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation and the Trust for Mutual Understanding.

Bees and other insect pollinators are estimated to support 9.5 per cent of world food production. However, wild bees have undergone global declines that have been linked partly to the use of insecticides.

Responding to research published in Nature Communications, that strongly links neonicotinoid insecticides to wild bees decline across England, Friends of the Earth’s nature campaigner, Paul de Zylva has called for an existing ban on neonicotinoid pesticides to remain in place.

“This is the strongest ever evidence of harm to bees from neonicotinoid pesticides in British fields, he says.

“The study uses data from real field conditions over 17 years and adds a huge new peak to the existing mountain of evidence showing the risk these chemicals pose to our bees.

“If the government genuinely wants to safeguard Britain’s bees, it must keep the ban on neonicotinoid pesticides regardless of what happens with Brexit, and tighten the way pesticides are tested and licensed for use.”

Scientific evidence has been building in recent years linking pesticide use to declining bee populations. Environmentalist have also been highlighting the critical role bees play as pollinators supporting agriculture and nature. The seriousness of the decline, that is international in scope, was highlighted by a decision by the European Community to ban certain chemicals thought to be harming bees. Other issues linked to the decline in bees include habitat loss and fragmentation, pathogens and climate change.

The Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) which conducted the new study said that the results show that use of neonicotinoid pesticides “is a contributory factor leading to wild bee species population decline” and that their use on oil-seed rape crops is a “principle mechanism of neonicotinoid exposure among wild bee communities”. Also that bee decline is “on average, three times stronger” in bee species that regularly feed on treated oil-seed rape than in species that feed on a wider range of flowering plants.

Friends of the Earth is also calling for a greater variety of bee-friendly crops and plants in our countryside. Paul de Zylva says: “Bees are no different from us in needing a healthy, balanced diet. To get this bees need to visit lots of pesticide-free plants - endless fields of oil seed rape are failing to provide this.”

The report says neonicotinoid use is correlated with wild bee biodiversity losses nationally with implications for the conservation of bee communities in “intensively farmed landscapes”. The CEH study used data from Fera Science Ltd and the Bees, Wasps and Ants Recording Scheme (BWARS) to examine changes in the presence of 62 species of wild bees between 1994 and 2011. The CEH study was commissioned as part of the Government’s 10 year National Pollinator Strategy (NPS) that was launched in 2014. The National Pollinator Strategy aims to protect pollinators and promote their contribution to the countryside and the economy.

Environmental charities want to see a range of bee-friendly policies, including stronger incentives for farmers to use bee-friendly farming techniques and conservation support for connected flower-rich bee-friendly habitats.

John Tippett, Global Director of Mobile Health at Grameen Foundation, has described how the platform works: “By allowing systems to work together and serve huge numbers of people.”

Earlier this year India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare announced the national roll out of two MOTECH-powered initiatives developed by BBC Media Action, Mobile Academy and Kilkari, both aimed at addressing health challenges that result in high infant and maternal mortality rates.

Kilkari delivers free messages about pregnancy, child birth and childcare to mobile phones. Kilkari directly calls pregnant women and mothers, delivering crucial health information targeted to their stage of pregnancy or their infant’s age.

Mobile Academy uses Interactive Voice Response (IVR) messages on mobile phones to train front-line health workers in maternal and infant care. The health workers, known as ASHAs (Accredited Social Health Activists), are selected by the village they serve, and are central to India’s strategy to improve maternal and child health.

“The Government of India has launched Digital India program in order to transform the entire ecosystem of public services through the use of Information Technology,” said Shri Jagat Prakash Nadda, Minister of Health and Family Welfare. “We need to transform healthcare by empowering people to become active healthcare citizens with choice but most powerfully with information and to take more responsibility over their own health and life choices...I am confident that these services will bring us a step closer to the people who need our services the most.”

The proliferation of mobile phones in low and middle-income countries has created unprecedented opportunities to extend health services to underserved populations, helping to educate and inform patients, and helping community-based health workers diagnose, treat and monitor a broad range of conditions.

Application of MOTECH to improving the health of mothers and babies across India required innovative partnerships and collaborations with a range of institutions. The Government of India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; state health ministries; the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; BBC Media Action, the BBC’s independently funded international development charity; and Grameen Foundation all played important roles.

Shri Rahul Mullick, Lead ICT and mHealth, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said: “We at the foundation believe technology can offer compelling solutions in solving public health challenges and are committed to supporting the government in its ambitious agenda of prioritising equitable access to public health services.”

With funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Grameen Foundation helped to develop MOTECH as an open-source platform that works across key areas for health services: behaviour change, managing patient data, improving worker performance, strengthening last-mile supply chain, and improving patient adherence. Because it is compatible with any mobile technology, MOTECH’s impact can continue to grow along with the adoption of android devices or other smart phones in rural areas.

“To start with, we needed a technology powerful enough to interact with government data bases and reach women across India’s population of 1.29 billion people,” said Chandni Ohri, CEO of Grameen Foundation India. “At the same time, we needed to be able to do smart things on really basic feature phones, which is what people in rural areas now own and use.”

MOTECH does this and is designed to reach anyone, regardless of how remote their location or sophisticated their mobile technology, says the Grameen Foundation. It registers patients in the system; manages their data; schedules messages; tracks ASHA training; and connects with national health systems, including the national Mother & Child Tracking System (MCTS) a pan-Indian health database. This allows women in the database to be automatically enrolled in Kilkari.

MOTECH programmes have been used to help facilitate an Ebola vaccine trial in Sierra Leone; and to serve HIV/AIDS patients, tuberculosis patients, and community health workers in a number of developing countries including Ghana, India, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

One of the projects delivered on the MOTECH Platform is a treatment advice by mobile alerts service in India (TAMA) that provides tips and reminders to increase HIV/AIDS patients adherence to treatment.

When complete, the windfarm is expected to deliver up to 1,800 megawatts of low carbon electricity to around 1.8 million UK homes.

The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, reveals the windfarm could create up to 1,960 construction jobs and 580 operational and maintenance jobs. If built to the full capacity, the investment for the project would total around £6 billion.

RenewableUK’s Chief Executive, Hugh McNeal, has described the development as "the latest vote of confidence in the UK’s world-beating offshore wind market. This huge infrastructure project will provide much-needed investment and energy security for our country. Offshore wind represents a massive economic opportunity to the UK and our coastal regions. It is creating new jobs and regenerating local communities”.

Located approximately 89km off the Yorkshire coast, the windfarm will comprise up to 300 wind turbines and will connect to the grid at North Killingholme in North Lincolnshire.

Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark has also celebrated the news that is expected to provide an economic boost for the Humber region and further afield.

“The UK’s offshore wind industry has grown at an extraordinary rate over the last few years, and is a fundamental part of our plans to build a clean, affordable, secure energy system," he said.

“Britain is a global leader in offshore wind, and we’re determined to be one of the leading destinations for investment in renewable energy, which means jobs and economic growth right across the country.”

As well as announcing that the Hornsea Two offshore wind farm from DONG Energy has gained planning consent, the Government is also promising £730 million of financial support for renewable electricity generation during the current Parliament.

Offshore wind’s costs have been falling dramatically in the past few years. Wind power is currently delivering over 12 per cent of the UK’s electricity, says RenewableUK, and this is expected to increase to 20 per cent by 2020 with offshore wind alone providing 10 per cent.

All were found safe and well, but with so many reports coming in during the day, many UK Coastguards Rescue Teams have increased their regular patrols and are appealing to the public to be careful.

Dai Jones, Duty Controller for UK Coastguard, said: “It has been a beautiful day today (Monday 15 August) and it has been very busy, where we have responded to at least nine call outs for missing children. It’s always a huge worry when children go missing near the beach not just for the parents but for the UK Coastguard as well. There’s always a possibility that children will stray too close to the sea and without appropriate adult supervision anything could happen. We are urging parents to a keep a close eye on their children when at the beach, thankfully today’s missing children had just wandered off and were located safe and well by the teams.

“We urge parents or guardians to make sure that their children are well supervised at the coast. If you can, head for a RNLI life guarded beach - there are over 210 across the UK coast, and agree a recognisable meeting point. Show your children the nearest lifeguard station and tell your children to head there and tell a lifeguard if they get lost. Busy beaches can disorientate people, especially children, so take advantage of local wristband schemes for younger children.”

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) provides a nationwide lifeguard service as well as sea and inland water rescue, and flood rescue services. The charity is separate from but works alongside government-controlled coastguards.

The charity also operates Swim Safe, a free programme of outdoor swimming and water safety sessions for children around the country, that is taking place at Scarborough’s South Bay until Friday 19 August.

Each Swim Safe session includes a land-based safety lesson with a lifeguard, followed by in-water tuition with a swimming teacher. The programme is delivered in partnership between the ASA (Amateur Swimming Association) and the RNLI.

A study from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), published in the journal Ecology Letters, found that while badgers do favour cattle pasture as a habitat, they typically avoid cattle themselves and rarely get sufficiently up close to transmit infection directly.

This suggests that transmission of the bacterium responsible for bovine tuberculosis (Mycobacterium bovis) is likely to occur more frequently from contamination of the two species shared environment, rather than through direct badger and cattle contact, suggests the ZSL.

The Badger Trust has welcomed the publication of the new research that it says has serious implications for the way the current TB crisis in farming is being dealt with.

The wildlife conservation charity considers emphasis previously placed on wildlife interventions has been unjustifiably exaggerated at the expense of dealing with basic farm-level bio-security and cattle testing and controls.

A joint statement from Badger Trust Chairman, Peter Martin and Chief Executive, Dominic Dyer, states: “The Badger Trust is therefore calling for an immediate suspension of all badger culling whilst a comprehensive review is undertaken so that the current policy can be amended and improved in light of the latest scientific developments. It is also vital to identify any significant gaps in the science and to commission new research to fill them.”

The Badger Trust maintains that the scientific study reinforces the idea that the modelling of previous research "has not given sufficient weight to the role of the wider TB environment created by cattle and the way they are farmed, or the possibility they are not only continually infecting wildlife but also re-infecting themselves by the same route".

Peter Martin and Dominic Dyer, state: “Far from being a significant contributor to the levels of TB in cattle it appears that badgers are simply one of many elements in a broad spectrum of possible reinfection vectors in the TB environment created by cattle farming. These must include not only all mammals, vertebrates and invertebrates, but also, critically, cattle themselves.

“We are now facing a pivotal moment when all stakeholders in this debate need to recognise that a fundamental re-examination of the scientific assumptions on which the current policy for TB controls in cattle is urgently needed. There is simply too much to lose by failing to do so, including the future of the cattle and dairy industry, millions of pounds of taxpayer’s money and the lives of tens of thousands of animals.”

Professor Rosie Woodroffe of the ZSL, who led the study, has said: “It has been known for a long time that badgers can transmit TB to cattle but without knowing how they do it, it is hard to offer farmers advice on the most promising ways to protect their herds. Our study provides the strongest evidence yet that transmission is happening through the environment, helping to explain why controlling TB is so difficult. This work marks the first step towards identifying more effective ways to reduce transmission between badgers and cattle, and also potentially better ways to manage cattle-to-cattle transmission as well.”

The ZSL-led team deployed Global Positioning System (GPS) collars and proximity-sensing contact-collars to explore how close badgers and cattle came into contact across 20 farms in Cornwall. In total, collared cattle spent the equivalent of eight years in the home ranges of contact-collared badgers and the equivalent of nearly 15 years in the home ranges of GPS-collared badgers, yet the two species were never found in close proximity. Instead, simultaneous GPS tracking indicated the badgers preferred to be at least 50 metres away from the cattle.

Following the identification of the environment as the likely location of bTB transmission, ZSL scientists are now embarking on the next phase of their research to identify where in the environment the disease bacteria is concentrated and encountered by badgers and cattle.

With surrounding countries straining under the weight of large numbers of displaced people and critically underfunded operations, and already there are 930,000 refugees in the region, and more arriving daily, UNHCR, has expressed alarm that even as the refugee population grows, funds to meet basic needs are becoming exhausted.

Violence in Juba in July appears to have tipped the scales and means political instability is set to continue.

“There are numerous reports of sporadic armed clashes, human rights violations including sexual and gender-based violence by armed groups, and worsening food insecurity inflicting immense suffering," said Edwards.

General security conditions are unpredictable with renewed clashes reported in Central and Western Equatoria, Western Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nile and parts of Unity.

Uganda and Sudan have received an estimated 110,000 and 100,000 new arrivals respectively in 2016, together accounting for more than 90 per cent of the new arrivals in the region this year. Most of those fleeing to Sudan arrived in the first six months of the year, driven by fighting in previously stable areas in Western Bahr al Ghazal state, as well as the worsening food security. In addition to the refugee numbers, there are 1.61 million people who are displaced within South Sudan.

In Uganda, three quarters of the refugee arrivals have been since the outbreak of conflict in July, when the arrival rate peaked at more than 8,000 in one day.

“People cite rampant violence including killings and clashes between government forces and armed groups,” said Edwards. “They also report that armed groups are robbing civilians and extorting money from them, preventing those who are unable to pay from leaving, and sexually assaulting women. Armed groups are also reportedly abducting children aged 12 and above from schools and threatening people. Disappearances are said to also be on the rise."

The Government of Uganda has opened a new settlement in the north-west of the country at Yumbe. This has capacity for more than 100,000 individuals. The UNHCR is appealing that funds are urgently needed to speed the relocation of more than 45,000 refugees out of overstretched and severely congested reception and transit centres.

The development of the Maaji III settlement, which was opened earlier this year, has been put on hold leaving the new settlement without key basic infrastructure and services.

In the face of desperate needs for the population of South Sudanese refugees now standing at 930,000, UNHCR is facing critical funding shortages.

However, UNHCR commends the generosity of countries that are keeping their borders open and providing South Sudanese refugees with land for settlement. In particular, said Edwards “we applaud Uganda’s generous refugee law and policy regime, which among other benefits grants refugees freedom of movement, the right to seek employment and provides them with plots of land on which to build new homes and to grow agricultural crops.”

UNHCR is appealing to the international community to support countries of asylum to protect and assist South Sudanese refugees, with support that includes food, shelter, basic services, psychosocial assistance, education and livelihood opportunities.

A major conclusion of the report of the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) retail banking market investigation, is that older and larger banks do not have to compete hard enough for customers business, and smaller and newer banks find it difficult to grow. This means that many people are paying more than they should and are not benefiting from new services.

To tackle these problems, the CMA is implementing a wide-reaching package of reforms with the intention of benefiting personal and small business customers, including requiring banks to implement Open Banking by early 2018, to accelerate technological change in the UK retail banking sector. Open Banking will enable personal customers and small businesses to "share their data securely with other banks and with third parties", enabling them to manage their accounts with multiple providers through a single digital app.

The idea is to allow personal and business customers to take more control of their funds, for example to avoid overdraft charges and manage cash flow, and to compare products on the basis of their own requirements.

Also to require banks to publish “trustworthy and objective information on quality of service on their websites and in branches”, so customers can see how their bank shapes up.

Features will include banks sending out relevant ‘prompts’ such as on the closure of a local branch or an increase in charges, to remind their customers to review whether they are getting the best value, and switch banks if not. Underpinning these remedies, the CMA is introducing further measures to make it easier for customers to search and switch. The CMA has also introduced specific measures to benefit unarranged overdraft users, who make up around 25 per cent of all personal current account customers, and small businesses.

Banks will also be required to send alerts to customers going into unarranged overdraft, and inform them of a grace period, to avoid charges, says the CMA. Research by the FCA has shown that this type of alert, when combined with mobile banking, can heavily reduce overdraft charges.

Alasdair Smith, Chair of the retail banking investigation, explains: “The reforms we have announced today will shake up retail banking for years to come, and ensure that both personal customers and small businesses get a better deal from their banks.

"We are breaking down the barriers which have made it too easy for established banks to hold on to their customers. Our reforms will increase innovation and competition in a sector whose performance is crucial for the UK economy.

"Our central reform is the Open Banking programme to harness technological changes that have already transformed other markets. We want customers to be able to access new and innovative apps which will tailor services, information and advice to their individual needs.

"This is backed up by a wide package of measures to improve the current account switching service, to make it easier for small businesses to shop around and open new accounts or get a loan, and to see how the quality of service provided by your bank compares with other providers.

"We are also taking measures to give customers much greater control over their overdraft charges, so that they are clearly told when they are about to be incurred and have an opportunity to avoid them. Alongside this, banks will have to cap their monthly charges for unarranged overdrafts."

The CMA says it will focus on putting in place the remedies announced, working with others whose role it is to make individual remedies happen, such as HM Treasury, FCA, Bacs as well as Nesta, the innovation charity.

The innovations are intended to complement USAID's broader Zika response efforts, which are focused on mosquito control, educational campaigns about prevention, and maternal and child health interventions.

USAID launched the Combating Zika and Future Threats Grand Challenge in April 2016 to invest up to $30 million in innovations from around the world to both address the current Zika outbreak and improve ability to prevent, detect, and respond to future infectious disease outbreaks. USAID received nearly 900 submissions from across the globe in response to the challenge.

The USAID Grand Challenge for Development initiative crowd-sources solutions to solve clearly-defined problem sets, in a quest to discover, incubate and accelerate innovative solutions that have the potential to solve major global development challenges.

Award nominees include Barcelona Institute For Global Health’s project on electric force field to repulse mosquitoes, and Johns Hopkins University environmentally friendly biopesticide solution: Chromobacterium.

Since the earthquake Community Action Nepal (CAN) has been supporting the rebuilding of health posts, schools and porter shelters. It now plans to channel recovery support to villages like Melamchigaun where every building was destroyed - the school, the two school hostels, the health post and all 135 homes. It receives £202,400 to develop grass-roots health posts, reliable access to affordable food, construction skills and income generation in Sindupalchowk and Taplejung. The project will also enable local women from five remote communities in North Gorkha to work alongside CAN nurses and support the delivery of primary health care and health awareness. Local horticulturalists will develop new cottage gardens attached to five health posts in North Gorkha to improve nutrition.

The charity was founded by British mountaineer Doug Scott CBE to improve the standards of living in remote mountain communities in Nepal.

He says: “At a time when local people are starting to think about rebuilding their homes, the grant from the Big Lottery Fund will enable CAN to work alongside local people in Melamchigaun and other villages like Ghunsa to build demonstration homes which incorporate new earthquake-resistant features to withstand future shocks. This will ensure that local people rebuild safer homes and will also equip them with new construction skills. CAN will help them to trade these skills by supporting new income generation enterprises which will strengthen local livelihoods and help recovery.”

Carers Worldwide receives £162,375 to support 500 carers of children with cerebral palsy in Kathmandu, Kathmandu Valley and 20 rural districts of the country.

Global Fund for Community Foundations receives £165,917 to make communities and civil society organisations in western and central Nepal stronger and better prepared for future natural disasters.

Peter Ainsworth, Big Lottery Fund UK Chair, said: “Survivors of the earthquake are still coping with the aftermath. Our funding will help people take better control of their lives by supporting carers of disabled children, developing construction skills, creating health posts and offering training to improve the economic empowerment of women.”

The first five grants following the earthquake were awarded to PHASE Worldwide, Global Action Nepal, Doctors of the World, Britain Nepal Medical Trust and Global Giving UK.

The compulsory charge on plastic bags was introduced to help protect the environment and promote sustainability.

Previously in supermarkets alone in England over seven billion carrier bags were issued each year, many of which ended up in landfill, causing litter on the streets, as well as polluting rivers and green spaces.

Official figures reveal the levy has raised at least £29 million in total for good causes in its first six months.

Klara Kozlov, Head of CAF’s Corporate Clients team, said: “Not only has the introduction of the plastic bag levy benefitted the environment, but it has had a huge positive impact for charities.

“Millions of pounds has been raised for good causes which has helped to fund vital work which otherwise may not have been possible.

“By working with CAF, using CAF company account charitable accounts and creating new strategic partnerships, retailers have maximised the opportunity to support national as well as local organisations. We hope they will continue to work together to develop these worthwhile relationships which benefit so many good causes”.

Between October 2015 and April 2016 Marks & Spencer net proceeds were £1.9 million, for instance, with the money raised going to a number of charities via CAF, including Breast Cancer Now, UNICEF and WWF.

Aldi reports approximately £1.1 million has been raised by the sale of carrier bags in their stores and the company has donated £580,000 to the RSPB, as part of a three year partnership. The CSR partnership has enabled the implementation of a UK-wide education programme with the aim of re-engaging children with nature. The remainder of the money has been placed into Aldi’s CAF Company Account for distribution to other good causes.

