The Guardian reports that the U.K. government has met a development aid pledge, as an aid watchdog group releases a report criticizing the government for a lack of transparency in its development spending.

The Guardian: Shh, don’t tell anyone, but U.K. government meets foreign aid target
“Governments are rarely shy about trumpeting their achievements, so it was notable that there was barely more than a passing mention in a tweet from the deputy prime minister on Wednesday that Britain had finally met its pledge to spend 0.7 percent of its gross national income (GNI) as aid to poorer nations…” (Provost/Jones, 4/3).

The Guardian: Aid watchdog bites: be more honest and listen to the poor, U.K. told
“The U.K. aid watchdog has accused the Department for International Development (DfID) of a ‘clearly unacceptable’ tendency to use evidence selectively, criticized its failure to capitalize on the £1.2 billion it spends on research and told it to listen properly to those it is meant to be helping overseas…” (Jones, 4/3).