In the media

Haiti’s earthquake generated a $9bn response – where did the money go?

Published in Monday January 14th, 2013 In In the media

Saturday marked the third anniversary of the tragic earthquake in Haiti that claimed between 230,000 and 300,000 lives. The grim landmark has prompted much discussion about the struggles surrounding reconstruction and also some hope about what may come next.
Most observers agree that the international response to the quake was overwhelming. Haiti received an unprecedented amount of support: more than $9bn (£5.6bn) in public and private donations. Official bilateral and multilateral donors pledged $13bn and, according to the UN Office of the Special Envoy for Haiti, almost 50% of these pledges ($6bn) have been disbursed. Private donations are estimated at $3bn.

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Bank Deal Ends Flawed Reviews of Foreclosures in the US

Published in Friday January 11th, 2013 In In the media

Federal banking regulators are trumpeting an $8.5 billion settlement this week with 10 banks as quick justice for aggrieved homeowners, but the deal is actually a way to quietly paper over a deeply flawed review of foreclosed loans across America, according to current and former regulators and consultants.
To avoid criticism as the review stalled and consultants collected more than $1 billion in fees, the regulators, led by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, abandoned the effort after examining a sliver of nearly four million loans in foreclosure, the regulators and consultants said.

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Home ownership dreams in booming Beijing

Published in Thursday January 10th, 2013 In In the media

It was a bargain China’s zealous real estate buyers couldn’t refuse: at the East Asia Impressions Lake compound in suburban Beijing, apartments were selling for just 13,000 yuan ($2,086; £1,282) per square metre.
Similar apartments located closer to Beijing’s central business district cost approximately 20,000 yuan per square metre, according to Savills, a global real estate broker. In comparison, an average flat near London’s financial centre costs 50,000 yuan, while in New York the figure rises to a whopping 68,000 yuan.

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In India, Delhi Chief Minister will regularise all unauthorised colonies

Published in Wednesday January 9th, 2013 In In the media

Promising to construct three lakh houses for low and middle income families in national capital, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Saturday said she will get all unauthorised colonies regularised as soon as possible.
Assuring that her government would not allow any house or colony to be demolished, Dikshit, who was addressing a convention of representatives of unauthorised colonies falling under ridge or Archaeological Survey of India’s land here, conceded that the government had failed to provide housing to migrant population due to which the problem of unauthorised colonies had arisen.

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With disasters on the rise, relief is the problem

Published in Tuesday January 8th, 2013 In In the media

The popular perception that natural disasters are on the rise has now been confirmed. Private insurers are preparing for rough weather, and governments would do well to heed calls for more precautionary measures.
Munich Re, the world’s largest re-insurer, had little good news to report in its January 3 wrap-up of disasters in 2012. Hurricane Sandy, droughts in the American Midwest, an Italian earthquake, a series of Midwest tornadoes and Typhoon Bopha in the Philippines were just five of the more than 900 events worldwide that caused $160 billion-worth of damage (122 billion euros) to the worldwide economy.

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Fires Rip Through Cape Town Slum in South Africa

Published in Friday January 4th, 2013 In In the media

At least three people died and thousands were left homeless after several fast-moving fires swept through a crowded slum at the edge of Cape Town on Tuesday, the South African Press Association reported. The fires broke out in a crowded township called Khayelitsha just before dawn, catching many residents as they slept.

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New rights for the homeless come into force in Scotland

Published in Friday January 4th, 2013 In In the media

Legislation which aims to effectively end homelessness in Scotland has come into force. The change entitles anyone finding themselves homeless through no fault of their own to settled accommodation. Previously, only those classed as being in priority need – often families with children – had that right. It meets Scotland’s historic 2012 homelessness commitment, first set 10 years ago by the Labour/Lib Dem government.

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Halt eviction of Delhi slum dwellers

Published in Thursday January 3rd, 2013 In In the media

Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister Ajay Maken Thursday asked Delhi Lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna to halt the eviction of slum dwellers and vendors. Maken wrote to Khanna accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party-controlled civic agencies of “blatantly violating” a central law by evicting slum dwellers and vendors without affording them rehabilitation.

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Kenyan police murder four squatters during eviction

Published in Wednesday January 2nd, 2013 In In the media

Four people have been killed and ten others seriously injured when police opened fire on squatters protesting about being evicted from the 1200 acre Twiga Estate farm in Kenya, which they have lived on since 1952. 152 families (4,000 people) have been living on the farm since 1952, but claim they have owned the land since 1965 when itwas given to them by a white settler. They built homes and schools, and farmed the land for over 60 years.

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Flood Disaster Overwhelmed Our Capacity, says NEMA in Nigeria

Published in Wednesday January 2nd, 2013 In In the media

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Thursday said the country’s resources and response capacity were seriously over-stretched by the magnitude of the recent massive flooding that ravaged 19 states of the federation. The agency likened the magnitude of the Bayalsa flood as almost close to what occurred in Haiti where earthquake nearly made the entire country impassable.

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