Martyn Foster, Head of Education, Families and Youth at the RSPB, said: “Thanks to our partnership with Aldi we’re able to encourage young people to get out into nature in their school grounds and local green spaces to build their understanding and love of wildlife. It’s crucial we provide the next generation with as many opportunities as possible to experience and enjoy the natural world.”

The project started as a collaboration between Alzheimer Scotland, Dogs for the Disabled (now Dogs for Good), Guide Dogs UK and product design students from Glasgow School of Art, to bring new ideas to service design for people with dementia.

The original idea was to provide people in the early stages of dementia with a fully trained assistance dog. Dogs would act as a companion and helper, and be trained to provide reminders for key daily tasks like taking medication. Having a dog would also encourage owners to get out and about, increasing physical activity and social interaction.

Joyce Gray, Deputy Director of Development at Alzheimer Scotland says: “The current Dementia Dog project is leading the way across the world in the development of services bringing dogs and people together to support people with dementia and their carers, and this funding provides a fantastic opportunity to build on this exemplar project. Dementia Dog has also allowed us to bring a fresh approach to the challenge of dementia. We are overwhelmed that Life Changes Trust has supported the project to this level. It shows such faith in the potential we know the project can deliver to the dementia community. We will be able to extend our work, deliver innovation and joy to families who participate, and share our work on a global stage."

An initial pilot in 2013 saw four dementia dogs matched with individuals living with their full-time carers during the early stage of their diagnosis.

This new funding will help Alzheimer Scotland and Dogs for Good broaden the project to help more families.

Funding has come from the Life Changes Trust, an independent charity set up with a Big Lottery Fund endowment of £50 million to improve the lives of two key groups in Scotland: people affected by dementia and care experienced young people.

Anna Buchanan, Director of the Life Changes Trust dementia programme says: "These dogs deliver support on many levels, from reconnecting individuals to their community to making the home environment feel safer. This is important because we need to ensure that people living with dementia can live well and safely at home and in their own community."

In Scotland it is estimated that around 90,000 people have dementia, and the number of people with dementia in Scotland is increasing.

However, new research carried out by the Red Cross found that although almost 90 per cent of sportspeople agree they have a responsibility to look after each other in a first aid emergency, but around half of them don’t feel confident enough to help. The campaign hopes to encourage sportspeople, volunteers and coaches to learn first aid skills and gain the confidence to act in an emergency.

Joe Mulligan, head of first aid education at the Red Cross says: “Nothing should stand in the way of someone pursuing their much-loved sporting activity. But injuries and accidents do happen from time to time.

“We want to enable people to feel confident and willing to help anyone when faced with a first aid emergency. Learning first aid helps to increase confidence levels and we believe it’s a life skill everyone should have.

“The benefits of first aid are well recognised and our new Up Your Game campaign hopes to encourage an active British public to incorporate first aid learning into their sporting routine.”

The Red Cross believes there is a synergy between sports and first aid as both can have a meaningful impact on improving people’s lives. The benefits of learning life-saving skills are well recognised and support those involved in sports and physical activity.

Research shows the number of people who regularly run has increased by 138,000 in the last 12 months in England alone.

Awareness and fundraising activities are run year-round by Movember with its annual Movember campaign globally recognised for its engaging approach to fundraising, including moustache growing and other fundraising ideas, and having achieved major success getting men to take action and raise awareness about health issues, especially prostate cancer.

Millions have joined in the Movember fundraising movement, helping fund over 1,000 projects focusing on prostate cancer, testicular cancer and suicide prevention.

One vital area of funding is innovative research that can advance treatments and move science closer to a cure for prostate cancer, a disease that is a major area of clinical need globally.

"The latest discoveries in prostate cancer genetics have brought us closer than ever to a cure, but there is far more work to be done in the realm of advanced, aggressive prostate cancers," explains Jonathan Simons, MD, CEO AT PCF, explaining how the 5 teams being funded via his organisation: "exemplify how a multi-disciplinary approach is necessary for realising critical results."

"We are grateful for our partnership with the Movember Foundation and their commitment to saving the lives of all men with this disease," he says.

Applications were selected following a rigorous peer-review, with priority given to high-risk, currently unfunded projects.

The innovative projects selected to receive the 2016 Movember Foundation-PCF Challenge Awards, include a project targeting ROR-gamma with Novel Therapeutics for Lethal Prostate Cancer receiving $1 million, led by Hongwu Chen, PhD at the University of California, Davis.

Dr Chen's team is working to optimise a new therapy that targets ROR-gamma, a partner of the androgen receptor (AR), the primary driver of prostate cancer. This therapy has exhibited potent anti-tumour effects and the team hopes to select a promising therapeutic candidate for entry into clinical trials, says PCF.

Founded in 1993, PCF has raised more than $660 million and provided funding to more than 2,000 research programmes at more than 200 cancer centres and universities.

Since 2007, the Movember Foundation has contributed approximately $44 million to PCF to further new discoveries. While prostate cancer is 100 per cent treatable if detected early, approximately 20 per cent of patients will develop aggressive disease that will recur, progress, and metastasise, i.e. spread to other parts of the body, says PCF.

UNICEF Ambassador McGregor travelled to Debaga camp where he met with families that have escaped terrible violence taking place in areas surrounding Mosul in the north of the country. He also spent time with Syrian refugees and displaced Iraqi families in camps and communities around Erbil.

Tens of thousands of children in Iraq and Syria have been killed, injured, separated from their parents, forced into work, tortured or recruited into fighting, says UNICEF.

“The world is facing an unprecedented refugee crisis and we must do more to protect the extraordinary number of children who have been torn from their homes by violent conflict," says McGregor.

“Children uprooted by conflict can find themselves alone, without family and in grave danger. No child should be alone. Many of the children I’ve met in Iraq have been forced to flee their homes, risking their lives on dangerous journeys and have been exposed to unimaginable horrors.”

“One girl I met called Mirna told me how her family slept in a disused, half-constructed shopping mall for over a year. The community donated food, clothes and supplies to her family and really came together to welcome displaced people. This act of humanity should be replicated everywhere, especially on our own doorsteps. It’s up to us to tell our friends, our neighbours and our governments that refugees are welcome.”

The situation for children in Iraq is becoming increasingly desperate, says the UN. Around 3.6 million children are at serious risk of death, injury, sexual violence, abduction and recruitment into armed groups.

People at the Debaga camp had been previously trapped, and had not had access to healthcare, education or basic services for over two years, says UNICEF. The charity is providing families fleeing conflict in the Mosul area with food and water, as well as child protection support and healthcare.

This September world leaders will meet to discuss the global refugee crisis in New York. UNICEF is urging leaders to be bold in their commitments to protect children.

The new interim guidance supplements the Commission’s existing guidance, Charities and investment matters (CC14).

The new power was developed and introduced following a programme of work and subsequent Law Commission recommendation in 2014.

When introducing the new power in the House of Lords, Lord Bridges of Headley said the intention of the power was to “help charities to make social investments so that they can fulfil their mission in new and innovative ways” and that it would “give charities the confidence and certainty to invest in this growing sector”.

For the first time, social investment has been defined in this legislation. It is defined as a ‘relevant act’ that is carried out ‘with a view to both directly furthering the charity’s purposes and achieving a financial return for the charity’. The guidance explores this definition to provide further advice on what is and is not a social investment.

The new legislation does not alter or override trustees general common law duties, says the Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales. And the guidance makes clear these duties apply to any decision regarding social investments.

However, the legislation places specific duties on trustees who are considering making a social investment.

Trustees must:

Consider whether advice ought to be obtained.

Obtain and consider any such advice.

Satisfy themselves that it is in the interests of the charity to make the social investment.

Trustees must also review their charity’s social investments from time to time.

Sarah Atkinson, Director of Policy and Communications at the Charity Commission, said: “The stated purpose of this power is to give confidence to charities to undertake social investments. The legislation does place further duties on trustees who are considering social investments but these are not intended to be onerous. This updated guidance should help trustees to make well-considered, prudent decisions in this developing area.

“We look forward to working with charities and sector bodies as they develop their approach to social investment. The Commission will consider their early experiences of it as part of a future review of its investment guidance in 2017.”

UNHCR is appealing for an additional $115 million for the voluntary return, reintegration of Somali refugees from the Dadaab camp.

The refugee agency had previously appealed for $369.4 million to provide aid to support the victims of the humanitarian crisis in Somalia.

“UNHCR is committed to ensuring that all returns to Somalia are voluntary and carried out in dignity, safety and with the protection of refugees paramount at all times,” said UNHCR’s Africa Bureau Director Valentin Tapsoba. “In order to do this we are requesting the international donor community to support this additional appeal so that returning Somalis can go back to their home country with the best possible opportunities to re-establish themselves and their families in peace and stability.”

Following the Government of Kenya’s announcement on 6 May of its decision to close Dadaab Camp, UNHCR presented a plan of action at the meeting of Tripartite Commission (Kenya, Somalia and UNHCR) which took place in Nairobi at the end of June and was attended by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi. The plan outlines a process intended to reduce the population of Dadaab - currently 343,043 (326,611 Somalis) - by 150,000 by the end of 2016. The $115 million requested will go towards a number of activities, including relocation of 16,000 non-Somali refugees from Dadaab to Kakuma, also in Kenya.

Access to basic social services is vital for successful reintegration and interventions will be focused on quick-impact (less than six months) community-based projects to create community assets in areas of return for returnees, Internally Displaced Persons and host community, says the UNHCR.

"Supporting LGBT people in the US, the UK and internationally, has been at the heart and soul of our Foundation's mission from the very beginning," said David Furnish, Chairman of the Elton John AIDS Foundation. "By partnering with PEPFAR to award the inaugural LGBT Fund recipients, and by supporting the International AIDS Society's new Me and My Healthcare Provider Campaign, we are building on that commitment and expanding this lifesaving work to places where it is needed most. Places where LGBT people are much more likely to be living with HIV and far less likely to receive the essential services they need to stay healthy and alive. We believe these global campaigns will bridge the gap between LGBT communities and their service providers, which is essential for ending AIDS."

Alliance, an organisation that supports community groups in countries that are most affected by the global AIDS crisis and MSMGF, a non-profit that advocates for equitable access to HIV prevention, care, treatment, and support services for gay men, were the first organisations in Sub-Saharan Africa to receive grants to help address stigma, discrimination and violence against LGBT people, and to expand their access to HIV care and prevention.

At the Durban conference which hosted various initiatives, Elton John also joined Prince Harry for a special session focused on the needs of HIV-youth in Africa, where they discussed the harmful consequences of stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS in Africa, particularly among youth and adolescents. To achieve an AIDS-free world, emphasis was very much on the need for education, access to testing and medical care, and support for young people worldwide.

The global charity claims there has been a fast expanding tiger tourism industry with a third more captive tigers (33 per cent) in Thailand in the last five years. At time of its investigations in 2015 and beginning of 2016 there were 830 tigers in captivity at entertainment venues, compared to the 623 in Thailand when it first researched this issue in 2010.

Tiger entertainment venues are increasingly popular attractions for some people, where tourists can get up close to a tiger in captivity, however charities have long warned of animal welfare concerns in relation to the practice.

Besides a worrying trend in the growing numbers of tigers being exploited in this way, the new report also documents cases of cruelty involved in making tigers submissive enough to entertain tourists. Investigators at tourist venues have witnessed tiger cubs who are separated from their mothers, two to three weeks after they are born; and young cubs presented to tourists, constantly being viewed and mishandled hundreds of times a day, a treatment which the charity says can lead to stress and injury.

Julie Middelkoop, Head of the Wildlife - Not Entertainers campaign at World Animal Protection, says: "It is very worrying that at the time of our research 207 more tigers were abused for tourist entertainment than there were five years ago.

"We're asking tourists to think about the welfare of the tigers, and we're calling on the travel industry to stop promoting and profiting from tiger cruelty. If you can get up close, hug or have a selfie with a tiger it's cruel and don't go."

The charity identifies cases of tigers being punished using pain and fear in order to stop unwanted behaviour, and many animals housed in small cages.

World Animal Protection is calling for Governments worldwide to investigate tiger entertainment venues and close down those that show evidence of illegal trade, cruelty or neglect. The charity also appeals to travel companies to end their sales and promotion of cruel wildlife entertainment attractions. It warns travellers to stay away from any wildlife tourist entertainment venues that allows direct human-animal interaction, such as hugging and selfies with tigers.

That’s because achieving success in today’s increasingly competitive and dynamic market structures requires resilience and agility.

Tech companies, corporates, non-profits and SMEs the world over are facing the same challenges of ensuring their digital transformation keeps pace with competitors, whilst dealing with fragmented market-ecosystems, complex and changing regulatory frameworks, and serving increasingly savvy and demanding customers.

Due to the speed of change, it is not always possible for the in-house resources of even the largest organisations to keep pace with the demands of deadlines and project complexities, especially with the more bespoke and challenging projects.

That’s why an experienced project intervention specialist, with expertise in problem resolution in relation to complex and demanding projects, has launched a new service to help organisations in need of support, to help their struggling web, software or data systems projects.

Whether it’s an intervention with a failing or stalling project, additional resources to meet a deadline, or a leadership role where leadership is missing, or even if you need a new contractor to start again and on a tight deadline, this intervention team have got it covered.

An agile and responsive partner can be an increasingly vital component in an organisation’s efforts to ensure customer satisfaction and achieve performance and growth.

If you are seeking such a partner with a view to a current project in need of assistance, or support and development projects further down the road, UmbrellaDev: the project intervention specialists, and global experts in web and cloud-based IT systems, are there to help.

Charities are seen as being behind the curve and unless they significantly overhaul their approach they risk being left behind and missing out on the support of a generation, it’s claimed. New charity apps, better online donation options, and more consistent use of social media should be priorities for charities looking to motivate the next generation of givers.

CAF’s Head of Research Susan Pinkney said: “One of the big challenges facing charities is how to encourage younger people to emulate the generosity of their parents and grandparents generation. A 65-year-old is now almost twice as likely to donate to charity as someone in their early 20s.

“Young people in the UK tend to be very socially conscious and have a real appetite for supporting good causes. But this potential is not being fulfilled. To close this generational gap in giving, charities need to make it easier for young people to give.

“Today’s young adults have grown up accustomed to being able to run their social life, pay their bills, do their shopping and book their holidays from a mobile phone. But charities have been slow off the mark. There is a real shortage of opportunities for people to use everyday technology to support good causes.

“If they are to avoid being left behind, charities need to fully embrace new technology to ensure that they are speaking to younger people on their own terms and inspiring them to embark on a lifetime of charitable giving.”

YouGov and the CAF carried out research online among a nationally representative sample of 2,000 British adults to explore how technology can be used to engage people in general and young people in particular, in charitable giving. The report makes a strong appeal that if charities are to successfully inspire the next generation to donate money, they must become more technologically savvy.

When it comes to online giving, for instance, one in three young adults aged 18 to 34 (34 per cent) have made an online ad hoc donation to a charity, compared to one-in-six people over 65 (17 per cent). When it comes to future intent, more than six in ten (62 per cent) younger adults believed they would donate online in the next year compared to one in three over 65s.

Other findings include that for example, fewer than one in ten people (8 per cent) have donated to charity using an app. By contrast, more than half of 18-to-34-year-olds use an app for their banking (53 per cent).

The report also revealed a clear appetite to donate using apps, with one in three (32 per cent) of young adults saying they would do so in the next year if the technology was available. People would like a charity app to show how their donation is being spent (39 per cent), see how a charity spends money more generally (33 per cent) and to be able to search for charities dealing with particular issues (31 per cent).

The lanterns will be distributed to internally displaced families in Ethiopia, notably in communities affected by El Niño drought, and the aim is to improve and enhance the quality of life in emerging economies and developing countries with limited access to electricity. The 100 Thousand Solar Lanterns Project is one of Panasonic's corporate citizenship activities.

The handover ceremony was held in Addis Ababa and was attended by Panasonic executive Noriko Tanaka, Ambassador of Japan to Ethiopia Kazuhiro Suzuki and IOM Ethiopia Chief of Mission Maureen Achieng. Achieng noted that the contribution was a good example of how the private and humanitarian sectors can work together to help populations in need.

“Displacement often occurs in rural settings where social amenities like electricity are limited, a fact that further exacerbates the vulnerability of displaced populations, especially women and girls, she explained.

“These lanterns will contribute significantly to the protection of affected communities, reducing risks and insecurities and enabling them to pursue their lives and livelihoods in safety and dignity.”

“The lanterns will also be made available for community spaces, including health posts, youth centres, for community policing and Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Offices.”

Panasonic aims to donate 100,000 solar lanterns under the project to non-profit, NGO, humanitarian and international organisations. In March Panasonic Corporation's 100 Thousand Solar Lanterns Project passed its halfway mark with the number of solar lanterns donated exceeding 50,000.

Reports from humanitarian organisations testify that the solar lanterns have been put to effective use for various activities including children's studies, literacy education for adults, safer child delivery and medical treatment, and income-generation, and have helped improve the quality of life of people living in rural, off-grid areas.

Ambassador Suzuki noted that development should matter to everyone, including private companies. “This contribution will help pave the way for a new type of future cooperation between international organisations and private companies in the area of African development,” he said.

Other countries benefiting from the donation of the lanterns include Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Guinea and Sierra Leone.

Millions of people are at risk of increased hunger and poverty due to droughts and floods as a result of the impact of El Niño, the weather phenomenon that creates pressures anomalies around the world, warn UN agencies.

Bluedot is a new festival with a mandate to deliver a mix of music, science, art, film and technology. The festival line-up includes music from Underworld, Air, Jean Michel Jarre and Beth Orton, as well as special events featuring Professor Brian Cox and others.

The festival’s name is a nod to Carl Sagan’s pale blue dot, a photograph requested by the science guru of planet Earth that was taken in 1990, by the Voyager 1 space probe from a record distance of about 6 billion kilometres. The image illustrated the planet Earth as a mere speck in a vast and infinite universe.

The festival plans to celebrate our planet in the vast cosmos, showcasing humanity’s creative achievements in arts, science, technology and the exploration of space.

Rachel Hudson, Director at Practical Action, said: “We are really excited to be partnering with Bluedot for their inaugural festival. The line-up is incredible and it’s a great opportunity to generate some strong support and advocates for Practical Action.”

Practical Actions uses technology to challenge poverty in the developing world, providing simple and sustainable solutions to problems.

The charity works in 13 countries around the world implementing projects from podcasting to help communities adapt to the effects of climate change, constructing wind turbines or micro-hydro systems to generate energy - to building gravity ropeways to transport crops to market in mountainous terrain.

Other examples of Practical Action’s technology solutions for development include fuel efficient stoves, plough modifications, treadle pumps and support for ceramic refrigerator solutions.

The study into Common Cuckoos using tiny satellite tags was carried out by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and sheds new light on the lives of migrating birds and some of the causes of the species dramatic population decline. The bird tracking project can be followed online via the the BTO's website.

Researchers at the BTO have spent the past five years studying the routes used by Cuckoos as they migrate between Britain, where they breed, and their African wintering quarters.

This work, published in the journal Nature Communications, explains how many of Cuckoos leave Britain in the autumn and fly to Italy, before crossing the Mediterranean and the Sahara to winter in Africa. The tags have revealed that the birds winter in the western part of the Congo rainforest, something not known by the research team previously.

Some birds, however, unexpectedly use a second route, through Spain and on to West Africa, and after arriving in West Africa; and having crossed the Sahara, these birds take a left turn and make their way to the same central African wintering grounds as the birds that migrated via Italy.

The BTO reveals this is the first time that science has recorded birds taking two such distinct routes to the same destination - usually divergence in routes leads to the occupancy of different wintering grounds. Interestingly, all of the birds make their spring migration via the western route, regardless of the route used the previous autumn.

Dr Chris Hewson, lead scientist on the project at the BTO, said: “Understanding migratory birds and their population declines is very difficult because they may only be with us on the breeding grounds for a couple of months of each year. Until recently, we had very limited information on where Cuckoos and other long distance migrants went or what they did for most of the rest of the time. This study shows that by satellite-tracking them, we can uncover not only their migration routes and wintering locations but also information about patterns of survival that is potentially vital for understanding why they are disappearing so fast.”

The results may help to explain why Cuckoo populations are in decline across much of Britain. The study has revealed that the route that a Cuckoo takes to get to its African wintering grounds could mean the difference between life and death. The unusual migration pattern allowed BTO scientists to assess the mortality rates associated with use of each of the two routes. Up to the point where the birds had completed their crossing of the Sahara desert, there was a marked difference with birds travelling via Italy surviving better than those travelling via Spain. This is the first time that differences in mortality have been attributed to differences in migration route, says the BTO.

