Development Minister Paavo Väyrynen is under fire in Finland. He is using selectively the results of a public opinion survey to justify further shifts on policies - away from budget support and towards areas where Finland excels.

Experts warn: massive carbon forestry aid could hurt poor

A coalition of forestry experts urges “governments of conscience", like Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom, to make forest funding conditional on the recognition of customary and equitable land rights.

Sweden considers budget support for Palestine

A new Swedish aid strategy opens for possibility of giving budget support to the Palestinian government. Sweden had earlier rejected the use of this type of aid to the Palestinians due to the fear of corruption.

UN caught in ideological stand-off between West and G77

In an interview with Development Today, the former chief of the UNDP Mark Malloch Brown says he hopes the agency will not be weakened by reduced funding as a result of the recent controversy over the agency’s human rights policy. UNDP, he says, has got caught up in the ideological turbulence between the West and the G77.

Sweden invited to Palestinian donor group

The main international body for policy dialogue on Palestinian aid is the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee, chaired by Norway. The United States, Japan, the European Commission and the Bretton Woods agencies are important members of the committee, while many large European donors have been kept in the wings, largely due to EC and US resistance to letting them join.

Three auditors of Sida-financed projects receive professional reprimand

Three Swedish auditors have received a formal reprimand for giving a clean bill of health to Sida-financed NGO projects in Africa that were found to have faulty accounts.

Off the Dar with the Queen

The Danish Foreign Ministry invites Danish businesses to join an official business delegation to Tanzania in connection with the visit to the country this November by Queen Margrethe and Crown Prince Frederik.