Elections in East Timor © Irene Slegt/Progressio

Latest news on development issues and from Progressio's projects around the world:

Progressio welcomes Pope’s speech condemning “insatiable consumption” (17 Jul 2008 )
Progressio today welcomed Pope Benedict XVI’s stark message on the environment, which warned of the perils of pillaging the planet’s natural resources.

UK Government must boost support for East Timor (15 Jul 2008 )
Progressio has called on the British government to fulfil its responsibilities to the people of East Timor, following a quarter-century of violence during which the UK supplied arms to Indonesian forces that illegally occupied East Timor until 1999.

G8 fails to tackle root causes of food crisis, says Progressio (10 Jul 2008 )
G8 countries need to do more to tackle the root causes of the global food crisis that rich countries have themselves created, said Progressio at the close of the G8 summit.

The Church: A Challenge for Mugabe (9 Jul 2008 )
Zimbabwean churches could provide the 'ultimate challenge' for practising Catholic Robert Mugabe as the African leader seeks to legitimise his recent re-election, Progressio's Steve Kibble writes in The New Statesman.

Environmental Challenges Ahead, Terminator Ban Remains (4 Jul 2008 )
A 'worrying' range of potential threats to sustainable agriculture, biodiversity and the livelihoods of the world’s poorest communities emerged at the recent meeting of signatories to UN’s Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD), Progressio said in a briefing to MPs this week.

Progressio tells UN: 'We need a new vision of development' (3 Jul 2008 )
The world’s most critical environmental and social problems will only be solved by 'a new vision of development', declared Progressio’s Head of Advocacy Joanne Green at a summit meeting of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in New York this week.

Zimbabwe: Church Figures Speak Out (30 Jun 2008 )

Senior church figures have spoken out against Robert Mugabe's re-election and urged the international community to do more to help the people of Zimbabwe in the aftermath of last Friday's vote.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, speaking on the BBC's flagship political programme The Andrew Marr Show, said he thought there was a "very good argument" for an international force to restore peace in Zimbabwe, providing action is carried out under the auspices of the United Nations.

Progressio boosts communications (27 Jun 2008 )
Catholic advocacy and development charity Progressio has boosted its communications team with the appointment of a Communications Manager, a Media Officer and a Campaigns Officer.

Zimbabwe: Ecumenical networks call for international intervention (26 Jun 2008 )
International intervention is essential to protect the people of Zimbabwe as hopes for a legitimate election fade, ecumenical networks said this week. In a joint statement, CIDSE, APRODEV and the Ecumenical Zimbabwe network – which comprise over 53 faith-based, development and humanitarian organisations – called on the international community to act 'immediately to ensure ballots are not replaced by bullets'.

Immediate Action Needed on Zimbabwe as Controversial Election Results Emerge (1 Apr 2008 )
International development agencies, Progressio, Tearfund, Trócaire and FEPA are calling for immediate action to stop what appears to impartial observers as government-led election rigging of Zimbabwe's March 29th polls.