Not only did survival rates of tagged birds differ between the two routes, but so did the origins of the birds within Britain, leading to another major finding. All of the birds tagged in Scotland and Wales, where the species is not doing too badly, took the more successful eastern route via Italy. Whereas across England, which has lost 71 per cent of breeding Cuckoos during the last 25 years, local populations were made up of variable mixtures of birds taking either route. The proportion of birds using the less successful route via Spain correlates strongly with local population decline, the first time that mortality on migration has been linked to breeding population decline.

There are currently 12 satellite-tagged Cuckoos making their way to Africa, as part of the BTO project. The charity invites the public to follow and sponsor the birds online as they head to the Congo rainforest...

Levels of volunteering have been sustained and even more people agree that their neighbourhood pulls together for local improvement. The survey of 3,000 adults over 16 years old in England covers the period between July 2015 and April 2016.

Minister for Civil Society, Rob Wilson, said: This year’s Community Life Survey shows that communities across the country are pulling together and creating better places to live. Community cohesion is improving with 9 out of every 10 reporting that people from different backgrounds get on well.

“People also continue to give huge amounts of their time and money to the causes that matter most to them, contributing towards a bigger, stronger society.

“I am determined to continue this success and work with charities, voluntary groups and social enterprises to further promote volunteering, fundraising and giving back to communities.”

70 per cent of people responding to the survey had volunteered in the past year.

68 per cent of respondents agreed that their "neighbourhood pulls together to improve the area" up from 63 per cent the previous year.

73 per cent of people reported they donate money to charities in an average four week period.

In 2015-16, the average amount given to charity within a four week period remained stable (£22), and at highest recorded levels since 2005.

22 per cent of people gave an average of £10-£19, which has decreased compared with 27 per cent in 2014-15; however, those giving an average of £20-£49 has increased, 28 per cent compared with 24 per cent in 2014-15.

"Offshore wind is still a young industry, but after 25 years, we've established a routine so that we don't have to reinvent the wheel every time we're going to construct an offshore wind farm. Today, we can execute both better and cheaper than before, and that development will become even more successful in future once standardisation kicks in for good," says Jesper Skov Gretlund of DONG energy.

Solar power and offshore wind are already cheaper than fossil alternatives and so offshore wind must follow the same development, it’s claimed. The company aims to make green energy from offshore wind turbines at least as cheap as black energy from fossil fuels in ten years, and suggests five examples of how that is going to happen.

1. Wind turbines growing by leaps and bounds

The larger the wind turbines are, the more energy they produce each time they rotate. This means harnessing more offshore wind in a more cost-effective manner.

"Larger wind turbines are good news for the environment. The larger the wind turbines, the more kilowatt-hours will be fed into the sockets for each blade rotation. With today's experience and technology, we can build and operate offshore wind turbines which are far more efficient than in the past, and that can help bring down the cost of electricity from offshore wind," says Gretlund.

2. Less steel makes for less expensive foundations

It requires solid steel foundations to anchor offshore wind turbines safely in the seabed. But steel is expensive. Therefore, good savings can be made if the foundations can be made smaller.

"By cutting down on the amount of steel, we can save a lot of money when we build our offshore wind farms. Not only on steel, but also because we can use smaller vessels to transport and install the foundations," says Gretlund, Project Manager in DONG Energy's Research & Development department.

3. Easier inspection with intelligent cameras

Building offshore wind farms costs money. And the same goes for service and maintenance of the wind farms once they have been constructed. New technology makes it easier and cheaper to inspect offshore wind turbines.

4. Larger ships equals less time at sea

Larger vessels that can accommodate more wind turbine technicians can function as a base at sea for the technicians, creating efficiencies.

5. No reinventing the wheel

Standardisation is a decisive factor that will make green offshore wind power cheaper than black energy.

Gretlund adds: "The entire offshore wind industry must work hard and dedicated to reduce the cost of electricity. When we compete on know-how and innovation, the cost is reduced, and this results in more green energy. It's not an easy task, but if we work together, we're well on the way to a future with green and independent energy."

As a social enterprise Xperedon’s impact includes its involvement with leading disability organisations, including as a technology provider for Really Useful Stuff, developing a first of its kind resource and marketplace for disabled people; and also providing the cloud-based solution for PurpleSpace, the innovative disability employment community and network hub.

Anglo-Swiss company Xperedon has also provided technology solutions for major corporate social impact initiatives including Red Bull's Wings For Life.

Xperedon continues to provide a wide range of cloud-based fundraising and innovation solutions for non-profit, philanthropy, social enterprises, social impact and CSR, but alongside its cloud-based software solutions, the company is now offering clients a comprehensive range of web and IT systems development, maintenance, support and project related services via its new brand: UmbrellaDev.

UmbrellaDev continues to build on an impressive client list, also including the International Hospital Federation, and has several innovative digital projects in the pipeline. UmbrellaDev provides tailored web, IT and software development focusing on the unique goals of its customers. Its specialisms include large-scale data projects, web and systems upgrades and digital project intervention services.

David Hallett, CEO of UmbrellaDev, explains: “UmbrellaDev occupies a unique place at the forefront of innovation in cloud computing and digital services, working with leading organisations in the corporate sector and the non-profit sector. As a dynamic company we are ideally placed to support large organisations that require an agile partner who can deliver a comprehensive range of cloud-based systems, web and data services.

“UmbrellaDev’s custom-built web, IT and data solutions are provided with ongoing support, meaning software and systems receive regular maintenance and upgrades, and clients receive 24-hour back up from our elite programming teams in London and Geneva.”

Cloud-based technology solutions are proven to drive efficiencies, reduce costs and boost communication and collaboration for organisations, both at the interface of customer engagement and for internal and external collaborative networks. Cloud-based solutions meet the needs of organisations that are seeking to exploit digital technology to its best advantage, whether it be to improve their performance within the sector they operate in, or provide a solution to a specific problem or challenge they are facing.

Already during the summer 2016 the RSPCA has been called to three dogs which tragically died in a hot car.

In 2015, the RSPCA received 8,779 calls to report incidents of dogs suffering from heat exposure, more than 3,000 more than in 2010. In 2014, the charity saw a peak of such calls with 10,229 incidents reported.

Although the RSPCA records these calls as heat exposure in dogs, which can include dogs outside who are suffering from the heat, or dogs in conservatories or caravans, the majority of these incidents are dogs in cars.

Twelve UK organisations have now teamed up to spread the message alerting dog owners of the dangers during the summer months.

It’s important to remember not to leave any animal in a car or caravan, or in a conservatory or outbuilding, where temperatures can quickly rise, even when it doesn’t feel that warm outside, says the RSPCA. For example, when it’s 22C outside, within an hour the temperature can reach 47C inside a vehicle, which can result in death.

In an emergency the charity warns that it is best for people to dial 999 and report a dog in a hot car to the police.

The RSPCA is also reminding the public of its 24-hour emergency cruelty line on 0300 1234 999 for advice, but if a dog is in danger, dialling 999 should always be the first step, it says.

Dog’s Trust and The Kennel Club are among the latest groups to join the campaign, which is in its second year, which also has the support of Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, Blue Cross, British Veterinary Association (BVA), PDSA and Wood Green Animal Shelter, amongst others.

Using new techniques to grow cells, scientists can make models which will better resemble the tissue architecture and complexity of human tumours than the cell lines used today, reveals Cancer Research UK.

HCMI could transform research, it is hoped, and allow scientists to study many aspects of cellular biology and cancer, including how the disease progresses, drug resistance, and the development of precision medicine treatments.

Dr Ian Walker, Cancer Research UK’s director of clinical research, explains: “This exciting new project means that we can expand our resources for researchers around the world. We want scientists to have the best resources to be able to easily study all types of cancer. And these new cell lines could transform how we study cancer and could help to develop better treatments for patients.”

Scientists will make the models using tissue from patients with different types of cancer, potentially including rare and children’s cancers, which are often under-represented or not available at all in existing cell line collections.

Dr Louis Staudt, director of NCI’s Center for Cancer Genomics, said: “As part of NCI’s Precision Medicine Initiative in Oncology, this new project is timed perfectly to take advantage of the latest cell culture and genomic sequencing techniques to create models that are representative of patient tumours and are annotated with genomic and clinical information. This effort is a first step towards learning how to use these tools to design individualised treatments.”

The new models have the potential to reflect the biology of tumours more accurately and better represent the patient population. The tumour and the derived models will be genetically sequenced. Researchers will have access to this information, as well as the anonymised clinical data about the patients and their tumour.

The HCMI collaborators aim to speed up development of new models and to make research more efficient by avoiding unnecessary duplication of scientific efforts.

Dr Mathew Garnett, group leader at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, said: “New cancer model derivation technologies are allowing us to generate even more and improved cancer models for research. A concerted and coordinated effort to make new models will accelerate this process, while also allowing for rapid learning, protocol sharing, and standardised culturing methods.”

The grants are open to non-profit organisations and education institutions, both public and private, from around the world. The initiative will fund solutions that are innovative, repeatable and scalable in three categories: education, workforce development and labs.

Education solutions need to be designed to ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning. Workforce development solutions promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all are also covered, as are labs solutions designed to make substantial progress against other SDGs.

“We’re doubling down on technology innovation to help non-profits and education institutions better serve their communities and deliver on their mission,” said Ebony Frelix, SVP of Philanthropy & Engagement at Salesforce. “By significantly increasing our investments in the most creative technology solutions that will be publicly available, we hope to create a ripple effect in their respective sectors, accelerating change and creating a better tomorrow for the next generation.”

The company has announced that the window for Letter of Inquiry submissions is open from July 7-29, and the grantees will be announced in January 2017.

The number of food-insecure people in Zimbabwe is expected to increase to over 4 million during the next peak lean season January to March 2017.

A meeting in July in Zimbabwe, bringing together 200 senior representatives from the Government, diplomatic corps, development partners, NGOs and the private sector identified the need to step up assistance.

UN Resident Coordinator, Bishow Parajuli, stressed a “43 per cent increase in the number of food insecure people will demand that we scale-up our humanitarian response efforts in the coming months.”

“The UN System is committed to continue to work with the Government and the development and humanitarian partners to further scale-up humanitarian, resilience-building and development activities to reach those who are most vulnerable. Also in view of the economic challenges the country is facing, I appeal for increased international support,” said Parajuli.

Food insecurity levels have increased significantly in all 60 districts and in particular in the twenty most food-insecure districts. According to the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZimVAC) 2016/2017 Rural Livelihood Assessment report, the impact of the El Nino-induced drought is being felt not only in rural areas but also in urban areas.

Since the Humanitarian Response Plan was finalised in April 2016, over USD 100 million has been committed against the USD 360 million sought. These include contributions from USAID, China, ECHO, DFID, the Netherlands, Sweden, Canada, Switzerland, Ireland and Denmark.

The El Nino-induced drought has affected the entire Southern Africa region. According to the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), an estimated 41 million people in the region are food-insecure, with more than 21 million in urgent need of assistance. In response to the worst drought in 35 years, the SADC has prepared a regional appeal, which is expected to be launched later this month.

Twinkle, Holly and Star became the latest residents at the Cats Protection charity's National Cat Centre in Chelwood Gate, Sussex, after Cats Protection joined forces with The Donkey Sanctuary, based in Sidmouth, Devon.

The trio, who have been in the care of The Donkey Sanctuary since 2012, are now settling into their new paddock at the National Cat Centre, where neighbours will include the 150 cats currently looking for new owners.

Cats Protection’s Head of Operations Tanya Vigus says the charity was thrilled to welcome the donkeys to the site, in a rural location in the Ashdown Forest.

She said: “Cats Protection is very pleased to be partnering with The Donkey Sanctuary, which does so much work both in the UK and abroad to protect and care for donkeys. We are always keen to work alongside other animal charities which share our beliefs and hopes for a better world for all animals.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Twinkle, Star and Holly to our headquarters and we know they will be much-loved by both visitors and staff alike.

"We very much hope that the partnership will promote the respective rehoming schemes of both charities."

The Donkey Sanctuary’s Welfare Adviser for Sussex Mark Kerr, said: "A number of our Donkey Sanctuary farms in Devon have also rehomed much-loved cats from Cats Protection and they are really popular with visitors and staff."

Cats Protection is the UK’s largest cat charity, with a national network of over 250 volunteer-run branches and 32 centres.

Cats Protection's National Cat Centre is home to the UK's largest cat rehoming centre. The site also includes a nature trail, café and shop.

The Donkey Sanctuary supports projects to alleviate the suffering of donkeys in 35 countries worldwide, including sanctuaries across Europe, and major projects in Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Kenya and Mexico.

The charity also provides assisted therapy for children and adults with additional needs and visits to care homes in the local community from its centres in Belfast, Birmingham, Ivybridge, Leeds, Manchester and Sidmouth.

Grants include funding for US and international charities and institutions.

These include a 24-month grant of $700,000 for The International Panel on Exiting violence (IPEV) via Fondation Maison des sciences de l'homme Paris, France; and for US National Science Teachers Association, Arlington, an 18-month grant of $500,000 for the development and expansion of an online Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) hub for tools and resources for teachers.

Also for University of Maryland Foundation, USA, a 24-month grant of $1,000,000 for continued development of Transforming Post-Secondary Education in Mathematics (TPSE Math), a project to transform post-secondary mathematics.

Andrew Carnegie immigrated to the United States from Scotland and became a self-made millionaire and the world’s richest man, making and then giving away millions of dollars to charity causes. His essay, The Gospel of Wealth, helped establish Carnegie as a founder of modern, strategic philanthropy.

Carnegie Corporation of New York was established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 and focuses on what were important issues to Andrew Carnegie: international peace, the advancement of education and knowledge, and the strength of democracy.

This is the first year local authorities can utilise the Adult Social Care precept announced by the chancellor in the 2015 Spending Review, reveals Leonard Cheshire Disability.

Leonard Cheshire Disability’s policy and research manager Alice Mitchell-Pye said new figures show "spending on adult social care will rise by £308 million (2.2 per cent) this year.

“This is good news and shows local authorities are utilising new powers to raise revenue locally.

“However with more disabled and older people than ever before in need of care and support, this is not nearly enough to plug the significant funding gap in social care, which is expected to reach £2.7 billion by 2020.

“The government must act now to provide further support to local authorities and bring forward new and increased funding.”

The comments follow the Department for Communities and Local Government: Local authority revenue expenditure and financing England: 2016 to 2017 budget, released on 30 June 2016.

Net expenditure on adult social care services is budgeted to increase by £308 million (2.2 per cent) in 2016-17 compared to 2015-16.

A report from Kings Fund and Nuffield Trust on the spending review estimates the social care funding gap to be somewhere between £2 billion and £2.7 billion in 2019/20.

A central solar hub provides both commercial energy for new village enterprises and household energy using up-cycled laptop batteries. The hub allows energy to be shared between households, businesses and the community bringing economic, social and environmental benefits.

The installation is the start of a major INTASAVE Energy solar nano-grid initiative that aims to expand the benefits of the solar project to hundreds of thousands of people across the globe.

INTASAVE Energy has launched a $30 million impact investment programme to make this goal a reality.

INTASAVE says: “With the development of micro-enterprises, the community can realise collective benefits, save money to extend their solar nano-grid systems and increase their energy consumption cleanly and sustainably. Not only is this model genuinely sustainable in terms of the technology used, it is also scalable in the long term with growing social benefits.”

INTASAVE’s SONG model has been initially supported by $600,000 of research and development funds provided by the UK Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC) and the Department for International Development (DFID). First installations, including those being installed in Lemolo B and Echareria in Kenya, were funded from $100,000 raised through Crowdfunding.

In order to take the programme to a global level, INTASAVE Energy is now undertaking a global impact investment initiative and Green/Climate Bond programme to raise $30 million in order to roll out the technology to around 1,500 communities in Kenya, South Africa and Mozambique in the next two years. This full impact investment hopes to enable the provision of off-grid residential and community power including agri-processing and community refrigeration, to around 450,000 people.

INTASAVE Energy is part of the INTASAVE-CARIBSAVE Group, a global not-for-profit and environmental enterprise that focuses on solutions for sustainable development and climate change.

The conflict in north-eastern Nigeria, which has already displaced 2.4 million people, has also pushed food insecurity and malnutrition to emergency levels, the Nigerian Government has announced. More than half a million people require immediate food assistance. Most of those in need are either displaced by the conflict or members of the communities hosting the displaced.

“Improving security has enabled humanitarians to access areas that were previously cut off. The conditions we are seeing there are devastating,” says acting UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, Munir Safieldin. “While the Nigerian Government and humanitarian organisations have stepped up relief assistance, the situation in these areas requires a much faster and wider response.”

Additionally, the violence has badly disrupted food production, markets, driven up basic commodity prices and deprived entire populations of livelihoods. Many communities are currently traversing the initial months of the lean season. At its peak in October, the number of those needing assistance is bound to rise.

Despite the persistent insecurity, UN agencies, working closely with the Government of Nigeria and the Borno State Government, along with IOM and other NGO partners, are reaching new areas in Borno.

UNICEF is providing health and nutrition support, safe water and other services in the newly opened areas and IOM is providing household and other relief items. FAO is also providing food and will be distributing seeds and supporting farmers. WFP, the Dangote Foundation and other partners are working to identify sustainable solutions to delivering food in conjunction with Government partners.

The United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), on 27 June, released US$13 million to provide immediate life-saving food, nutrition and protection assistance to 250,000 newly accessible people in north-east Nigeria. The UN and other humanitarian partners are urgently seeking additional donor funding of US$204 million for continued humanitarian response in the north-east.

The target is the fifth five-year carbon budget, which aims to ensure that the UK meets its legally-binding target to cut emissions by 80 per cent from 1990 levels in 2050.

Friends of the Earth senior climate campaigner Simon Bullock welcomed the decision: "Investors will now know that the UK is a place where low carbon investment can flourish.”

Responding to the latest carbon budget, Christian Aid said it was urgent for the UK to confirm its commitment to tackling climate change at home and abroad by passing the budget quickly and at the recommended level.

Christian Aid’s Senior UK Political Advisor, Tom Viita, said: “The fifth carbon budget must be a rallying call to action across government to get back on track with our climate change promises. Since 190 countries pledged action on climate change in last year’s Paris Agreement, the world is firmly on a low-carbon footing. The race is now on as China, the USA and other countries move ahead with surprising speed.

“The UK is well positioned to thrive in the low-carbon future. The fifth carbon budget charts a path to a very low-carbon Britain over the next 15 years, but this must not just be words on the page, but a commitment to action across the UK.”

He added: “We welcome the Government’s decision to accept in full the advice of the Climate Change Committee. Anything less than this recommended level of ambition would be a betrayal of the needs of the world’s poorest people, who need every country to play its part in this global challenge.

“We are already seeing the impacts on climate change around the world, not only on the poorest communities suffering crop failures, spreading viruses and extreme weather, but even on our own shores.

“The UK’s forthcoming climate risk assessment will outline more actions that need to be taken to keep communities safe. The UK is playing a leading role in helping those overseas adapt to the changing climate. It should do the same at home.”

The targets announced cover the period 2028 to 2032 and require the Government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 57 per cent on 1990 levels by 2030.

A carbon budget places a restriction on the total amount of greenhouse gases the UK can emit over a 5 year period. The UK is the first country to set legally binding carbon budgets.

The PhD candidate is interested in the examination of financial media sentiment for the design of Online Reputation Management (ORM) systems.

Based on experience in equity investment, Moniz created an algorithm that scanned 105,958 newspaper articles, blogs and magazines published between 1981 and 2014 for the context of negative reviews about poor corporate social behaviour, reveals the University.

The research also provides a framework to determine each negative review’s impact on the company’s future performance and stock return, says the analyst.

Moniz says the system offers a more rounded view of the impact of CSR programmes.

Moniz says: “Financial reports often overlook these intangible data sets as recording them can be costly and difficult. This leads investors to rely on unsatisfactory and disorganised information.”

“Rather than using basic analysis to find key words, this algorithm can go further, probing into the issues which can drastically affect a company’s corporate standing. It is undeniable that big data is disrupting all areas of business and can heavily inform long-term investors. Yet where the difficulty of finding relevant information, even from companies own lengthy and often unstructured reports, has reigned in the past, this new tool can gather material from selected sites written by consumers, journalists, employees and regulators to provide a more holistic view of the company’s workings.”

Moniz believes there is an increasing demand for environmental information, for instance, and a growing need for more objective data on CSR as opposed to accepting data and information that the company publishes.

