Over one hundred young people have scored with the “Give A Kid A Goal” initiative, as a charity graduation ceremony rewards their achievements in Scotland this week.

The Anglican Bishop of Kurunagala in Sri Lanka, the Rt Revd Kumara lllangasinghe, has written to Anglican churches throughout the world to appeal for crisis aid for refugee casualties following the bloody end to the war there.

Two aid and development groups, both Geneva-based, with similar names and backers, have announced they are to unite and will formally launch in March 2010 as the ACT Alliance, which will have access to billions of dollars.

Besides hundreds of civilian deaths, Gaza lost 14,000 houses, 260 factories and 240 school buildings during the recent onslaught from the Israeli armed forces, an international aid conference has heard.

As the bleak economic climate forces NGOs to scale back staff, human resource experts say managers should focus as much on developing skilled staff for the long term as they have on cutting back.

Barack Obama’s election victory is a “momentous day” for the international community and offers renewed hope to millions of people around the world who live in poverty, Catholic development agency Progressio has declared.

International aid agencies are struggling to get access to hundreds of thousands of people displaced in the recent escalation of conflict in Congo’s Democratic Republic.

London teenager Zoe Oputah will make her recording debut after winning a national gospel talent competition, raising money and awareness for the anti-poverty work of UK-based international development agency Christian Aid.

Douglas Alexander, UK secretary of state for international development, has presented honorary OBE to Dr Daleep Mukarji, director of Christian Aid, in recognition of a career dedicated to the struggle against global poverty.

The United Nations is warning that more than half a million people are in need of emergency assistance after storms Fay, Gustav and Hanna battered the island of Haiti. Church and development groups are responding with urgent aid.