o Police in Kent have arrested eight men as part of an investigation into charity fraud involving money given to help people in Syria. The arrests follow the seizing at Dover in January of more than £45,000 in sterling, dollars and euros from four charities, money the police believe was to be used for criminal or terrorist activities.

The fact that cash was being transported, rather than payments being made electronically, raised suspicions.

People wanting to give money to help in the Syria crisis are advised to first check a charity’s legitimacy on the website of the Charity Commission, which also now contains Safer Giving advice.

o The head of a Worcester-based charity that has carried out work in Syria, Burma, Kashmir and Palestine was recently filmed with his arms around two masked gunmen carrying AK47 assault rifles, prompting concerns about what the money the charity was raising was being used for.

The charity, Al-Fatiha Global is currently being investigated for its financial dealings by the Charity Commission, and its accounting procedures.

According to the World Economic Forum Syria is the fourth worst place in the world to be a woman. The organisation measures gender disparities in education, economics, health and politics and only Yemen, Pakistan and Chad have higher gender gaps.

Whilst some sectors of society, politicians perhaps, might be enjoying an economic recovery many are still struggling.

A poll by MoneySupermarket.com suggests that more than 30 million of us are in the red, excluding mortgages, with 75% having a credit card balance to pay off, and 40% of those using their cards to cover day to day expenses. Banks are owed money by 50% of us, and 10% of us owe payday loan companies, charging usurious rates of interest. The anticipated rise in interest rates may help those who can save but could severely hurt borrowers.

A new charity providing proof of animal cruelty to animal welfare charities is being formed.

Ethical Pup will have a website and phone app allowing people to send photos and videos of animal cruelty anonymously to charities that have the funds to take legal action, and is being set up by actress Heidi Mumford after being inspired by whistleblowing website WikiLeaks.

Violent criminals, including child-abusers often have a history of animal cruelty when younger.

Meanwhile the RSPCA is investigating reports that two six year-old boys fed a live tabby cat to two dogs in Highfields, Doncaster.

The Coeliac Society has warned that even a crumb of gluten can make someone with Coeliac disease ill, and that around 500,000 people in the UK have the disease and don’t know it, around 85% of sufferers.

This information has been released to coincide with Coeliac Awareness Week (12-18th May) and other points are:- Continue reading →

Disability charity Scope has welcomed the resignation of Swindon’s Conservative mayor Nick Martin.

Martin, 63, was overheard asking “Are we still letting those Mongols have sex with each other?” at a presentation to raise awareness of issues affecting adults with disabilities, staged last November.

Charities working in Third World countries where there are problems getting clean water to drink might want to consider a link-up with the manufacturers of the Water to Go plastic water filter bottles.

These purify 500ml of any water from a non-salt source, with a removable filter that lasts three months. The company have worked with organisations in the Gambia and Sri Lanka.

www.watertogo.eu

A three-year BA (Hons) degree course in charity fundraising, Charity Development, has been launched by the University of Chichester and accredited by the Institute of Fundraising.

Commencing September, and thought to be the only one of its kind in the world, the course will focus on aspects of marketing, event organisation, planning and presentation skills. It is planned that students will spend one day a week actively fundraising.

The RSPCA has warned people in Hertfordshire not to approach a five foot tall pet South American rhea that has been running wild around Stevenage since it escaped its home a month ago.

The ostrich-like flightless bird has six-inch claws, can run at 40 mph and is thought to be strong enough to kill a child.