Populations of small birds may decline following periods of cold winter weather, something that is probably linked to low temperatures and difficulties in finding sufficient insect prey, reveals the charity. However, researchers at the British Trust for Ornithology found populations of Wren inhabiting regions where winters are more severe, did show adaptation to this local climate.

James Pearce-Higgins, BTO Director of Science and one of the authors, said: "This work indicates that each Wren population is closely adapted to its local climate; there was a close correlation between the historic regional climate and the degree to which the population was resilient to severe winters."

BTO researchers used information on Wren populations that had been collected by volunteers participating in the BTO/JNCC/RSPB Breeding Bird Survey, the main scheme for monitoring the population changes of the UK’s common breeding birds. The researchers found that Wren populations were susceptible to severe winter weather, however, northern British populations were found to be resilient to winters with up to 70 per cent more frost days than southern populations, suggesting a degree of local adaptation.

Information collected by bird ringers revealed that Wren body mass was approximately 5 per cent lower in the warmest (south-west) than in the coldest (east Scotland) region. Lead author Catriona Morrison, from the University of East Anglia, noted "Large individuals are likely to be favoured in colder regions due to the thermal advantage of larger size and their ability to store more body fat, and our findings match the pattern seen more widely across other species - a pattern known as Bergmann’s rule."

The BTO suggests that although the research shows that wren populations may adapt to at least some change in temperature, they are short-lived and therefore probably more adaptable than most other bird species; so ultimately, the ability of species to cope with climate change will depend upon whether the future rate of warming exceeds their ability to adapt.

Helium, the second lightest element, is an important element used in various capacities including health and industry. Despite best being known for its popular use in balloons it is critical for MRI scanners in medicine, welding, and industrial leak detection. However, known reserves are quickly running out and until now helium has never been found intentionally - being previously only accidentally discovered in small quantities during oil and gas drilling.

Now, a research group in the UK from Oxford and Durham universities, working with Helium One, a helium exploration company headquartered in Norway, has developed a brand new exploration approach. The first use of this method has resulted in the discovery of a world-class helium gas field in Tanzania, reveal scientists.

Professor Jon Gluyas, Department of Earth Sciences, Durham University, said: “This is an outstanding example of industry and academia working together closely to deliver real value to society. The impact of this and expected future helium discoveries will secure supply for the medical scanning and other industries.”

The research shows that volcanic activity provides the intense heat necessary to release the gas from ancient, helium-bearing rocks. Within the Tanzanian East African Rift Valley, volcanoes have released helium from ancient deep rocks and have trapped this helium in shallower gas fields. The research is being presented by Durham University PhD student Diveena Danabalan at the Goldschmidt geochemistry conference in Yokohama, Japan.

Professor Chris Ballentine, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, said: "To put this discovery into perspective, global consumption of helium is about 8 BCf per year and the United States Federal Helium Reserve, which is the world's largest supplier, has a current reserve of just 24.2 BCf. Total known reserves in the USA are around 153 BCf. This is a game changer for the future security of society's helium needs and similar finds in the future may not be far away.”

Research show that volcanoes in the Rift play an important role in the formation of viable helium reserves. “Volcanic activity likely provides the heat necessary to release the helium accumulated in ancient crustal rocks,” explains Diveena Danabalan, of Durham University's Department of Earth Sciences.

Dr Pete Barry, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, who sampled the gases, added: “We can apply this same strategy to other parts of the world with a similar geological history to find new helium resources. Excitingly, we have linked the importance of volcanic activity for helium release with the presence of potential trapping structures and this study represents another step towards creating a viable model for helium exploration. This is badly needed given the current demand for helium.”

The warm and humid weather across the UK is especially a cause for concern says the charity Lyme Disease Action that has issued a warning to walkers to watch out for ticks.

Diseases carried by some ticks in the UK include Lyme borreliosis, Babesiosis, Anaplasmosis and Rickettsiosis. Globally, the list of diseases carried by ticks is much longer.

Ticks can transmit several diseases, but the most common in the UK is Lyme disease.

Lyme disease, or Lyme borreliosis, is a bacterial infection spread to humans by infected ticks. Lyme disease can develop severe and long-lasting symptoms, including severe headaches and heart problems if not treated effectively early on.

It's estimated there are 2,000 to 3,000 new cases of Lyme disease in England and Wales each year.

“Awareness is key” says Stella Huyshe-Shires, chair of Lyme Disease Action. “We are steadily improving knowledge amongst GPs as well as the public, and working to influence research and improve diagnosis and treatment.”

Not all ticks carry infection, but it is important to check for ticks and remove any properly without squashing, as soon as possible, says Lyme Disease Action.

The charity, that seeks the prevention and treatment of Lyme disease and associated tick-borne diseases, advises to check skin carefully after a walk, especially moist protected areas like the groin, behind the knee and the hairline of small children. Ticks can be brought into the house on clothing and pets and may attach themselves to people in the house later. Checking dogs after a walk is advisable say experts and leaving outdoor clothes outside or brushing them off well. Specialist removal tools are available to remove ticks which can be tricky if not done properly as part of the tick can break off leaving another part in the body, so expert health advice is recommended.

Lyme disease is little known but causes a wide range of symptoms in humans which may include a spreading red rash, headaches, a stiff neck, extreme fatigue, muscle and joint pain and light and sound sensitivity. Symptoms appear on average 10-14 days after a tick bite, so go to your GP promptly if you see a rash or feel ill, says Lyme Disease Action. Diagnosed and treated at an early stage, it is usually curable with antibiotics but if untreated it can spread to joints, heart and the central nervous system and be more difficult to cure.

The most important thing is preparedness and being aware as many people are unfamiliar with ticks and their dangers and how to prevent them and remove them.

Dr Deborah Turbitt, of Public Health England, has said during warmer months as people enjoy the outdoors "it is important that people are aware of ticks and what actions to take to avoid the diseases they can carry. Tick bites don’t hurt, so they can easily go unnoticed. The best way to stay safe from ticks is to check your whole body after spending time outdoors, paying particular attention to your head, neck and skin folds. Most children are bitten by ticks on the head, so it’s important to check behind their ears and around the hairline.”

Other organisations offering advice on tick safety and disease prevention include the charity Borreliosis and Associated Diseases Awareness UK.

Monitoring advanced health metrics like stress, blood pressure and sunlight exposure were popular amongst wearables users, reveals the online State of Wearables Today report by tech firm Valencell and the MEMS & Sensors Industry Group. The survey found among wearable owners, 80 per cent feel their wearable has a positive impact on their health.

Of those who own a wearable, 52 per cent own a wristband, 36 per cent earbuds and 32 per cent a smartwatch. 42 per cent purchased the wearable to track overall activity and 28 per cent purchased to manage weight.

73 per cent of all respondents believe that accuracy in wearable technology will one day be able to directly affect your health.

While most wearable owners find functions such as step counting, heart rate monitoring and notifications most useful, they would also like to be able to monitor additional health conditions and metrics including stress, blood pressure, sunlight/UV exposure, hydration, and key vitamin and supplement levels.

35 per cent of wearable owners feel step counting is the most useful function; 18 per cent find heart rate monitoring most useful; and 12 per cent find the notifications most useful.

74 per cent of respondents who do not own wearables would consider using one if accuracy in wearables was able to help them better manage their health.

Of those who do not own a wearable, 58 per cent would consider buying if they trusted the accuracy, suggesting advances in sensor technology can pave the way for growth in the sector.

Karen Lightman, executive director, MEMS & Sensors Industry Group, says: "MEMS and sensors are critical components in more accurate wearables. That's because the devices themselves, from accelerometers, gyros and pressure sensors to heart rate monitors and environmental sensors are delivering ever higher levels of granularity while consuming less power in smaller footprints.”

When asked what type of condition they would like to monitor beyond what they are doing now: 55 per cent would like to monitor stress; 48 per cent would like to monitor hydration; 46 per cent would like to monitor blood pressure and 38 per cent would like to monitor sunlight/UV exposure. 35 per cent would like to monitor key vitamin and supplement levels.

More than 65 per cent of respondents in the survey who do not own wearables would consider using one if it provided significant information on their health, including things like blood pressure, stress, and heart health.

Other industry research points to diabetes, sleep disorders, obesity and cardiovascular diseases as some of the biggest growth segments in the wearables health tech market. Key drivers of growth include the major advances in sensor technologies, along with mobile Internet, and increasing health needs amongst growing populations.

A previous PwC survey revealed more than 80 per cent of consumers listed healthier eating, smarter exercising and access to more convenient medical care as important benefits of wearables tech.

Soreon Research, a firm specialising in research into the benefits of disruptive technologies in healthcare, has suggested providers of wearable technologies and software companies will play an increasing role in the medical field, with growing emphasis on preventative health.

Wearable tech also has multiple uses in a development context with recent innovations including a necklace that stores electronic health data to track child immunisation. The potential of digital technology to streamline access and delivery to health care including remote areas is considerable say experts.

Erica Kochi, co-lead and co-founder of Unicef Innovation, has described “the potential life-saving benefits” of wearables and sensors when re-imagined for low-tech and unconnected environments.

According to BCC Research the global market for wearable computing products is projected to reach $22.6 billion and more than $171.2 billion in 2016 and 2021, respectively, reflecting a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 50 per cent.

Research commissioned by WWF highlights what the charity calls a “proliferation of standards, frameworks and guidelines,” as well as a “diversity of market practices in terms of definitions and requirements for green bonds.” The charity says this creates complexity and confusion among issuers and investors which could hamper the confidence needed for the green bond market to thrive.

The research also finds that most frameworks and guidelines currently only look at the potential environmental impacts prior to issuing a bond, instead of assessing the actual environmental benefits of projects throughout the lifetime of the bond.

Nicole Clucas, Sustainable Finance Specialist for WWF-UK explains: “Green bonds are vital for the future of a sustainable economy, but not everything labelled green fulfils its promise. There must be robust standards to ensure that people get what they expect. Vigorous, credible, fully-developed and widely-accepted industry standards for green bonds are urgently needed to ensure that the market thrives and the sustainable economy grows.

"With the right level of commitment and collaboration among stakeholders, and guided by existing initiatives such as the Green Bond Principles and the Climate Bonds Initiative, it is possible to define a set of widely-accepted standards, building on some of the existing ones while taking into account scientific evidence.”

The charity says focusing on promised environmental impacts rather than actual performance raises the risk of greenwashing if bonds are issued and perceived as green, while only achieving minor or in fact no actual environmental benefits. Greenwashing is the term used to describe the perception of a product as environmentally friendly when it is not.

Pascal Canfin, CEO of WWF-France says: “Only a bond for which the issuer can demonstrate measurable environmental benefits, certified by an independent party according to such widely-accepted, fully developed standards, should qualify as a green bond. Bonds which do not meet these standards could undermine the credibility of the entire green bond market.

“We recognise that increased transparency represents an additional effort for the issuer but we believe that this is a cost well worth incurring for the benefit of reduced risk.”.

WWF’s report: Green Bonds must keep the green promise! calls for fully developed and widely accepted standards for green bonds to support investors and investment goals.

The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis confirms that over half the country’s population is living in “crisis” or “emergency” levels of food insecurity, with some governorates seeing as much as 70 per cent of their population struggling to feed themselves.

At least 7 million people - a quarter of the population - are living under Emergency levels of food insecurity (Phase 4 on the five-tiered IPC scale). This reflects a 15 per cent increase since June 2015. A further 7.1 million people are in a state of Crisis (Phase 3).

Jamie McGoldrick, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, said: “This is one of the worst crises in the world and is continuing to get worse. Conflict has taken a very heavy toll on the country and its people, exacerbated widespread vulnerability and virtually destroyed household coping mechanisms. As a result, food insecurity, remains unacceptably high.”

Major drivers of food insecurity include fuel shortages and import restrictions that have reduced availability of essential food commodities in the country, which imports some 90 per cent of its staple foods. Food and fuel imports in March 2016 were the lowest since October 2015 and satisfied only 12 per cent of the country’s fuel needs.

Domestic prices of wheat, meanwhile, were 12-15 per cent higher in May 2016 compared with pre-crisis levels, says the UN even though global wheat prices have decreased in recent months.

Shortages of seeds and fertilisers have crippled crop production across Yemen, where around 50 per cent of the labour force earns their living from the agriculture sector and related activities.

Two cyclones in November 2015, plus flash floods and locust swarms in April 2016 further plagued already struggling communities, limiting their ability to produce and access food.

“With the fluidity of the situation and until a political solution is in place, we will continue to see an increase in the number of people struggling to feed themselves and their families and further deterioration in food security across Yemen,” said Purnima Kashyap, WFP Representative and Country Director. “We appeal to all parties to ensure unrestricted access for the delivery of humanitarian assistance to affected people.”

3 million children under the age of 5 and pregnant or nursing women require services to treat or prevent acute malnutrition, the assessment report said citing UNICEF data.

“From January to 30 April 2016, about 3.6 million people received emergency food assistance, but the overall response is significantly underfunded,” said McGoldrick. “I urgently appeal to donors to increase humanitarian funding so that more food assistance can be delivered to millions of other people in urgent need.”

Over half a million pet rabbits live alone without a companion, although experts advise this is bad for their health.

“We can’t call ourselves a nation of pet lovers,” says the animal welfare charity, Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund (RWAF) as it slams Britain for appalling levels of rabbit neglect and continued ignorance over how to look after rabbits.

The leading rabbit welfare charity has hit out at the notion of Britain being a nation of pet lovers, suggesting there is an “acceptable neglect” of rabbits in the UK.

In conjunction with Rabbit Awareness Week (RAW), Rae Todd from the RWAF says thousands of pet rabbits have become nothing more than "garden ghosts" after suffering "cruel neglect at the hands of their owners."

“We think we’re a nation of pet lovers but we’re not,” she says. “It’s about time we dropped that label and aimed at being a nation of good pet owners.”

According to RWAF figures some 67,000 rabbits are dumped in rescue centres, either due to regretted impulse purchases, the cost of vaccination and neutering or behavioural issues, and end up leading lonely lives.

“When we see a solitary rabbit in a hutch in our neighbour’s garden, most of us don’t bat an eye lid. It has become an acceptable neglect,” adds Rae. “Even though it's been scientifically proven that it’s cruel to keep rabbits in this way, they have become nothing more than discarded fluffy toys.”

Rabbits are highly active and social animals, but whilst many are bought as a single pet, and then left caged in tiny hutches, ideally they need an extensive secure garden or run to graze on fresh grass or hay, and with the company of at least one other rabbit. Scientific research has confirmed that rabbits can suffer from stress, loneliness and ill health if left alone.

This year’s Rabbit Awareness Week (RAW), which runs until June 26, aims to highlight the issue of companionship for rabbits, tasking the 57 per cent of rabbit owners who own single rabbits to find a suitable friend at rescue centres, and to take advantage of free rabbit health checks at their local vet.

Todd believes there’s “no excuse” for not getting the correct rabbit housing and food for rabbits and producing the right conditions for them to live happier and healthier lives.

“People are not being intentionally cruel to rabbits but they’re not doing the proper research before they buy them. Today, it’s so easy to get information on proper rabbit welfare...and yet more than half of all rabbit owners are still buying tiny hutches without runs and feeding their rabbits a muesli diet with no hay. They keep their rabbits on their own for hours, sometimes days at a time, and when their pet becomes aggressive and unhappy they give them away. It’s a vicious cycle of neglect. We’re urging people to find out more about what’s involved in caring for pet rabbits and if it’s seems like too much responsibility, then don’t take them on - it’s as simple as that. ”

Activities and events across the country are being held as part of Rabbit Awareness Week, with charities promoting the #BuddiesForBunnies campaign that aims to get solitary rabbits paired up with a companion.

UK veterinary charity, PDSA is also highlighting the effects of boredom and loneliness on the health of rabbits.

With more than 680,000 rabbits living alone, despite being highly sociable animals, and thousands more living in small hutches with little or no opportunity for exercise or mental stimulation, PDSA veterinary surgeon Rebecca Ashman says it is no surprise owners and vets are seeing health and behavioural issues on a regular basis.

“Our figures highlight that lack of mental stimulation can have a huge impact on pet behaviour,” says Ashman. “What’s most frustrating is the fact that many of these issues could easily be avoided if rabbits were given the right conditions, diet and companions to live alongside.”

Ashman says: “Pets do so much to enrich and improve our lives, but by not meeting their needs, their physical and mental wellbeing can be severely compromised. Sadly, rabbits seem to be the forgotten pet. They can’t speak up and tell us if they’re unhappy, but with the right information and education, owners can make positive changes to their pets lives.”

PDSA research reveals 57 per cent of owners reported their rabbit lives alone.

Rabbits, the third most popular pet in the UK after cats and dogs, sadly is also one of the most neglected mainly due to widespread ignorance about their welfare needs, say the charities.

There is a misconception that they are easy pets to look after although this is not the case with experts pointing out they are a big commitment, requiring specialist housing, quality food, appropriate companionship, vet and health care, regular interaction and freedom to express their natural behaviours.

Animal welfare charities, especially the RWA and other charities including the RSPCA and PDSA provide comprehensive advice about rabbit care.

UNHCR’s annual Global Trends report, which tracks forced displacement worldwide based on data from governments, partners including the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, and the organisation’s own reporting, said 65.3 million people were displaced as of the end of 2015, compared to 59.5 million just 12 months earlier. This is the first time that the threshold of 60 million has been crossed.

“More people are being displaced by war and persecution and that’s worrying in itself, but the factors that endanger refugees are multiplying too,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi. “At sea, a frightening number of refugees and migrants are dying each year; on land, people fleeing war are finding their way blocked by closed borders. Politics is gravitating against asylum in some countries. The willingness of nations to work together not just for refugees but for the collective human interest is what’s being tested today, and it’s this spirit of unity that badly needs to prevail.”

Among countries covered by the Global Trends report several stand out: Syria at 4.9 million, Afghanistan at 2.7 million and Somalia at 1.1 million together accounted for more than half the refugees under UNHCR’s mandate worldwide. Colombia at 6.9 million, Syria at 6.6 million, and Iraq at 4.4 million meanwhile had the largest numbers of internally displaced people. Yemen was the biggest producer of new internal displacement in 2015 - 2.5 million people, or 9 per cent of its population.

In all, 86 per cent of refugees under UNHCR’s mandate in 2015 were in low and middle income countries close to situations of conflict. This figure rises to over 90 per cent of the world’s refugee total if the Palestinian refugees under the responsibility of UNHCR’s sister-organisation UNRWA are included. Worldwide, Turkey was the biggest host country with 2.5 million refugees. Lebanon, meanwhile hosted more refugees compared to its population than any other country (183 refugees per 1,000 inhabitants).

The total of 65.3 million displaced persons comprises 3.2 million people in industrialised countries who as of end 2015 were awaiting decisions on asylum (the largest total UNHCR has recorded), 21.3 million refugees worldwide (1.8 million more than in 2014 and the highest refugee total since the early 1990s), and 40.8 million people who had been forced to flee their homes but were within the confines of their own countries (an increase of 2.6 million from 2014 and the highest number on record).

Measured against Earth’s 7.349 billion population, these numbers mean that 1 in every 113 people globally is now either an asylum-seeker, internally displaced or a refugee – a level for which UNHCR knows no precedent.

Now Sustainable Energy for All hopes to press these commitments forward and has released a strategy direction to aid policy makers.

The full strategy document of the Strategic Framework for Results 2016-21, entitled: Going Further, Faster will be unveiled at the Business and Climate Summit in London on June 28.

It states that “Sustainable Energy for All empowers leaders to broker partnerships and unlock finance to achieve universal access to sustainable energy, as a contribution to a cleaner, just and prosperous world for all”.

Sustainable Energy for All maintains that sustainable energy whilst combating climate change, is central to social and economic well-being, and points out that 1.1 billion people have no access to electricity, while 2.9 billion have to cook with polluting, inefficient fuels such as firewood. And without rapid progress on SDG7, which calls for “affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all”, it will be impossible to deliver on other Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Sustainable Energy for All’s strategic approach therefore recommends the need to ensure universal access to modern energy services; whilst doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency; and doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.

Rachel Kyte, Sustainable Energy for All’s Chief Executive Officer and Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All, said: “We will empower leaders to go further, faster by brokering partnerships and unlocking finance. This will help us secure an energy transition that is clean, affordable and just - because no one must be left behind.”

Sustainable Energy for All will work to mobilise the huge investment needed to achieve the three objectives, estimated to be at least one trillion dollars annually – a tripling of current flows. It promises to work with others to help develop robust pipelines of bankable projects, an enabling policy climate, ways to address investor risk and financing approaches that can unlock the right type of capital at the right time.

It says it plans to help leaders scale up renewable energy by leveraging the work of its partners and also celebrating success stories around renewable energy and sustainable solutions.

