Helping hand

Penny Mordaunt, the International Development Secretary, will today announce a further £12million in aid for the Rohingya crisis, after meeting refugees in Bangladesh and calling for an end to Burma’s “ethnic cleansing”.

The extra funds will provide food for 174,000 people, as well as safe drinking water and hygiene kits. “The persistent persecution of the Rohingya people must stop,” she said. “This looks like ethnic cleansing.” Pope Francis begins a six-day visit to Burma and Bangladesh today, flying into Rangoon in the middle of a humanitarian crisis. The fresh round of UK aid, provided amid fears funds could dry up in the next 100 days, brings the UK’S support to £59 million since August.