Why Ethiopia’s conflicts keep returning
6/8/2026: Ethiopia’s National Dialogue seeks to chart a path toward peace, addressing some of the country’s most difficult political, historical, institutional, social, and peacebuilding questions. One answer lies in strengthening institutions below the regional level, including zonal, district and municipal governments.
Source: African Arguments
Call for authorities in Pakistan to restore Imran Khan’s rights
4/8/2026: Amnesty International has urged the Pakistani authorities to unconditionally restore the right of Imran Khan and his wife to see their family and lawyers, and to be given access to adequate medical care. These rights have been denied for three years.
Source: Amnesty International
The promise of AI for low income countries
4/8/2026: The World Bank's annual development report offers the first comprehensive assessment of what artificial intelligence means for lower income economies. It finds that AI tools can make it easier for doctors to diagnose patients, farmers to improve crop decisions, businesses to become more productive and Governments to improve tax and benefits programs.
Source: World Bank Group
Taliban assault on rights deepens 5 years on
3/8/2026: Afghanistan’s Taliban have entrenched one of the world’s worst human rights crises and systematically dismantled the rights of women and girls since taking power five years ago. Human Rights Watch calls on governments to provide resources for the UN investigation into rights abuses in Afghanistan.
Source: Human Rights Watch
UN tax convention could clear IMF debt for poorest countries
2/8/2026: The latest draft of the UN tax convention under discussion would require multinationals to pay tax where they actually create profit, instead of where they choose through creative accounting. Low income countries might be able to clear outstanding IMF loans within a year.
Source: Tax Justice Network
DR Congo Ebola outbreak becomes world’s second-largest ever
31/7/2026: The current outbreak of Ebola has proven unusually deadly, killing five times more people in its first three months than previous outbreaks had by the same stage. Health officials say the true scale of the epidemic remains unclear. The Bundibugyo strain has no approved vaccine or treatment.
Source: DW
US withholds dues to UN, again
31/7/2026: Since President Donald Trump returned to power in January 2025, the US has yet to pay its share of the UN’s regular budget. The US owes $2.2 billion on administrative dues and another $1.8 billion for peacekeeping. The latest setback may have been provoked by US anger over reappointment of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Source: Devex
Uganda: crackdown on fundamental freedoms
30/7/2026: The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has denounced the crackdown on dissent in Uganda. Since the general elections on 15 January 2026, repression has increased against all those perceived to oppose the Government, through enforced disappearance, torture and ill-treatment, and arbitrary arrest or detention.
Source: UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights
US finally moves to release $600 million to Gavi
29/7/2026: The US has moved to release funding to the Vaccine Alliance, the public-private partnership that helps vaccinate half the world’s children against some of the world’s deadliest diseases. This concludes a year-and-a-half of uncertainty for Gavi, following sceptical comments by US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Source: Devex
Without safeguards US‑Saudi nuclear deal risks proliferation
27/7/2026: It is unclear whether the landmark US-Saudi nuclear deal includes a condition to prohibit enrichment of uranium. Without this expected clause to restrain Saudi nuclear ambition, a nuclear arms race in the region becomes a greater risk.
Source: The Conversation