A company’s social and environmental commitments are key drivers in recruitment, retention and loyalty for workers, the 2016 Cone Communications Employee Engagement Study reveals. Nearly three quarters of employees (74 per cent) said their job is more fulfilling when they are provided with opportunities to make a positive impact on social and environmental issues; and seven in ten (70 per cent) would be more loyal to a company that helps them contribute to important issues.

CSR is also a significant consideration for candidates when deciding which job to take with 58 per cent considering a company’s social and environmental commitments when deciding where to work; and 55 per cent would choose to work for a socially responsible company, even if the salary was less. 51 per cent won’t work for a company that doesn’t have strong social or environmental commitments, according to the survey.

In the research three-quarters (78 per cent) of employees said they want to be an active participant in helping their company improve its responsible business practices by providing feedback, ideas and potential solutions.

“As employees integrate their work and personal lives, they see coming to the office as much more than collecting a paycheck,” says Alison DaSilva, executive vice president, CR Research & Insights, Cone Communications. “They are not limiting their social consciousness to after work hours and want their employers to give them opportunities to make a meaningful difference, whether that’s providing a platform for supporting personal issues or being an active participant in their company’s corporate responsibility efforts.”

The research provides fresh evidence of younger citizens having proactive views on corporate responsibilities, with those aged 27-35, significantly more likely to view CSR as a key factor. Two-thirds say they won’t work for a company that does not have strong commitments in this direction (vs 51 per cent US average).

Other findings include that 71 per cent of employees want their company to provide opportunities for them to help make a positive impact on the company’s social and environmental commitments.

77 per cent say it’s important their employer provides them with hands-on activities around environmental responsibility.

The findings were based on an online survey conducted April 2016 among a random sample of 1,020 adults, employed at companies with 1,000 employees or more.

AABB, America’s Blood Centers and the American Red Cross issued a joint statement regarding the outpouring of support following the tragic shooting in Orlando, Florida, and also in conjunction with World Blood Donor Day on June 14.

“AABB, America’s Blood Centers and the American Red Cross want to express our sincere thanks and appreciation for the generous outpouring of support from blood donors in the wake of the tragedy in Orlando," the statement said.

“Not only in Florida, but across the country, the American public has come out to blood donation sites to provide help for patients in need and stand in solidarity, sometimes in long lines, for those affected by this horrific situation. We want to assure you that all blood needs from this event have been met.

“It is important to note that, while we have met the needs of this mass casualty event, every two seconds someone in the US needs a blood transfusion. Volunteer blood donors are needed each and every day to help save lives. This weekend’s tragedy illustrates that it’s the blood already on the shelves that helps during an emergency - that’s why it is so critical that eligible donors give on a regular basis to ensure we have a readily available blood supply.”

Blood centers often see blood and platelet donations decline during the summer months, so AABB, America’s Blood Centers and the American Red Cross are encouraging eligible individuals to schedule an appointment for the weeks and months ahead, particularly the months of July and August.

Voluntary blood donations must be increased rapidly in more than half the world's countries to ensure a reliable supply of safe blood for patients who depend on such donations, the World Health Organisation said on World Blood Donor Day.

Under the two-tier system, children are classed as either ‘missing’ or ‘absent’ but crucially only a child classed as missing receives an active police response, explains the charity.

The inquiry heard that children who go missing but are classified by the police as absent slip under services radar until risks become too serious.

The inquiry also heard of cases of children, who were classed as ‘absent’ but who had been groomed for sexual exploitation or criminal involvement such as drug running across county lines.

Ann Coffey MP, who chaired the inquiry, said: "All the evidence shows that the new absent category is dangerous and should be scrapped. It is not fit for purpose.

“It was introduced to save police time but has turned out to be a blunt, crude assessment tool that leaves children who are regularly classed as absent in danger of sexual exploitation and of being groomed by criminal gangs. It is scary that exploited young people are falling off the radar and no one knows what is happening to them.

“From Rotherham to Rochdale we have seen a pattern of young people and their families not being taken seriously. Our inquiry heard of one mother whose child was classed as absent. She was left to cope alone and drove around all night long frantically looking for her daughter.

“It is also shocking that there are unacceptable inconsistencies between and within police forces in their approach to missing children. It is now time for all police forces to abandon this hit and miss system. Children deserve the same protection wherever they live.

“There needs to be a joint risk assessment by police and children’s services otherwise children can be left at terrible risk which could have been prevented.”

Key recommendations include no child should be allowed to be classified as low risk without prior joint assessment of risk, undertaken jointly by the police and children services and there should be a national information sharing protocol.

Matthew Reed, Chief Executive of The Children’s Society, said: "Children who go missing face serious risks of abuse, including child sexual exploitation. The absent category must be dropped. Not only is it preventing vulnerable children from getting the vital help they need, it leaves them in danger.

“Everything possible needs to be done to make sure any child who goes missing receives an active response and when they are found, that they are listened to.

“It is vital that all missing children have the chance to speak to an independent professional who can help them deal with the issues that made them run away in the first place to help stop them from going missing again. No child should feel that no one cares about them.”

The APPG for Runaway and Missing Children and Adults was formed to raise awareness about the level of risk of harm to children, young people and vulnerable adults who go missing from home or care.

The Children's Society is a national charity that runs local services, helping children and young people and also campaigns for legislative changes to support children and young people.

The polecat, unmistakeable with its white ear tips and dark mask, was once widespread in Britain but suffered centuries of persecution that resulted in its near extinction across the islands. Polecats were extensively trapped and killed for their fur and also due to the perceived threat to livestock and game.

However, due to conservation efforts polecats appear to be recovering steadily and a nationwide survey by the Vincent Wildlife Trust this year shows that they are now returning to many areas where they have been absent for over a century. The wildlife charity's survey revealed that they are now more widespread in Britain than at any time in the last 100 years.

The survey revealed that Polecats are not only maintaining their range in their historical strongholds of Wales and the West Midlands but their range has expanded substantially in south-west England and East Anglia. Other areas seeing new populations emerge include western Northumberland and the eastern Yorkshire Dales.

Judge Sophie Stafford, commenting on Richard Bowler’s winning photograph in the Mammal Society's Mammals on our Doorstep photography category, said: "The polecat is a will-o-the-wisp, rarely seen and even more rarely photographed. Even as its range spreads across England, this elusive creature lives largely invisibly right under our noses. This photographer has not only seen it, but created a beautifully lit and exquisitely balanced portrait."

The competition included four categories: Mammals in our Landscapes, Mammals on our Doorsteps, A Brief Encounter and Young Mammal Photographer of the Year. The runner up photo for the Mammals on our Doorstep category was an image of a sprightly otter, taken by Paul Dibben, on the river Stour in Dorset.

Other animals featured amongst the competition awards included the bank vole, the subject of runner up entry for the A Brief Encounter category. The photograph was taken by Sarah Darnell.

Judge Nick Baker said: “There were some truly staggering images and it was nice to see many of these coming from young photographers as well. It's been a pleasure to have been able to be part of the judging team for what is rapidly becoming a leading wildlife photography competition".

The Mammal Society promotes science-led mammal conservation and delivers training courses to professionals and members of the public. The charity has been conducting the official review of the conservation status and population size of British mammals for the English, Scottish and Welsh governments.

With a similar focus on innovative wildlife research, The Vincent Wildlife Trust’s research emphasis is on British and Irish mammals with a current focus on bats and members of the weasel family.

The Commission wants to hear from all those who develop and use apps and software that are not embedded in a physical object at the time of their placement in the market. This is the case for apps that users download on their smartphones and which cover a wide range of uses, including searching for services online.

For example, the Commission is asking if the apps or other non-embedded software can pose safety risks and if they do pose any risks, what those risks are. For instance, if users have encountered any problems such as, has the app given users wrong information about their health? and if so was a solution found?

The Commission wants to know which sectors are most affected by safety problems and if people were already affected by unsafe applications. Only apps and non-embedded software that are downloadable on a device such as a personal computer, tablet or smartphone or are accessible on a remote cloud location are covered by the consultation.

Commissioner Oettinger, in charge of the Digital Economy and Society, explains: "Whenever a person downloads an app or software, they need to be sure that it won't cause any damage, especially when it comes to health advice. I invite everyone to participate in this public consultation and share their experience to see how far the app sector takes care of consumers safety."

The views of consumers, civil society oragnisations, public bodies, and businesses across all sectors including telecommunications, health and finance are being encouraged to help to define actions needed in the future at the EU level to boost safety in this area.

This online consultation looking into the safety of apps and other non-embedded software is available at the EC website and is open until 15 September. For the purpose of the consultation safety and safe use is defined by the Commission as “freedom from unacceptable danger, risk or harm,” including cyber-security and physical, economic as well as non-material damage.

The £24 million project promises personal stories about the transformational power of medicine and will also provide historical context for the public's experience of medicine and health.

Ian Blatchford, Director of the Science Museum, explains: “The generous support of the Wellcome Trust will help us realise our ambitious plans to create the world’s greatest Medicine Galleries. Bringing together the fascinating medical collections of Sir Henry Wellcome, on permanent loan to the Science Museum since 1976, and our own rich medical collections, these galleries will become a global centre for the public understanding of health and medicine.”

The new galleries will cover more than 3000m2 on the museum’s first floor, almost double the area of the existing Medicine Galleries and will position medicine at the centre of the museum.

Dr Emily Scott-Dearing, Lead Curator of the Medicine Galleries, says: “Our medicine collection documents moments of great medical insight and innovation, major public health challenges and moving patient experiences from the past. It also speaks powerfully to the medical challenges of today and tomorrow, from antibiotic resistance to the obesity epidemic. Ours is a living, growing collection and alongside historic objects the new galleries will showcase our latest acquisitions from the leading edge of clinical medicine and biomedical research.”

As well as the £10 million Wellcome grant, the Medicine Galleries have been made possible by an £8 million award from the Heritage Lottery Fund and further support from The Wolfson Foundation.

Simon Chaplin, Wellcome’s Director of Culture and Society, said: “Wellcome and the Science Museum have worked together closely for over three decades to create innovative galleries and programmes that engage audiences of all ages with the stories of health and medicine, past and present. The new Medicine Galleries will create one of the world’s largest permanent spaces devoted to the place of health in human culture. We are delighted to be the lead funder for this exciting project.”

The galleries will be free to visit and are scheduled to open in 2019.

The Scottish Land Fund reopened to applications in April 2016. The programme is funded by the Scottish Government and delivered in partnership by the Big Lottery Fund and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

Moffat Community Woodlands will use the funding to purchase 33.4 hectares of land on Gallow Hill, which overlooks the town of Moffat. The group intend to work with the Forestry Commission to replant the land with a broadleaf woodland and begin the process of returning the hill to the way it looked when Moffat was a renowned Victorian spa town.

Tom Mulholland, Chair of Moffat Community Woodlands, said: “This grant will enable us to improve recreational opportunities for the people of Moffat, and visitors to the town. Ownership of Gallow Hill gives the community the opportunity to enhance the natural environment of the hill for future generations, including the town’s recently awarded Dark Sky status.”

As well as making more of the stunning views south over Annandale and north to the Devil's Beef Tub, the replanting hopes to, in time, increase biodiversity and allow a broader range of wildlife to flourish.

The BIG Lottery Fund distributes lottery funding to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK.

The charity has just under 700 high street shops across the UK and Ireland and also operates a textile sorting facility. The first Oxfam charity shop was launched in 1947 in Oxford.

An average of 57 items per person are left unworn according to a new study by retail chain Marks & Spencer and UK adults only wear 44 per cent of the clothing they own regularly. An average of 16 items are only worn once, according to the survey.

Marks & Spencer supports Oxfam via its Shwop initiative. The public can drop unwanted clothes in Shwop boxes in stores which then go towards supporting Oxfam projects around the world.

Since its launch in 2008, Oxfam has received 24 million items of clothing thanks to the Shwop initiative, worth an estimated £16.4 million for the charity. All money raised by the campaign is used to support Oxfam's projects around the world.

Charity shops offer consumers the opportunity to donate goods and buy recycled goods. Charity shops are also opportunities for revenue raising for many charities through selling goods and also provide opportunities for donations and campaigns, as well as encouraging volunteering and other good causes.

Data, released by nfpSynergy in 2015, revealed an increasing in charity shopping in the UK, showing that four in five people had visited a charity shop in the previous year, up from two thirds a decade ago. 81 per cent of people said they had visited a charity shop in the last year, compared with 68 per cent in 2004.

Oxfam works in nearly 60 countries on a diverse range of humanitarian and development projects.

The pledge, a multi-generational, global initiative created by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates that encourages billionaires to give the majority of their wealth to philanthropic causes, has welcomed its latest additions of business leaders and entrepreneurs including HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz AlSaud of Saudi Arabia.

The new additions to the Giving Pledge include entrepreneurs and business leaders from a range of backgrounds and sectors, including technology, medicine and biotech, real estate and dairy farming. They plan to use their philanthropic resources to support a range of causes, including poverty alleviation, healthcare, education, and environmental protection.

The 17 new signatories announced are Margaret and Sylvan Adams (Israel); HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz AlSaud (Saudi Arabia); Lynne and Marc Benioff (United States); Nathan and Elizabeth Blecharczyk (United States); Brian Chesky (United States); Scott Cook and Signe Ostby (United States); Jack and Laura Dangermond (United States); Henry Engelhardt, CBE and Diane Briere de l'Isle-Engelhardt, OBE (United Kingdom); Joe Gebbia (United States); Sir Tom and Lady Marion Hunter (United Kingdom); Robert and Arlene Kogod (United States); Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (India); PNC and Sobha Menon (UAE); Gary K Michelson, MD (United States); Gensheng Niu (China); Liz Simons and Mark Heising (United States) and Dr Herbert and Nicole Wertheim (United States).

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, biotech entrepreneur, Chairperson and Managing Director of Biocon, Asia's leading biopharmaceuticals enterprise, said in her Giving Pledge letter: "My philanthropic efforts are largely directed towards making a difference to global healthcare especially in the developing world. I am particularly concerned about the unbearable financial burden that debilitating diseases like cancer impose on patients in poor countries. I am also conscious of the fact that two thirds of the world's population have little or no access to an acceptable quality of healthcare."

Pledge signatories come together throughout the year to discuss challenges, successes and failures, as well as how to be smarter about giving. The Giving Pledge does not involve direct appeals, pooling money, or requirements to support a particular cause or organisation. Although the Giving Pledge is specifically focused on billionaires, organisers say it is inspired by past and present efforts that encourage and recognise givers of all financial means and backgrounds.

Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said: "This new group joining the Giving Pledge is incredibly thoughtful about their desire to give back and help solve the world's toughest challenges through philanthropy.

“Some have been giving for decades and others are just starting out after building successful businesses, but they all see the value of giving in a bold and effective way. Melinda, Warren and I are glad to have the opportunity to learn with them and from them."

Pele will be Guest of Honour for the 10th anniversary of Soccer Aid at Old Trafford on June 5th. Widely regarded as the best player of all time, Pele won three world cups with Brazil, and holds the World Record for most career goals: 1,283 goals in 1,363 games.

This tenth-anniversary match of the fundraising event for children’s charity UNICEF will see two star-studded squads go head to head broadcast live on TV from Manchester United’s Old Trafford Stadium.

Pele says: “I'm delighted to be Guest of Honour at Soccer Aid’s 10th anniversary. It’s such a prestigious event that continues to raise much needed funds for Unicef’s life-saving work for children around the world.”

The Soccer Aid England team will be managed by Sam Allardyce, with the Rest Of The World team managed by Premier League winning manager Claudio Ranieri. Ex-Liverpool legends Jamie Carragher and Robbie Fowler will be in the England team as well as David Seaman and Sol Campbell.

The international side includes Brazilian world cup winners Ronaldinho and Cafu as well as Jaap Stam and Dimitar Berbatov, Edgar Davids, Samuel Eto’o and other celebrated players.

Unicef UK Ambassador and actor Michael Sheen is team captain for the Rest of the World. Musician, entertainer and TV presenter Jonathan Wilkes is the England team captain.

The money raised through profits from ticket sales will support Unicef’s campaign to help provide children with life-saving food, vaccines and clean water, as well as protecting them from violence, exploitation and abuse. 100 per cent of all public donations will go towards the charity initiatives.

Donations to Soccer Aid are also being doubled by the UK government. Soccer Aid was the brainstorm of Unicef UK Ambassador Robbie Williams and Jonathan Wilkes. Previous Soccer Aid events have raised over £17 million for Unicef.

This will be the sixth Soccer Aid event, with previous matches held at Wembley in London in 2008 and at Old Trafford in Manchester in 2006, 2010, 2012 and 2014.

But whilst tax incentives encourage people and businesses to give more to charity they are too often tilted in favour of the wealthy and causes favoured by governments, according to the international study by the foundation.

The study of developed and emerging economies compared the way tax incentives for charitable donations are offered across the world. Donation States - An international comparison of the tax treatment of donations, found that incentives are widely used by governments to encourage giving to charity, and support the encouragement of both the number of people giving to good causes and the value of donations.

But it warns that regular basic rate taxpayers often have less access to generous incentives than wealthy people and companies. In some countries excessive red tape creates major barriers to people on moderate incomes taking up tax reliefs at all.

Report author, CAF International Policy Manager Adam Pickering, said: “Tax incentives are worth many billions of pounds to good causes worldwide and it is a great thing that there is such a strong international support for charitable giving being incentivised in the tax system.

“Such incentives are not the biggest motivation for people to give – and nor would we want them to be. But it is clear that they can be an effective way for governments to encourage people and businesses to support civil society.

“As we look to build the capacity of charities to do good across the world, there are important lessons which can be drawn from the benefits and weaknesses of the diverse range of tax incentive schemes in different countries.

“Crucially, it is important that they are easy to understand, non-politicised and progressive. This means that governments should not cherry pick favourite causes, and that incentives should be just as generous to people on moderate incomes as they are to the wealthy and big businesses. If incentives are seen to be stacked in favour of an elite few, this could have a chilling effect on mass engagement in charitable giving in the long run.”

The study analyses the tax regimes and incentives of 26 countries. Main findings of the report include people are 12 percentage points more likely to have given to charity in the past month if they live in a country which offers tax relief on donations than if they live somewhere which does not. The value of tax incentives appears to have a direct impact on how much people give, with more money given when the value of tax incentives increases, however incentives are most effective in nations with higher rates of income tax. Corporations tend to get more and bigger tax incentives than individuals, states the report. 77 per cent of countries offer tax incentives to businesses making charitable donations whilst 66 per cent offer incentives to individuals.

The report makes various recommendations for making tax incentives schemes more effective, including greater efforts for equality of causes and incentives, and efforts to make claiming incentives easier where possible, ie where possible, avoiding hybrid systems which combine tax credits and tax deductions. Low tax economies should offer more favourable incentives in order to offset the relatively lower value of tax that can be claimed back. This can include removing caps on the total amount which can be claimed, or offering credits at above the highest rate of tax. In countries where tax expenditure must be limited, for instance in some developing nations, government should resort to caps rather than limiting eligible causes, it’s suggested.

The report involved analyses of a sample of nations: Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States and Vietnam.

The report received legal support through the TrustLaw program - Thomson Reuters Foundation's pro bono service which connects law firms and corporate legal teams around the world with charities and social enterprises working to create social and environmental change.

The plans to boost European e-commerce, part of the Digital Single Market and European Single Market, include efforts to tackle geoblocking, and also make cross-border parcel delivery more affordable, as well as improving efficiency in e-commerce transactions and better protections for consumers and businesses.

Andrus Ansip, Vice-President for the Digital Single Market, explains: "All too often people are blocked from accessing the best offers when shopping online or decide not to buy cross-border because the delivery prices are too high or they are worried about how to claim their rights if something goes wrong. We want to solve the problems that are preventing consumers and businesses from fully enjoying the opportunities of buying and selling products and services online."

E-commerce is the fastest growing retail market in Europe, however the regulatory plans hope to contribute to even greater customer confidence in cross-border e-commerce across Europe.

Elżbieta Bieńkowska, Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, explains: "With clearer rules, better enforcement and more affordable cross-border parcel delivery, it will be easier for consumers and companies, especially SMEs, to make the most of the EU Single Market and the cross-border e-commerce."

Günther Oettinger, Commissioner for the Digital Economy and Society says: "The geoblocking initiative strikes the right balance between consumers interest to be able to shop online without borders and providing businesses with sufficient legal certainty. I am confident that our approach, taking due account of specificities of certain sectors, will give the right boost to cross-border e-commerce in the EU."

