Red Cross to cut 2,900 jobs, slash budget as donors reduce support

As international donors turn away from humanitarian aid, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will drastically reduce its operations in 2026, cutting almost one-fifth of its annual budget and causing 2,900 jobs.

In a statement released on Friday, ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric said, “We are facing a dangerous convergence of escalating armed conflicts, significant cuts to aid funding, and a systemic tolerance for grave violations of international humanitarian law.”

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The organization acknowledged that its spending will decrease by $2.2 billion and that a “financial crisis of unprecedented proportions” is roiling the aid industry.

The United States is still the ICRC’s largest donor, a spokesperson said, reflecting funding declines from other traditional backers like the United Kingdom and Germany, but the organization has decreased its contributions this year.

Spoljaric reaffirmed that “the ICRC is still committed to working on the front lines of conflict where few others can operate,” but that “the financial reality is compelled to make difficult decisions to ensure we can continue to provide essential humanitarian assistance to those who need it most.”

As conflict, displacement, and need continue to rise, humanitarian organizations are forced to use their budgets to fund defense and security.

America First

Under President Donald Trump, whose “America First” agenda has changed spending priorities, Washington has recently changed its approach to foreign aid.

The Geneva-based organization underwent one of its most significant restructurings in decades as a result of the combined cuts. The ICRC was established in Geneva in 1863, where the job losses totaled roughly 15% of its 18,500-strong workforce.

To keep its main objective in mind, the organization announced the merger of departments, simplified management, and concentrated on front-line conflict operations. The ICRC vowed to keep operating in Sudan, Ukraine, Israel, Palestinian territory occupied by Israel, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and in spite of the reduced budget.

Around a third of staffing reductions are due to voluntary departures or unfilled positions.

Zelenskyy says US peace plan puts Ukraine in difficult bind

NewsFeed

After speaking with US Vice President JD Vance, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine agreed to work with the US and Europe to create a peace plan with Russia. Prior to this, he told the nation that a US proposal that offers significant concessions to Russia is in its most difficult phase.

US government to nix October inflation report after history-making shutdown

In response to the recent government shutdown, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has announced that it won’t release inflation data for the month of October.

Even now that government funding has been restored and normal operations have resumed, the bureau updated its website to state that some October data will no longer be available.

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Due to a lapse in funding, BLS was unable to collect the October 2025 reference period survey data, according to a statement. BLS is unable to collect these data retroactively.

The Real Earnings summary and the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a report that is frequently used to determine inflation by determining how much money is spent on retail items, are among the data that have been cancelled.

The bureau stated that it would use “nonsurvey data sources” to make calculations for some reports, including the Consumer Price Index, that would be included in a upcoming November report.

On December 18, the November Consumer Price Index will be released later than anticipated.

The longest government shutdown in US history lasted for nearly 43 days.

After the US Congress missed a deadline to pass legislation to keep the government funded on September 30, it began on October 1.

Republicans had hoped to pass a resolution that would not alter the current spending levels. Democrats had argued that some US citizens were unable to access healthcare because of recent restrictions on government programs.

Additionally, they issued a warning that the Affordable Care Act’s insurance subsidies are scheduled to expire by the end of the fiscal year. They predicted that many Americans’ insurance premiums would rise without a further increase in those subsidies.

Republicans resisted engaging in negotiations until their continuing resolution was passed. Democrats feared that there would be no more opportunity to address healthcare spending before the year’s end if the continuing resolution was passed without making any changes.

As a result, there was a deadlock between the two parties. During the shutdown, non-essential government tasks were put on hold, and many federal employees were forced to work.

A breakthrough only started to emerge on November 10. A budget bill passed by seven Democrats and one independent late that night to pass the government funding bill through January 30.

The House of Representatives approved the bill on November 12th, 222 to 209. The legislation was signed into law on the same day as Donald Trump.

Trump had made an explicit effort to use the shutdown to obliterate federal programs that he thought would be beneficial to Democratic strongholds.

He also made an attempt to blame the political left for the government services’ lapse, even though he acknowledged the public’s outcry against Republicans after Democrats won crucial elections in November.

He stated at a breakfast for Republican senators on November 5 that “the shutdown was a big factor, negative for the Republicans” if you read the pollsters. That played a significant role, they said.

The shutdown had already caused a warning by the Trump administration in October that the month’s consumer price data would suffer.

Trump’s economic record was praised while a potential data collection error was slammed by Trump officials in a White House statement. Once more, they pointed fingers at the Democrats for any slowed economic growth.

The Democratic Shutdown, according to the statement, “risks grinding that progress to a halt.”

The White House has discovered that, for the first time in history, there won’t likely be an inflation release because surveyors can’t go there on the ground, putting the burden on policymakers and the markets for fear of an economic calamity.

The most recent consumer price index data since September revealed a 3.5% increase in inflation across all retail products over the previous 12-month period.

For food alone, inflation for that time period was thought to be 3.1%.

Who owns your For You page?

We ask whether the more media ownership will lead to a more restrictive narrative.

Concerns about media consolidation and its effects on free speech have recently been raised by recent developments in American tech and media. With Oracle proposed to manage TikTok’s algorithm for security reasons, the US government is pushing ByteDance to reduce its influence over the platform. Concerns about media ownership centralization are raised even more by Skydance Media’s $ 8 billion merger with Paramount Global.

Presenter: Stefanie Dekker

Guests:

Syed Hemu Rahman, a founder of a startup and a freelance journalist

Audrey Henson, a journalist and creator of investigative content

India implements sweeping labour reforms despite union opposition

Four long-delayed labor codes, which the government claims will modernize outdated regulations and give millions of workers stronger protections, will be implemented in India, according to the government’s announcement.

On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated on X that the overhaul would “provide a strong foundation for universal social security, minimum and timely payment of wages, safe workplaces, and remuneration opportunities.”

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He claimed that the adjustments would increase productivity and promote job creation.

With expanded social security and portable rights that apply to everyone, the labor ministry said the reforms place “workers, especially women, youth, unorganised, gig and migrant workers, firmly at the center of labour governance.”

The government claims that combining 29 fragmented laws with four unified codes for wages, employment, and social security will make compliance easier and increase investment-friendly India.

Businesses have long criticized many of India’s existing labor laws because they are complicated, inconsistent, and prevent companies from scaling up manufacturing, which still accounts for less than 20% of the country’s nearly $4 trillion gross domestic product (GDP).

The new regulations codify reforms that were approved by the legislature in 2020 but which have been delayed for years due to political opposition and union pressure.

Significant shifts in factory management are made as a result of the reforms. Women now have the right to work night shifts, longer working hours can be extended, and a new 100-to-300 worker threshold has been raised for companies that require prior layoff approval.

Opposition in the union

Officials claim that this flexibility will entice businesses to expand without a need for lengthy bureaucratic delays.

The codes provide legal recognition and expanded social protection to a rapidly expanding labor force for the first time, and they also define gig and platform work.

By 2030, according to government projections, the gig economy will have attracted a significant increase from the gig economy’s 10 million workers in 2024/25.

Small and informal businesses may initially be put under pressure by the changes, according to economists, but they may eventually lead to higher household incomes.

According to Devendra Kumar Pant of India Ratings &amp, Research, speaking to the Reuters news agency, “they may hurt small, unorganized firms in the short term, but in the long run, it could be good for both working conditions and consumption” .