Global Issues

Operating primarily on voluntary donations since its inception in the late 1940s, UNRWA continues to provide lifesaving and essential services in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, from school programmes to polio vaccines, with the UN chief calling it a “lifeline” to Palestinians. However, UN Secretary-General António Guterresraised sharp concerns on Tuesday about the agency’s cash shortfall, which he said “has grave implications for the entire region”.

Based on new data from 10 countries, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimates that at least 20 million children have used AI, with young people adopting the technology at rates more than three times faster than adults. Perhaps most strikingly, an estimated two million children – around one in 10 – said they turn to AI for advice about things that worry them, while 13 million reported using it to help with schoolwork and homework. “AI is here.

The new Blueprint for strengthening responses to fungal disease and antifungal resistance, issued on Tuesday, sets out practical steps to improve prevention, diagnosis, treatment and surveillance. Fungal diseases affect more than 300 million people each year and are associated with high mortality, long-term illness and major losses in health and productivity worldwide.

Following the shaky ceasefire in the US and Israeli war with Iran, commercial shipping through the strait quickly began to rebound in mid-June, but has slowed in recent days as Washington and Tehran have exchanged strikes in the region. Iran has reportedly rejected an effort by France and Oman to remove mines from the strait and safeguard international trade as well as a suggestion by the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) to open a new shipping lane off the coast of Oman.

Healthcare personnel from the UN peacekeeping mission in the DR Congo, MONUSCO, are trained in Ebola infection prevention. Five humanitarian workers have been killed after a clearly marked aid convoy was ambushed in Jonglei State, South Sudan. The convoy, operated by the John Dau Foundation, was transporting humanitarian staff returning from an Action Against Hunger training exercise when it came under attack on Monday along the route between Payuel Payam and Pajut, in Duk county.

Before the disaster, the World Food Programme (WFP) was already assisting around 500,000 people through school meals and community support. Now, the agency is shifting its work toward emergency assistance. Holding his three young children by the hand, one stricken father told UN humanitarian teams he no longer had shelter, water or food. The children's mother had been hospitalized in Caracas, and the family had lost neighbours and relatives under the rubble.

Delegates gather for the opening plenary of the June UN Climate Meetings in Bonn. Credit: Kiara Worth / IISD/ENB APEX, North Carolina / SAN FRANCISCO, California, June 30 (IPS) - With progress stalled on many issues, this year’s June talks in Bonn—which are supposed to smooth the way towards COP 31 in Antalya at year’s end—were widely judged a failure. What happened? And what does it mean for Antalya?

Smart farming enables farmers to produce more with fewer resources, make better decisions under uncertainty, and reduce agriculture's environmental footprint. Credit: FAO ROME, June 30 (IPS) - Farmers today are producing food under pressures that would have been unimaginable to previous generations. Input costs are rising and supply chains are unreliable. Water is scarcer. Weather is less predictable.

Malawian migrants wait to board a bus during repatriation efforts, 29 June 2026, at the Malawian Consulate in Woodmead, Johannesburg. Credit: Alaister Russell/IPS JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, June 30 (IPS) - Usually, the fiesta to celebrate St Antony at the church with the same name in Crown Mines, Johannesburg, is a lively affair. The church is usually packed with congregants from the Portuguese community, including recent migrants from Mozambique and Angola.

A UN Peacebuilding Week Event held in Egypt’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, New York.