The European e-commerce package is composed of a legislative proposal to address geoblocking problems and other forms of discrimination on the grounds of nationality, residence or establishment; and a legislative proposal on cross-border parcel delivery services to increase the transparency of prices and improve regulatory oversight. A legislative proposal to strengthen enforcement of consumer rights and guidance is also being proposed.

The proposed revision of the Consumer Protection Cooperation Regulation will give more powers to national authorities to better enforce consumer rights. They will be able to check if websites geo-block consumers or offer after-sales conditions and request information from domain registrars and banks to detect the identity of the responsible trader.

The e-commerce package complements legislative proposals on the supply of digital content and on online and other distance sales of goods which the Commission proposed in December 2015, and an upcoming VAT simplification proposal planned for autumn 2016. The Commission is also publishing updated guidance on digital commercial practices.

Social entrepreneur David Hallett, of the cloud-based financial technology company Xperedon, has been amongst the first business leaders to welcome the plans to make digital commerce more easy and dependable for consumers and businesses across Europe.

David Hallett, CEO of Xperedon, says: “Any innovations at the international level that boost the digital marketplace must be warmly welcomed, especially when they recognise the need to improve protections for consumers, and help digital businesses enhance their service delivery and develop greater cost-efficiencies.

“As a company that has been bringing customer-friendly cloud-based e-commerce products and payments solutions to market for a number of years, we welcome efforts to improve e-commerce and online payments across Europe, so that consumers and businesses can more fully enjoy the benefits of buying and selling products and services online."

Hallett says Xperedon's cloud-based software products are designed not only to be managed with ease online but to work "effectively across borders and territories, including socially media focused software, that allows the easy start-up of an online store, with built-in payment processing."

“Our cloud-based e-commerce solutions also include a fully customisable e-commerce engine with online shopping cart, built-in payment processing, and Customer Relationship Management (CRM), that can be seamlessly integrated with websites and social media,” he says.

“Our multi-currency payments platform includes a cloud-based interface to view, manage and process payments online, providing access to streamlined reporting and management of data online, via any Internet-enabled device. This user-friendly Application Program Interface (API) e-commerce solution and administration system, plugs straight into websites and can go to work in minutes."

Xperedon is approved to handle online payment processing by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in London, and provides secure payment processing accounts to all customers, covering Visa, MasterCard, Amex and PayPal payments worldwide, and with the ability to process payments in Euro, GBP, CHF and USD.

The European Commission states it is proposing its raft of new legislation to ensure that consumers seeking to buy products and services in another EU country, be it online or in person, are not discriminated against in terms of access to prices, sales or payment conditions, unless this is objectively justified for reasons such as VAT or certain public interest legal provisions.

In case of EU-wide breaches of consumer rights, the Commission says it will be able to coordinate common actions with national enforcement authorities to stop these practices. It aims to ensure a swifter protection of consumers, while saving time and resources for Member States and businesses.

Vera Jourová, Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, has described the package as an "important step to bring consumer protection up to speed with the online world and to give legal certainty to traders."

According to the Centre for Retail Research the European online market is dominated by the UK, along with Germany and France. Online sales in the UK, Germany, France, The Netherlands, Sweden, Italy, Poland and Spain grew from £132.05bn in 2014 to £156.67bn in 2015, an increase of 18.6 per cent says the centre.

E-commerce sales in Europe are set to reach €500bn (£380.9bn) in 2016, a new report published by Ecommerce Europe predicts.

Natural England has received 29 applications or expressions of interest for a badger control licence. These cover areas within the counties of Cheshire, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Somerset, Wiltshire, Worcestershire.

The environmental body has now completed its public consultation on badger control licence applications or expressions of interest, that received 939 responses. There is a possible extension of badger culling, designed to reduce bTB in cattle, to six new counties in England in 2016.

Comments came from various sources including wildlife charities, NGOs and members of the public highlighting a broad range of issues including public safety and ecological concerns. 386 opposed the culls in relation to concerns about dangers to the public, who might be walking their dogs, wildlife watching, horse riding, camping etc in the vicinity of the shooting of the animals.

192 have raised concerns about the wider ecological impact of killing the badgers, on other species and their habitats. 157 are concerned that badger culling will drive away tourists. Others have expressed concern that culling badgers could kill vaccinated badgers.

The Badger Trust charity says with little idea how many badgers exist in the proposed cull extension areas, and based on concerns raised over previous culls, it is therefore no surprise to see so many people raise fears about the impact of badger removal on other species and habitats, as well as issues such as public safety.

Responding to the release on the consultation the CEO of the Badger Trust, Dominic Dyer, says: “It's clear that the public has no confidence in the level of training and monitoring of the gunmen being used to kill badgers and have very justifiable fears about their safety should they find themselves in the vicinity of a cull zone at night.

“Many businesses which rely on tourism in areas such as Devon and Cornwall are rightly concerned that the killing of badgers will drive away visitors and put their futures at risk.”

Dyer has also highlighted “the level of public opposition to the extension of badger culling this summer.” He describes it as a “tragedy to see badger culling possibly coming to areas where so much valuable work has been done by badger protection groups to build good working relationships with farmers to vaccinate badgers on their land.”

The Badger Trust and other wildlife charities believe that culling has no justification in scientific, humaneness or economic terms and are instead appealing for more investment in long-term humane measures such as vaccination and improved bio-security controls.

Campaigners regularly refer to the Randomised Badger Culling Trials (RBCT) which ran for 10 years to 2008, resulting in the death of 11,000 badgers, as evidence that the culls are unlikely to make a substantial difference to the eradication of bTB. The report summarised that “badger culling can make no meaningful contribution to cattle TB control in Britain”.

Beyond the issues associated with the effectiveness of the culls many animal welfare campaigners are concerned the culls unknowingly give the green light to badger cruelty outside the cull zones.

The Badger Trust’s annual report for 2013 on badger persecution identifies 697 badger persecution incidents reported during the year, although actual numbers are likely to be much higher says the charity.

The most popular way for people in the UK to support a charity was donating money, two in five (39 per cent) in a typical month, followed by donating goods (20 per cent) and sponsoring someone (9 per cent).

The latest report estimates that Britons donated a total of £9.6 billion to charity in 2015.

CAF Chief Executive John Low said: “The UK is a nation of fundraisers and charity shop lovers with a great tradition of being among the most generous countries in the world. In 2015, four out of every five people did something to support a good cause. This huge support is crucial to the work charities do to improve people lives both at home and across the world.

“While we should rightly be proud of this track record, many of us will be a little disappointed to see that men are still struggling to keep up with women when it comes to acts of generosity. Charities need to work harder to motivate men to back good causes and, importantly in the long-term, find new and better ways to get people involved in charitable giving at every age.

“Whatever people’s interests or circumstances, we can usually find a way to support a good cause, whether it is giving money to an appeal, baking cakes, pledging time or donating unwanted clothes. Sporting fundraisers and appeals like Movember have gone some way towards getting more men and young people giving, but it is clear that more still needs to be done.”

£14 is the median average charitable donation and cash is still the most common way for people to give, accounting for 55 per cent of donations. Those most likely to donate are women, middle or upper middle class and aged over 45, says CAF. Less than half of young people aged 16 to 24 (48 per cent) donated to charity last year. Almost half of Britons have donated goods to charity shops in the past year (46 per cent) with one in five (20 per cent) doing so in a typical month. Women are almost twice as likely to do this as men (26 per cent vs 14 per cent in a typical month).

CAF’s annual report on charitable behaviour, UK Giving, also reveals that the youngest generation are the least involved in supporting good causes with less than half of young adults doing so in a typical month (43 per cent).

With regards volunteering one in seven people (13 per cent) volunteered for a charity in 2015. While young people are least likely to give money, they are the most likely to give their time for free, with 19 per cent of people aged 16 to 24 having done so. By comparison, one in ten (11 per cent) people aged 65 or over volunteered for a charity.

One in three (32 per cent) sponsored someone for charity in 2015. Women are more likely to be sponsors but give smaller amounts (£11.38) than men (£15.13) on average. People give most to sponsored events for hospitals and hospices, which attract an average sponsorship of £34.

People of pensionable age were nearly twice as likely to have given money to charity, with 44 per cent of over 65s having done so in the past month, compared with 23 per cent of people aged 16 to 24.

The study also found that four in five people in the UK (79 per cent) got involved in at least one form of charitable action in 2015. Children charities were the most widely supported (30 per cent), followed by medical research (29 per cent) and animals (22 per cent).

CAF has been producing the UK Giving report since 2004. The UK Giving 2015 survey collected information about charitable giving from 4,160 adults aged 16 and over in the United Kingdom.

22,000 children are among the 55,000 migrants and refugees currently stranded in Greece, hosted in 35 camps and sites on the mainland and islands.

Poirier paid tribute to: “The extraordinary resolve shown by ordinary Greek people, the Government and civil society in helping thousands of refugees and migrants,” whilst announcing scale up of UNICEF programmes working with other humanitarian partners.

UNICEF’s response to the migrant and refugee crisis in Greece so far has focused on health and education, including work with the Ministry of Health on a vaccination campaign, plus language learning and mobile child protection teams.

Meanwhile the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, speaking at an Italy-Africa Ministerial Conference, organised in Rome in May by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, in conjunction with the Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI), has highlighted conflict, violence and persecution as the three biggest drivers forcing people to abandon their homes and flee for safety, with poverty and climate change other factors.

More efforts and resources are needed to address the root causes of this displacement says the UN refugee agency, as the global humanitarian crisis related to refugees and displaced persons continues to grow.

UNHCR calls for more substantial resources to be allocated to the crisis response, including more sustainable assistance programmes aimed at developing education and livelihoods, as well as efforts to support countries of first asylum.

UNHCR figures reveal the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide is 59.5 million.

Affordable Access Initiative grant recipients include African Renewable Energy Distributor (Rwanda), Zaya Learning Labs (India) and Wi-Fi Interactive Network (Philippines).

For instance, African Renewable Energy Distributor, has developed a mobile solar kiosk energy solution and offers franchise business opportunities.

Each company is receiving seed grants and resources including free software, services and technology support to help extend the reach of their hardware, applications, connectivity and power solutions.

The commitment is part of the company’s plans to invest $1 billion in cloud technology solutions for social impact, including philanthropy driven programmes.

Peggy Johnson, executive vice president of business development at Microsoft, explains: “With more than half of the world’s population lacking access to the Internet, connectivity is a global challenge that demands creative problem solving.

“By using technology that’s available now and partnering with local entrepreneurs who understand the needs of their communities, our hope is to create sustainable solutions that will not only have impact today but also in the years to come.”

Microsoft’s Affordable Access Initiative aims to improve Internet access via grants, commercial partnerships, connecting new leaders and community engagement. Grant recipients are based in 11 countries: Argentina, Botswana, India, Indonesia, Malawi, Nigeria, Philippines, Rwanda, Uganda, the UK and the USA. In addition to financial support, grant recipients will have access to various networking and mentoring opportunities.

Microsoft Philanthropies is also offering digital literacy, online safety and computer science education programs via its global YouthSpark initiative, as well as cloud product donations and training for non-profits.

The announcement of this mental health program was made at a signing ceremony at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Academic Medical Center at Dubai Healthcare City. The signing was attended by Her Excellency Dr Raja Easa Al Gurg, member of the Board for Trustees and chairperson of the Board of Directors, Al Jalila Foundation; Dr Abdulkareem Sultan Al Olama, chief executive officer of Al Jalila Foundation; Jason Carter, chairman of the Carter Center’s Board of Trustees, and a number of healthcare and media representatives.

The non-profit Carter Center has awarded one-year fellowships to 165 journalists previously, to connect them with resources and experts to increase the quality and accuracy of mental health reporting around the world. The program is currently in the United States and Colombia and was previously in New Zealand, South Africa and Romania.

“Reporting by Rosalynn Carter fellows has contributed to more awareness and coverage of mental health issues and more balanced and accurate reporting in the participating countries,” says Jason Carter, chairman of the Carter Center's Board of Trustees. “In partnership with Al Jalila Foundation, we are proud to extend the reach of this program to reduce stigma and discrimination against those with mental illnesses in the UAE.”

The Carter Center will provide training, educational materials, mentorship, evaluation tools and technical assistance to develop a sustainable and tailored program in the UAE.

The Al Jalila medical education and research foundation will manage the program in the UAE and will be responsible for the selection of journalists, facilitating media trainings, adapting the program to meet the needs of the Emirates, and local evaluations.

Her Excellency Dr Raja Easa Al Gurg, Chairperson of the Board of Directors and Member of the Board of Trustees of Al Jalila Foundation, said: “Journalists have immense power to inform, educate and influence society. Their support is essential to raise awareness and create a dialogue about mental health in the region. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that people with mental illnesses are not marginalised and that they receive the required support to live happy productive lives.”

Since the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism were established in 1996, fellows have produced more than 1500 stories, documentaries, books and other works during and after their fellowship year including projects that have garnered Emmy Awards and nominations for the Pulitzer Prize.

Dr Abdulkareem Al Olama, chief executive officer of Al Jalila Foundation, said: “It is a huge privilege to launch the mental health journalism program for the first time in the region and continue the incredible work that former United States First Lady Rosalynn Carter has done to combat the stigma associated with mental illnesses.”

The goals of the fellowships include increasing the accuracy of reporting on mental health issues and decrease incorrect, stereotypical information, and help journalists produce high-quality work that reflects understanding of mental health issues via quality resources.

“Informed journalists can have a significant impact on public understanding of mental health issues as they shape debate and trends with the words and pictures they convey," the former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, has said.

Key findings include that philanthropic priorities are strongly shaped by family behaviours. Namely, parents and grandparents who give and volunteer are more likely to influence their children and grandchildren to do the same. According to the research parents and their children give similarly to religious organisations, international charitable organisations, environmental organisations, and arts-related organisations. Also parents decisions to volunteer with charitable organisations, positively influence their children's decisions to volunteer with, and give to, charitable organisations. Other findings from the report include that the giving priorities of parents and their children are more closely matched than those of grandparents and their grandchildren.

Jane Greenfield, president of Vanguard Charitable, explains: "Parents and grandparents can encourage children to give and volunteer by incorporating more shared experiences into their philanthropic support. Non-profits can in turn offer those kinds of experiences to families to attract future support. And advisors may be able to provide better guidance to family members if they recognise the influence of older generations on the younger."

The study presents findings from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy’s Philanthropy Panel Study (PPS) of the philanthropy of American families over time and across generations. The study examined how closely parents and grandparents match their children and grandchildren in terms of philanthropic priorities, as well as how socio-demographic factors explain the similarity or dissimilarity in philanthropic priorities between parents and their children.

“Generational giving differences among Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials, for example, receive a lot of attention, but looking only at those differences can obscure other factors that affect individuals giving and volunteering decisions," said Una Osili, director of research for the school. "This research demonstrates the impact of intra-family dynamics on giving and volunteering. It offers new insights into the factors associated with generosity between family members and provides a first-of-its-kind look at the transmission of giving behaviours from grandparents to grandchildren, in addition to exploring the parent-child dynamic."

The Peace and Security Funding Index: An Analysis of Global Foundation Grantmaking also highlights the diversity of the funders and strategies behind this area of philanthropic work.

"PSFG undertook this project to better understand who is active in peace and security funding and how that funding is being utilised," explains Alexandra Toma, Executive Director of the Peace and Security Funders Group. "What we found is truly encouraging: While making up less than one per cent of global philanthropic giving, peace and security funders are punching well above their weight. This is important as more funders join us because they can make impactful grants at nearly any level."

The Peace and Security Funders Group is a network of public, private and family foundations, and individual philanthropists who make grants or expenditures that contribute to peace and global security.

The Foundation Center specialises in information about philanthropy worldwide and provides a database on US and global grantmakers and grants; as well as specialising in research, education and training programs designed to advance knowledge of philanthropy.

The Funding Index showcases foundations and philanthropists like peace and security funders such as the Howard G Buffet Foundation, Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, Oak Foundation, and GHR Foundation who are investing in efforts to prevent, mitigate and resolve conflict, as well as to rebuild after conflicts end.

Peace and security funders support the work of peace, justice, diplomacy, and both national and global security in a variety of ways, it's revealed. However, the majority of funding in the space employs policy work and research as a strategy. Peace and security funders are almost twice as likely as other grantmakers to fund policy and advocacy strategies, suggesting that peace and security funders believe being engaged with the policymaking process is a critical aspect of being effective in this area. Another funding priority uncovered in the study is amassing the knowledge needed to better understand how conflict happens in order to end it. Overall, one in five peace and security grant dollars (20 per cent) awarded in 2013 funded research.

The Funding Index also finds that foundations engage in peace and security funding at every level of giving. While the top 15 peace and security funders provided two-thirds (67 per cent) of the $283 million awarded in 2013, the vast majority of foundations engaged at far more modest levels. In fact, 70 per cent of funders had combined peace and security giving of less than $250,000; well over one-third (37 per cent) gave less than $50,000. Across this set of funders, there are numerous models of engagement for foundations of any size looking to become active in the peace and security field, it's suggested.

Innovate UK, the UK's innovation agency, is inviting applications for funding from business-university partnerships with plans to improve competitiveness and productivity by employing a recent graduate with relevant expertise.

The Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) scheme is a three-way partnership between a business, an academic institution and a recent graduate, helping organisations to innovate and grow by linking an organisation with a university and a graduate to work on a specific project.

The academic institution employs the recently-qualified graduate who works at the company with the intention that the graduate, known as the associate, brings new skills and knowledge to the business.

A KTP can last between one and three years depending on the project and is part-funded by a grant. 2016 close dates for submission are 6 July 2016, 7 September 2016 and 2 November 2016.

Businesses or not-for-profit organisations of any size have been invited to apply and it is open to universities, colleges or research technology organisations.

Innovate UK cites cases studies including a Knowledge Transfer Partnership between Signal Media and the University of Essex that has led to business growth and success.

A Knowledge Transfer Partnership between associate Miguel Martinez-Alvarez, academic Professor Udo Kruschwitz and Signal Media founder David Benigson transformed the business and won an award for 2015 KTP of the year, reveals Innovate UK. The aim was to bring the latest innovations in text analytics and data science to a new business providing web information monitoring and tracking for other businesses. The KTP helped Signal grow in just over 2 years from 2 people in a garage to a business employing 30 in offices in East London. Signal also attracted over £3 million more in investment.

Innovate UK has also recently responded to a new Government White Paper: Success as a Knowledge Economy, which outlines how the UK Government intends to take forward the implementation of the recommendations of Sir Paul Nurse’s Review, notably the plan to take forward the recommendation to bring together the 7 UK Research Councils within a single body: UK Research and Innovation.

Innovate UK says it will continue its support for business-led innovation that creates economic growth and improves productivity, whilst ensuring the successful and effective delivery of reform plans.

Chief Executive of Innovate UK, Ruth McKernan, said: “Innovation transforms great ideas from our world-class research base into new products and services that will address global challenges and build the UK’s future prosperity. The establishment of UK Research and Innovation, including the research councils and Innovate UK, recognises the vital role innovation plays and further strengthens the UK’s ability to turn scientific excellence into economic impact.”

Over 65 per cent of respondents in the Office Coffee Company's how green is your office survey, cited their office "could do more" to be environmentally friendly and almost 8 per cent admitted they didn’t make any effort at all. 27 per cent claimed to be doing everything they could to be environmentally friendly, whilst 60 per cent of office workers felt that it was very important that their employer has “positive green credentials”. 25 per cent of respondents supported purchasing from suppliers with green credentials.

While many offices appear to be doing basics like switching off lights and recycling paper, cardboard and food/drink packaging but there are other areas that can also make a difference reveals the Office Coffee Company.

“The research highlighted that recycling of food waste, particularly coffee grounds is particularly low in offices,” explains Richard Doherty, managing director at the Office Coffee Company.

The online survey into office environmental habits was distributed to office workers based in London and the South West.

The coffee company, that provides an ethical coffee range, in conjunction with the research has been highlighting the benefits of recycling coffee for green energy solutions, and has recently launched a coffee grounds recycling service for Greater London clients.

The service is provided in partnership with bio-bean, a clean tech company that recycles waste coffee grounds into biofuels.

Arthur Kay, bio-bean CEO, explains: “Coffee waste is especially high in energy-rich oil and every year hundreds of thousands of tons of coffee waste is produced in the London area alone."

Staggeringly, the UK produces 500,000 tonnes of waste coffee grounds each year. Clean tech organisation bio-bean says it has the potential to recycle 50,000 tonnes per year, one in ten cups of coffee drunk in the UK.

The tech company has pioneered the world's first waste coffee recycling factory at Alconbury Weald, Cambridgeshire and collects waste coffee grounds from a variety of sites.

29 per cent of respondents said they were either extremely or very concerned about charities marketing, while just 17 per cent were concerned about supermarkets, the lowest level for the prompted sectors.

Asked about whether they had actually complained or wanted to complain about the same list of sectors, charities had one of the lowest levels of complaint at 6 per cent, with mortgages and pensions at 5 per cent. Broadband and mobile phones were highest with actual levels of complaint at 13 per cent and 12 per cent respectively.

However, charities had the highest level of wanting to complain, but didn’t at 25 per cent, with press and media second highest at 21 per cent and broadband third highest at 18 per cent. Mortgages were lowest at 14 per cent.

nfpSynergy’s Joe Saxton explains: “This is sobering research and shows why we need the new fundraising regulator. Charities have the highest level of people who have wanted to complain, but haven't.

“This may be because they didn’t know how, or that they didn’t feel it was right to complain about a charity. Part of the anger that we have seen from donors and the public may well be because the feedback and complaint mechanisms don’t work as well for charities.

“Charities need to learn from other sectors, such as supermarkets, mobile phone or broadband, about how to make complaining easier and more acceptable.”

Asking about the proposed Fundraising Preference Service, which plans to give the public the option of opting out of mail and telephone fundraising, 31 per cent of the public said they were definitely interested and 33 per cent probably interested. The level of interest varied considerably by age with the highest level of definitely interested being from 45-64 year olds with 42 per cent, and the lowest being from 16-24 year olds with just 13 per cent.

When asked what would be reasonable for a charity to do in terms of communications if they made a donation to the charity, 32 per cent said: “write to thank me”, 30 per cent “write to thank me and tell me about their work” and 24 per cent said: “write to ask me for my permission to talk to them again.”

nfpSynergy’s Joe Saxton says: “The level of interest in the Fundraising Preference Service should give everybody pause for thought. If these figures are right then a large majority of the giving public could sign up to FPS, and cut them off from fundraising communications. If 30 million people sign up to FPS, the costs of the service will be very high and the impact on giving devastating. It’s clear the public want FPS, the question is whether it is the most cost-effective, fair and simple way to put the public in control of the fundraising communications they receive.”

The new summer awareness initiative is designed for teens and young adults aged 12-24 and is part of the charity’s Above the Influence programme, that encourages young people to avoid negative influences. The campaign hopes to help teenagers identify the signs of alcohol poisoning and empower them to take action to help a friend.

Marketing manager Kristi Rowe, from the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, explains: "Being a good friend means having your friend's back. Most everyone knows drinking too much alcohol can be dangerous, but not everyone recognises when a friend really needs help. That, coupled with the fear of getting in trouble with their parents, can prevent teens from making the call that could save a friend's life. With #GotYourBack, we are urging teens to do the right thing: to know the facts about binge drinking, make a pact with their friends to call 911 and get help if their friend exhibits the signs of alcohol poisoning."

The Partnership for Drug-Free Kids says one of the inspirations for the #GotYourBack initiative was Shelby Allen, a 17-year-old girl who died from alcohol poisoning after a night of binge drinking. Shelby was at a friend's house and the night culminated in her drinking 15 shots of vodka and never waking up again. Shelby was unresponsive and her friends hesitated to call an adult for help for fear of getting in trouble, says the charity. By the time one of Shelby's friends contacted an adult, the call to 911 was too late and Shelby had died, says The Partnership for Drug-Free Kids.

"Tragic stories like that of Shelby's are heart-breaking because most often, the bystander, the friend, has good intentions. They think they are helping their friend if they let her sleep it off or they think there's nothing to worry about because she's already gotten sick," said Marcia Lee Taylor, the charity’s CEO and President.

As part of the campaign, the charity is also urging parents to play an active role in curbing underage drinking.

"We know that too in the season of parties with prom and graduation, so this is a critical time for parents and caregivers to have an open, honest dialogue with their kids about the dangers of binge drinking - a behaviour that could lead to alcohol poisoning and other serious consequences, including death," says Marcia Lee Taylor.

The Movember Foundation is a global charity operating across 21 countries, that has raised over $715 million for men's health programmes, with the movement's main focus its famous moustache growing fundraising initiative.

Prior to joining the Movember Foundation in October 2015 as COO, Sharp was the CEO of Prostate Cancer UK. He will succeed Adam Garone, co-founder of the Movember organisation, who after 13 years at the helm is moving into an ambassadorial role for the Foundation. Chairman of the Board, John Hughes, says of Sharp’s appointment: "We are delighted that Owen has accepted the exciting and demanding role. Owen has a proven track record of strong leadership and brings with him a wealth of fundraising experience and a deep understanding of the charity sector as a whole, which will serve the organization well as we further evolve. Owen's familiarity with the Foundation's work and his established relationships with our employees and stakeholders means that he is ideally placed to build on all Movember has achieved across the globe."

Awareness and fundraising activities are run year-round by the Foundation, with the annual Movember campaign in November being globally recognised for its high impact approach to fundraising, as well as raising awareness about health issues especially prostate cancer.

Millions have joined in the Movember fundraising initiative, funding over 1,000 major projects focusing on prostate cancer, testicular cancer and suicide prevention.

Sharp says he's looking forward to taking up his new role: "I am honoured to have been appointed CEO of the Movember Foundation. It's an organisation that has done more than any other to highlight the fact that men are dying too young, unnecessarily. This is a societal issue and one that needs to be faced up to and addressed. There is much more to do and I am incredibly proud to have the opportunity to lead the Foundation into the next phase of its evolution, ensuring that we meet our goal of changing the face of men's health forever.”

The appeal is being made during Older Americans Month.

“No one deserves to be hungry,” explains Diana Aviv, CEO of Feeding America. “We must meet this future demand and continue to invest in ways that protect older adults from impossible decisions, such as choosing between food and medical care.”

According to a recent Feeding America report, Baby Boomers and Beyond: Facing Hunger After Fifty, many older adults who are food insecure must make tough choices about how to spend their meagre dollars. More than 63 per cent of older adult households served by the Feeding America network must sometimes choose between paying for food or paying for medical care or prescriptions. Sixty per cent report having to choose between paying for utilities or paying for food, and 58 percent must choose between food and transportation. It is essential for older adults to have access to adequate amounts of nutritious food because of the unique health challenges they may face.

As the baby boomer generation continues to age at a rapid rate, every day for the next 15 years, 10,000 people will turn 65.

The Feeding America network provides more than 563 million meals to seniors age 60 and above through its initiatives and partnership programmes. The charity’s nationwide network of food banks and services, provide food to more than 46 million people.

The Institute, led by the Medical Research Council (MRC), has also been backed by £150 million of government investment. The institute has been formed to bring together scientists and experts from around the world with the aim of transforming dementia research.

There are an estimated 850,000 people living with dementia in the UK – a figure that may double over the next 20 years. Currently there is limited understanding of how dementia develops or progresses.

Jeremy Hughes CBE, Chief Executive of the Alzheimer’s Society said: “The UK Dementia Research Institute heralds an exciting era for global dementia research as it launches an unprecedented collaboration of world-leading dementia expertise and provides the largest single investment in dementia research to date.”

The institute is set to be fully up and running by 2020, and will have a central UK hub with a network of regional centres and is expected to engage hundreds of scientists. It will focus on innovative science and research and hopes to drive new approaches to diagnosis, treatment, care provision and ultimately prevention of the disease.

Hilary Evans, Chief Executive of Alzheimer’s Research UK said: “As the largest joint effort in dementia research the UK has ever seen, this commitment sends a strong signal that we are serious about taking the fight to the condition.”

“Through world-leading research we can transform the lives of people with dementia, and our investment will help accelerate progress, as well as uniting the brightest scientific minds to focus on this great medical challenge.”

The crowdfunding sector now looks set to grow further after the European report on the sector recognises its boost to business growth and job creation in Europe. The European Commission report on the EU crowdfunding sector recognises crowdfunding, as part of the new wave of digital technologies supporting economic growth in Europe.

Crowdfunding warrants consideration as part of the broader revolution in Financial Technology or ‘FinTech’ and the digitalisation of financial services, it's noted.

The report, produced by the European Commission’s Capital Markets Union (CMU), finds that crowdfunding remains relatively small but is developing rapidly and has the potential to be a key source of financing for SMEs over the long-term.

EU Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union, Jonathan Hill said: "As part of our work to improve the funding conveyor belt for businesses, we are keen to support the development of crowdfunding models as a source of financing for entrepreneurs with bright ideas, start-ups and other SMEs. Our focus is on promoting best practice, appropriate investor protection and consistency of national regimes. We will continue to monitor market and regulatory developments closely."

Regulation is likely to develop to promote and enhance the sector. EU Member States have already put in place national frameworks to support the growth of the sector and ensure investors are appropriately protected, however whilst these national frameworks are tailored to local markets and domestic regulatory approaches there is no “strong case for an EU level framework” at this stage says the Capital Markets Union.

Crowdfunding is an open call to the public to raise funding for a project. Crowdfunding platforms are websites that allow fundraisers, be they individuals or businesses, to interact with investors and donors. Financial pledges can be made and collected.

Crowdfunding is still small but growing fast in Europe according to the latest available data, with approximately €4.2 billion being raised through crowdfunding platforms in 2015 in the EU, compared with €1.6 billion in 2014. In 2015, €4.1 billion was raised through crowdfunding models that entail a possible financial return for those contributing the funds, for example, through equity investments or loans. Crowdfunding projects were present in all EU Member States. However, activity is currently concentrated in a small number of countries with the UK by far the largest site for crowdfunding per country, with the largest amount raised and number of projects funded.

Over 36,000 votes were submitted in the initiative organised by the charity, and the names Freedom and Liberty won by more than a third of the votes. The two Bald Eaglets and their parents have received over 35 million web views since a web cam was launched following the nesting activity was observed at the site in the nation's capital.

The non-profit American Eagle Foundation, which provides the high-definition streaming and web camera operation for the 'DC Eagle Cam' project, has also launched a special t-shirt fundraiser to help keep the project running.

The American Eagle Foundation specialises in Bald Eagle conservation and the protection of other birds of prey, and runs various programmes including national education campaigns.

The eagle family are sited in a Tulip Poplar tree in the grounds of the US National Arboretum. The parents were given the name Mr President and The First Lady.

After the eagle pair left their nest site in August 2015 for their annual migration, American Eagle Foundation staff travelled to Washington DC to install cameras, and equipment in-and-around the tree with the help of volunteers. The US Department of Agriculture's US National Arboretum ran a half-mile of fibre optic cable to the cameras ground control station, which connects the cameras to the Internet. The entire system is powered by a large mobile solar array containing several deep cycle batteries, that was designed and built by students and staff from Alfred State College, SUNY College of Technology and was partially funded by the Department of Energy and Environment. USNA has implemented a backup generator that will kick in if bad weather causes the solar array to provide insufficient power to the system.

The initiative was set up in partnership between the Church Urban Fund and the Archbishop’s Council with backing from the Department for Communities and Local Government. One element of the programme is a small grants fund, offering seed funding to local groups and organisations.

Communities Minister Baroness Williams explains: “Local people are best placed to know how they want their neighbourhoods to improve and Near Neighbours has a great track record in encouraging individuals from different backgrounds, faiths and cultures to come together on the issues and concerns that are most important to them.”

Near Neighbours works with various non-profit partners out of hubs in Bradford, Birmingham, the Black Country, Leicester, Luton and across London. The additional funding for the community integration and skills development project brings the total funding to £9.5 million.

Projects include an initiative that taught girls from different faith school sixth-forms to learn computer coding. The project in London brought youngsters together from Jewish, Muslim, and Roman Catholic schools. The interfaith project has since been adopted by the social media company as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility work. The project will now grow from supporting 30 to as many as 300.

To-date Near Neighbours partners have run events in local communities which have been attended by 60,000 people. The programme covers a range of activities including the arts, the environment and sport.

“For too many children in eastern Ukraine, simply walking to school could end their life, or result in life-changing injuries,” explains Giovanna Barberis, UNICEF Representative in Ukraine. "Since the beginning of the crisis, more than 55,000 unexploded landmines, shells and other ordnance have been found and removed - and we know this is just the tip of the iceberg. Our aim is to ensure that all children can safely get to class, study and play.”

In eastern Ukraine, Bloom met with schoolchildren receiving counselling from UNICEF-supported professionals to help them recover from trauma related to the conflict.

The problem is a global one however, says UNICEF, with more than 37 million primary and lower secondary children out of school and educational facilities continually forced to close due to conflicts and natural disasters. In Syria alone more than 6000 schools are out of use – attacked, occupied by the military or taken over as an emergency shelter. In North-East Nigeria and Cameroon more than 1,800 schools have been shut due to the crisis there.

“Education changes lives in emergencies,” explains Josephine Bourne, UNICEF’s Global Chief of Education. “Going to school keeps children safe from abuses like trafficking and recruitment into armed groups and is a vital investment in children’s futures and in the future of their communities. It is time education is prioritised by the international community as an essential part of basic humanitarian response, alongside water, food and shelter.”

The Education Cannot Wait report written by the Overseas Development Institute and commissioned by a range of partners including UNICEF, is proposing a new fund for education in emergencies. Despite the relative lack of fundraising campaigns focusing on education the report reveals that nearly one in six – or 75 million – children from pre-primary to upper-secondary age (3-18) living in nations affected by crises are classed as being in desperate need of educational support.

The Education Cannot Wait fund is being launched by UNICEF, and partners including UNHCR and the Global Partnership for Education.

Education Cannot Wait aims to raise nearly $4 billion to reach 13.6 million children in need of education in emergencies within 5 years, before reaching 75 million children by 2030.

“Education is providing children in eastern Ukraine with the building blocks to rebuild their lives in a safe and supportive environment,” explains Orlando Bloom. “Every child in humanitarian emergencies deserves a fair chance of a bright future.”

The detected distortion was less than a billionth of a billionth of a meter in size at LIGO’s two 4km observatories in Hanford, Washington and Livingston, Louisiana. The wave emanated from two black holes with masses about 30 times that of the sun, spiralling into each other 1.3 billion light years away. The discovery initiates a new era of gravitational wave astronomy, which is expected to open a window onto some of the most dramatic and violent phenomena in nature; as well as the mysteries about the origins of the universe.

Stephen Hawking, who won the Special Breakthrough Prize in 2013, said: “This discovery has huge significance: firstly, as evidence for general relativity and its predictions of black hole interactions, and secondly as the beginning of a new astronomy that will reveal the universe through a different medium. The LIGO team richly deserves the Special Breakthrough Prize.”

The Selection Committee of the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics announced its Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, recognising the scientists and engineers contributing to the historic detection of gravitational waves, the breakthrough that was initially announced on February 11, 2016.

LIGO’s gravitational wave detectors were conceived and R&D initiated in the 1960s. LIGO was built between 1994 and 2002 by Caltech and MIT in partnership with the National Science Foundation of the United States, with the aim of observing the gravitational waves predicted by Einstein's general theory of relativity. After a major upgrade from 2010 to 2015, it almost immediately observed a gravitational wave distorting the structure of spacetime as it passed through the Earth.

Edward Witten, the chair of the Selection Committee, said: “This amazing achievement lets us observe for the first time some of the remarkable workings of Einstein’s theory. Theoretical ideas about black holes which were close to being science fiction when I was a student are now reality.”

The $3 million award will be shared between two groups of laureates: the three founders of LIGO, who will each equally share $1 million; and 1012 contributors to the experiment, who will each equally share $2 million.

The founders are Ronald WP Drever, Caltech, professor of physics, emeritus; Kip S Thorne, Caltech, the Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics, emeritus; and Rainer Weiss, MIT, professor of physics, emeritus.

The contributors sharing the prize include 1005 authors of the paper describing the discovery of gravitational waves from the numerous institutions involved in LIGO and its sister experiment, the Virgo Collaboration. Also sharing the prize are seven scientists who made significant contributions to the success of LIGO.

The laureates will be recognised at a Prize ceremony in 2016, where the annual Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics (distinct from the special prize) will also be presented, along with the Breakthrough Prizes in Life Sciences and Mathematics. Nominations for these prizes are open until May 31, 2016.

A Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics can be awarded by the Selection Committee at any time, in addition to the Breakthrough Prize conferred through the ordinary annual nomination process. Previous winners of the special prize include seven leaders of the Large Hadron Collider teams that discovered the Higgs Boson.

The Breakthrough Prizes were founded by Sergey Brin and Anne Wojcicki, Jack Ma and Cathy Zhang, Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, and Yuri and Julia Milner. Selection committees composed of previous Breakthrough Prize laureates choose the winners.

The new rules promote competition and seek to protect consumers when they make payments, and promote the development and use of new online and mobile payments services, as well as enhance the safety of European payment services.

The adoption by the European Parliament of the revised Directive on Payment Services (PSD2) is the latest in a series of laws adopted by the EU, striving to support efficient and economical payment services and enhance protection for European consumers and businesses.

It’s a big development at the European regulatory level that affects charity fundraising and donations payments; as well as e-commerce and online business and consumer payments.

Commissioner Jonathan Hill, responsible for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union, said: "European consumers want to know that their payments are safe when they shop or make a payment online. The new Payment Services Directive will ensure that electronic payments in Europe become more secure and more convenient for European shoppers. This legislation is a step towards a digital single market; it will benefit consumers and businesses, and help the economy grow.”

The development has been identified as a major backing for innovation companies and organisations in the tech sphere, offering digital payment services, infrastructure and solutions. Some of the changes that the new rules usher in are the introduction of strict security requirements for the initiation and processing of electronic payments and the protection of consumer financial data.

Affecting consumers and organisations, PSD2 entered into force on January 12, 2016. The deadline for EU member states to implement PSD2 is January 13, 2018. The directive has now been published in the Official Journal of the EU.

David Hallett, of the financial technology payments solutions provider Xperedon, whose clients include NGOs and businesses, welcomes the boost for innovation.

David Hallett, CEO of Xperedon, said: “As a company at the forefront of innovation in cloud-based payment software and fundraising technology, we welcome efforts to recognise innovation within the online payments sector, and benefit international consumers and organisations.

“At Xperedon we pride ourselves on our international payments platform and e-commerce solutions. Xperedon is approved to handle online payment processing by the FCA in London, and provides secure payment processing accounts to all customers, covering Visa, MasterCard, Amex and PayPal payments worldwide, and with the ability to process in 4 currencies including Euro and GBP.

“Xperedon’s cloud-based e-commerce solution, with built-in multi-currency payment processing, plugs easily into websites and works with social media including Facebook.”

European-based financial technology company Xperedon provides system and payment solutions for philanthropy organisations and corporate clients around the world. Based in London, and Geneva, Xperedon has been developing bespoke digital solutions for businesses since 2010 using its proprietary cloud-based platform. The company’s solutions include turnkey solutions for credit card processing services, with a full suite of integrated fundraising tools and a comprehensive administration interface.

“As a cloud-based financial software development company working with leading organisations around the world, Xperedon has built a significant reputation for the quality of its solutions," explains Hallett.

“Started in 2008 and operational since 2010, Xperedon has invested over $11 million in developing a unique platform of adaptable, high-impact online tools that are used by organisations in both the private and non-profit sector.”

The European payment services directive changes also include new rules for the prohibition of surcharging, ie additional charges for the right to pay with a card, ie reducing costs for consumers. PSD2 impacts on a variety of payments and technology providers and is being recognised in many sectors as a boost to innovation, competition, and security at the European payments level.

In 2014, 164 elephants were poached in the country which significantly reduced to 96 in 2015. In 2014, 35 rhinoceroses were illegally killed compared to 11 in 2015.

In response to Kenya’s destruction of elephant ivory and rhino horn, the biggest ever event of its kind, Ginette Hemley, senior vice president of Wildlife Conservation at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), said: “Destroying such a vast stockpile of ivory and rhino horn sends a powerful signal that Kenya is committed to saving Africa’s most iconic species. At the same time, it’s a jarring reminder of the scale of the poaching epidemic that is emptying Africa’s forests and savannahs of precious wildlife.

“This dramatic action indicates that Kenya will take every possible step to safeguard its elephants for future generations, and highlights that it is on the right track in the fight against wildlife crime. Even as poaching across Africa hovers near record levels, the number of elephants and rhinos illegally killed in Kenya dropped almost by half from 2014 to 2015.

“But much more needs to be done, both in the places these animals are being killed, as well as in those countries where wildlife products are in high demand. The US, China, and Hong Kong recently stepped up with commitments to eliminate their own domestic ivory markets. Now all eyes are on these demand countries to show increasing leadership in the global fight against the illegal killing and trafficking of wildlife.

“Ultimately, it is through unified commitment and collaboration that we will make the most progress toward ending wildlife crime. Only by together addressing the poaching, trafficking, and demand will we be able to secure a future for elephants, rhinos, and countless other species threatened by this scourge.”

James Isiche, Regional Director International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) East Africa, says: "It is a massive quantity of ivory, representing all of Kenya's ivory stockpiles, apart from those retained as criminal exhibits, for posterity, education and scientific research."

"By burning this ivory and rhino horn and putting it beyond use Kenya has sent a very powerful message to criminals that they are absolutely serious about cracking down on trade in illegal ivory and rhino horn trade which, in turn, fuels the poaching that is decimating elephants and rhino populations."

Prof Judi Wakhungu, Cabinet Secretary, Kenya Ministry Of Environment, said: “The poaching of elephants and rhinos and illegal wildlife trade is a major problem across much of Africa, it threatens the very survival of these iconic species. Poaching is facilitated by international criminal syndicates and fuels corruption; it undermines the rule of law and security and in some cases, provides funding for other criminal activities. This not only harms the sustainable economic development of local communities but also national economies.

“Kenya remains committed to ensuring that elephants and rhinos are accorded the highest level of protection. Although the destruction of ivory and rhino horn will not in itself put an end to the illegal trade in these items, it demonstrates Kenya’s commitment to seeking a total global ban in the trade of ivory and rhino horn.”

The global award organisation's research reveals the public disproportionately associates the global refugee crisis with the situation in Syria, whilst demonstrating ignorance of other refugee crises including Myanmar, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Despite more than one million refugees coming from Sudan and South Sudan combined, only 8 per cent of the public recognise the scale of the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan, for example.

“What this report highlights is the urgent need to inform the public of the global refugee crisis; the defining humanitarian challenge of our time. A passionate and mobilised public is critical to both ensuring support for the investment necessary to alleviate human suffering and also to hold political leadership accountable for tackling the root causes of the crisis,” says Dominic MacSorley, Chief Executive Officer of the charity Concern Worldwide.

The research also uncovers some of the triggers that spur people to take positive actions in relation to the crisis. Twenty-seven per cent of those who have been compelled to take action on behalf of refugees have largely done so after hearing about a personal story, it's revealed and there is a lot of curiosity (nearly 40 per cent) to discover more stories about individual refugees and their experiences.

A number of other key findings were uncovered, including that the majority of respondents believe that international institutions are best placed to solve the refugee crisis. Global publics overwhelmingly agree (70 per cent) that it is down to international bodies to resolve the global refugee crisis.

Also, 71 per cent of the public have great respect for individuals who travel to conflict areas to deliver humanitarian aid and 69 per cent believe it takes great courage for aid workers to deliver humanitarian assistance to the people who need it most, despite risks to themselves.

“What is encouraging is that the research shows that although individuals might struggle to turn compassion into action, the public realises that those humanitarians who do intervene on behalf of others can have a tremendous impact,” said Vartan Gregorian, President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and a member of the Aurora Prize Selection Committee.

The research was commissioned by the Aurora Prize and conducted by Edelman Intelligence between March and April 2016. Interviews with 4,600 people were conducted online across six countries, France, Germany, Iran, Lebanon, UK, and US.

The Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity is granted annually to an individual whose actions have had a major impact on preserving human life and advancing humanitarianism.

The Aurora Prize Selection Committee includes Nobel Laureates Elie Wiesel, Oscar Arias, Shirin Ebadi and Leymah Gbowee; former President of Ireland Mary Robinson; human rights activist Hina Jilani; former Australian Foreign Minister and President Emeritus of the International Crisis Group Gareth Evans; President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York Vartan Gregorian; and actor and humanitarian campaigner George Clooney.

The UN refugee agency UNHCR says there are over 15 million refugees worldwide who are “of concern”, with the largest number in sub-Saharan Africa, followed by Asia and the Pacific.

2.3 million people have fled their homes since violence broke out in South Sudan in December 2013, 678,000 of them across borders as refugees and the rest displaced inside the country, says UNHCR.

Over 15,000 photos were submitted with more than 650,000 photo views over the course of the contest, which ran from May 1, 2015 through December 31, 2015.

Second place went to Koustubh Kulkarni of Johnson City for his photo along the 49 Palms Trail at Joshua Tree National Park in California. The shot catches five Big Horn sheep against an orange, yellow, pink, and blue sunset. Third place went to Sarah Gustafson of San Francisco for her self-portrait on the salt flats of Death Valley National Park in California.

The grand prize for the winning image was $10,000, followed by $5,000 and $3,000 for second and third place, in addition to outdoor gear provided by Celestron, plus hotel packages via Historic Hotels of America, and an annual Federal Recreational Lands Pass.

The National Park Foundation is the official charity of America’s national parks and the non-profit partner to the National Park Service. In 2016, commemorating the National Park Service’s 100th anniversary, the Foundation launched The Centennial Campaign for America’s National Parks, a $350 million fundraising campaign. All money raised will support the protection of the national parks.

“From its establishment in 1916, generous donors have helped the National Park Service innovate, discover, enhance, and achieve a level of excellence that these special places deserve,” National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis said. “As we look ahead to a second century of stewardship, the next generation of philanthropists will help the National Park Service continue to protect, preserve, and share some of America’s most special places...”

The 2016 Share the Experience photo contest, sponsored by the National Park Foundation and ACTIVE Network in partnership with the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, the US Army Corps of Engineers, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the US Forest Service, and Recreation.gov, is now accepting entries through December 31, with a $10,000 grand prize at stake.

The unique charity launched in 2014 and has since saved thousands of people from sinking boats in the Mediterranean.

The appeal is made as the latest incident brings the total number of people who have died in the Mediterranean this year to 1,261 refugees, according to data from the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.

The recent tragedy also occurs within days of the one year anniversary of the single biggest maritime disaster on record linked to the migrant crisis, which occurred on April 18th, 2015, when a boat carrying 850 people sunk 85 miles off Libya. The vessel went down within minutes, taking with it hundreds of people stuck inside. Two weeks later, search and rescue charity MOAS (Migrant Offshore Aid Station) launched its first operation in the Central Mediterranean Sea.

International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports an estimated 181,476 migrants and refugees have entered Europe by sea in 2016, arriving in Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Spain.

MOAS was set up in 2014 by Christopher and Regina Catrambone and has saved more than 13,000 lives to-date. The charity's rescue team positions itself at sea in critical migrant routes such as the Central Mediterranean Sea, the Aegean Sea and the Andaman Sea.

MOAS operates its life-saving mission on vessels including the MOAS Responder, which is fully-equipped to conduct mass rescue and post-rescue care. MOAS coordinates with stakeholders including the Hellenic Coast Guard, NGOs, fisherman and volunteers to rescue those in danger. The Responder is also able to deploy two fast 30-knot rescue boats.

The charity is currently seeking funding to allow it to continue its rescue operations.

The ceremony, held the first day the Paris Agreement was open for signature, marked the initial step toward ensuring the agreement enters into force. The agreement can enter into force 30 days after 55 countries, accounting for 55 per cent of global emissions, deposit their instruments of ratification.

“The world will have met the requirement needed for the Paris Agreement to enter into force,” said United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, “If all 175 countries that have signed...take the next step at the national level and join the agreement.”

Several countries announced plans to join the agreement in 2016, including Australia, Argentina, Cameroon, Canada, China, France, Mali, Mexico, Philippines, and the United States. Other countries, including Brazil, the European Union, and the Russian Federation, pledged to swiftly work to complete the necessary steps for joining the agreement.

Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), described the progress as "a remarkable, record-breaking day in the history of international cooperation on climate change and a sustainable future for billions of people...”

“The urgency now is to implement the Paris Agreement’s visionary pathways at a speed and scale that can deliver the next crucial steps; namely a swift peaking of global emissions, a climate neutral world in the second half of the century and the building of resilient countries and communities for every man, woman and child.”

The Paris Agreement marked a major step in taking action on climate change. After years of negotiation, countries agreed to limit global temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius, while pursuing efforts to keep temperature rise to 1.5 degrees.

Commenting on the signing of the Paris climate agreement by world leaders and what needs to happen next, Craig Bennett, Friends of the Earth CEO, said: “The Paris Agreement could go down in history. The moment the world came together to prevent even more dangerous climate change: saving lives and preventing the destruction of homes and livelihoods.

"But it is clear this is just the first step. We know we must keep the rise in global temperatures under 1.5°C if we are to prevent the effects of catastrophic climate change.

“This will require people and politicians to go beyond what is outlined in the Paris Agreement. We must move to a low carbon economy; starting by leaving fossil fuels in the ground and seriously increasing our commitment to renewable energy.

“People are calling this decade zero. The time where we must act on climate change or lose our moment to do so. Governments promised to pursue efforts to keep global temperature rises below 1.5°C - to make history...this must become a reality.”

Jennifer Morgan, Executive Director of Greenpeace International, said: “For so many countries to sign at the first opportunity is a real indication of the overwhelming support to turn the Paris Agreement into accelerated climate action. The decisions in the Paris Agreement now need to be incorporated into government and corporate decisions by breaking free from fossil fuels.”

Bunny McDiarmid, fellow Executive Director of Greenpeace International, said: “More people than ever before mobilised for the public good and our climate in 2015; this global wave of people power helped deliver the agreement in Paris. The people will stay vigilant until fossil fuels are history and climate justice is delivered.”

Sandara Kelso-Robb, Strategic Advisor to Giving Northern Ireland, explains organisers are hoping to put the spotlight on the successes of the charity sector in communities across the country, while exploring new ways of promoting and developing strategic giving.

“Philanthropy Fortnight is all about looking at ways that we can be more strategic, more focused so we can continue to achieve tangible benefits for society. This year’s programme looks at all aspects of philanthropy and celebrates the massive contribution it makes to disadvantaged communities,” says Kelso-Robb.

Northern Ireland’s fourth annual festival of charitable giving was launched at Clifton House, a former poor house built in the 18th century by the Belfast Charitable Society.

The two week series of workshops, seminars and networking events run until April 29, with organisations involved including Giving Northern Ireland, the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland, Fermanagh Trust, Northern Ireland Environment Link, Will to Give, The Youth and Philanthropy Initiative, Arts and Business Northern Ireland and Audiences Northern Ireland.

Andrew McCracken, Chief Executive of the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland, says: “The Community Foundation’s experience is that there are many local donors who want to make a difference through contributing to causes that matter to them. Philanthropy Fortnight provides a fantastic opportunity for all of the organisations involved to engage with the growing levels of philanthropy in Northern Ireland and really focus on how best to support local communities.”

The programme for Philanthropy Fortnight features topics looking at a variety of issues including ways to encourage more young people to get involved in philanthropy and charitable causes.

On Friday April 29, the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland is running: The Lunchtime Philanthropist, a short workshop session in Belfast at The Mac, exploring how anyone can become a philanthropist, and what ways organisations and communities can best encourage philanthropy in Northern Ireland.

IFIP, the global professional association for the ICT sector, outlines in its policy paper recommendations to ensure that cloud computing has positive social, organisational and environmental consequences.

For many organisations the use of ICT services "ondemand" is an opportunity that offers great “flexibility and innovation”, the paper states.

The policy paper, entitled, “Towards a Human-Centred Cloud Computing: an International Perspective on the Public Interest”, was developed by IFIP’s Domain Committee on Cloud Computing (DCCC) a collaboration of technical experts from across its network.

The NGO's policy paper outlines recommendations to ensure that cloud computing has positive consequences, with a focus on issues such as privacy and security as well as positive social, organisational and environmental impact.

Norberto Patrignani, DCCC Chair and Senior Associate Lecturer in Computer Ethics at the Doctorate School of Politecnico of Torino, said the policy paper has been the result of 18 months work by the group to identify and articulate the key issues relating to the cloud.

“Cloud computing is one of the biggest leaps we’ve seen in the evolution of computing and is transforming the way information is managed and accessed,” said Patrignani.

“The shift back to centralised architecture where users and organisations consume on-demand resources provided by very large data centres and service centres makes it critical that we take steps to ensure that the cloud and its underlying infrastructure are implemented and managed responsibly and ethically.”

Patrignani says cloud computing has significant potential social, organisational and environmental impacts which will need to be managed proactively to ensure positive outcomes of this transformational shift.

The IFIP DCCC policy paper includes recommendations for organisations, individuals and public policy makers, outlining the risks to be managed as well as opportunities for new efficiencies and improvements in information flow.

For instance, for public policy makers it suggests national and regional authorities should “encourage their agencies to consider adoption of cloud computing solutions for sharing services and resources, reducing costs, standardize applications, and optimizing processes.”

National authorities should also encourage the wise use of ICT, eg in functional optimisation, processes streamlining, dematerialisation, but should also "increase awareness about the impact on climate change", for example, due to the powering of large data-centres and the production, use, and disposal of ICT itself.

The paper also notes that the “scientific community is looking at cloud computing with interest since the cloud, with the promise of theoretically unlimited availability of computing power, can be an immense resource for scientific applications.” National authorities should encourage “collection of computing resources that can be made available to the scientific community for public research,” it suggests.

IFIP, established under the auspices of UNESCO, has a membership of over half a million and represents ICT professional associations in over 50 countries and regions.

“The DC Eagle Cam has become an incredible tool to educate and inspire the public to protect our national bird,” says AEF Founder and President Al Cecere. “We hope that by the time the eaglets fledge, viewers will have gained a greater sense of understanding, involvement and enthusiasm when it comes to Bald Eagle and wildlife conservation.”

The eagles are sited in a Tulip Poplar tree in the grounds of the US National Arboretum. The American Eagle Foundation is now asking the public to help name the birds as part of its conservation awareness campaign. Viewers were initially encouraged to suggest names that are gender-neutral or names that can be cleverly altered to fit either a male or a female, as the sex of the two eaglets may not be determined until a later date. Thousands of names have been submitted via a hashtag campaign, and now five of the most popular suggested name pairs are being put to a final public vote, including the names Stars and Stripes. The final two names will be announced at a public event at the US National Arboretum on April 26, 2016.

The DC Eagle Cam project is the result of a cooperative effort. The American Eagle Foundation installed cameras, infrared lighting, and other equipment in-and-around the nest tree with the help of volunteers and experienced tree climbers. The US National Arboretum, which is directed by the USDA Agricultural Research Service, ran a half-mile of fibre optic cable to the cameras ground control station to connect the cameras to the Internet. The entire system is powered by a large mobile solar array that was designed and built by students and staff from Alfred State College, SUNY College of Technology and was partially funded by the Department of Energy and Environment. USNA has also implemented a backup generator in case weather problems cause the solar array to provide insufficient power to the system. The US Fish and Wildlife Service has also been a supporter in the project. The high-definition streaming of the cameras is being hosted and funded by the American Eagle Foundation via their website.

Unilever topped the sustainability ranking report followed by Nestlé with both scoring high on climate change policies.

The scorecard tracks ten major global brands and ranks performance on seven key issues: climate change, water, women, workers, smallholder farmers, land and transparency.

Kellogg (up 30 per cent) and Unilever (up 26 per cent) made the most progress across all issues since Oxfam's Behind the Brands campaign began in February 2013, says the charity. However, despite progress companies improved the least on the rights of workers followed by water and transparency, claims Oxfam.

Erinch Sahan, Oxfam's acting Head of Private Sector, said: "Despite some strong progress over the past three years, there is still a lot of work to do. The Big 10 must now substantially change their business models in order to deliver on their promises and ensure that workers and small-scale producers get a living wage throughout their supply chains. This could make a huge impact in helping fight poverty.

"Giving more power and economic value to farmers, workers and food producing communities will not only be good for all of us, but also for the companies bottom lines in the long run."

The report The Journey to Sustainable Food: A three-year update on the Behind the Brands campaign, calls for the “need to transform the dominant models of business that dictate how food is produced, traded and processed. This needs to result in more power and more economic value shifting to farmers, workers and communities..."

In the report Unilever achieved the overall top spot, with Nestlé second and Coca-Cola third.

The charity Feedback and its partners are hosting a series of Feeding the 5000 events in New York City (Tuesday, May 10th, 11am-4pm in Union Square) and Washington DC (Wednesday, May 18th, 11am-4pm in Woodrow Wilson Plaza at the Ronald Regan Building and International Trade Center).

Each event provides 5,000 members of the public with a free meal, made from fresh quality ingredients that would have otherwise been wasted. In New York, the food, will be prepared in the kitchens of Great Performances Catering and Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen and will furnish an additional 5,000 meals to City Harvest's network of local foodbanks and soup kitchens. The Washington DC meal will be procured and prepared by DC Central Kitchen with support from various partners.

Each event will also showcase the work of partner organisations combating food waste and will highlight issues linked to the global food waste crisis and the practical solutions available.

"Worldwide, there is growing recognition of the colossal problem of avoidable and unnecessary food waste. Thankfully, there is also a growing awareness of the menu of delicious solutions that exist to tackle it," said Tristram Stuart, founder of the Feedback charity. "Feeding the 5000 events are designed to celebrate these efforts while simultaneously empowering the general public to make informed decisions about buying and using food, and to demand change from the food industry. Supermarkets in particular must recognise that it's no longer acceptable to discard food in dumpsters and cause farmers to waste crops while people go hungry. It's up to us the public to recognise that every forkful, trip to the fridge, or visit to a grocery store is an opportunity to take a stand against food waste."

Feedback, based in London, UK has been involved in various food waste awareness events including over 34 Feeding the 5000 events in locations including Paris, Dublin and Barcelona.

Feedback is now teaming up with American partners to operate events and campaigns across the USA. The launch has been supported by The Rockefeller Foundation.

"We are incredibly excited to support this coordinated campaign, which we view as an important step in a worldwide effort to reduce food waste by half," said Dr Zia Khan, Vice President for Initiatives and Strategy at The Rockefeller Foundation. "Food waste is an immense global problem, but it's one with solutions readily at hand... these events demonstrate how we all have a role to play, whether at home, while dining out, within retail supply chains, and across many other sectors."

Feeding the 5000 partners include: City Harvest, Sustainable America, Food Tank, Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen (NYC); Food Recovery Network, and Capital Area Food Bank (DC).

"Through theses medical missions, we seek to serve the medical needs of Syrian and other refugees in Greece by sending a group of doctors, nurses, medics, mental health specialists, and dentists to several camps," said Dr Naveed Iqbal, vice chairman of SGR. "Additionally, we are looking into opening several clinics and hiring local healthcare providers to provide consistent medical care to camped refugees."

In collaboration with UNHCR and the Greek Ministry of Migrants, a group of eight doctors, and nurses, of different specialties from the US, Europe, and Saudi Arabia travelled to Greece for a week to provide medical care in mobile clinics to refugees.

According to UNHCR, more than 55,000 refugees are currently in Greece living in 15 different makeshift camps around the country. The main refugee camp is located in Idomeni, where more than 10,000 people, including 4,000 children, are living.

"Today, the world is witnessing the worst refugee crisis since World War II," said Dr Zaher Sahloul, SGR Chair.

"When they arrive in Greece after a long and dangerous journey, refugees spend 45 days to two months, sometimes even longer, at these makeshift camps with no access to quality healthcare. It is our duty to address their medical needs and galvanise the international community to act now and put an end to this tragedy."

The £40m charity-backed study will involve imaging the brain, heart, bones, carotid arteries and abdominal fat of 100,000 current participants of UK Biobank, a project set up in 2006 by the MRC and Wellcome Trust to create a research resource of half a million people across the UK to improve health.

Cathie Sudlow, Professor of Neurology and Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh, and UK Biobank’s Chief Scientist, explains: “This very large number of participants involved in the multimodal imaging study is impressive enough. But what makes it truly transformational is the opportunity to combine the rich imaging data with the wealth of other information already available or being collected from participants, particularly their health and diseases during follow-up for many years to come.”

The multi-organ scans will be analysed alongside data already collected from UK Biobank participants and hopes to give new perspectives on the best way to prevent and treat multi-faceted conditions like arthritis, coronary heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease and osteoporosis.

Dr Sara Marshall, Head of Clinical Research at the Wellcome Trust, said: “Capturing such a vast number of images of the human body, in both health and illness, will chronicle disease in a way never attempted before.

“Each day we’re discovering more and more about how genetics and lifestyle play a part in the onset and development of diseases, but this extra piece of the puzzle, seeing physical changes even before symptoms develop, will give us a completely new perspective on how we can prevent and treat them.”

The initiative hopes to lead to innovative ways to analyse and interpret scans, with multiple potential benefits.

An initial study of 8,000 participants has already been completed at a purpose-built scanning facility at UK Biobank’s headquarters in Stockport, which is now being used for the main study.