US pays the UN $800M in budget dues
15/9/2026: The Trump administration has finally paid the UN more than $800 million to cover the costs of its regular budget dues for 2025, along with a fraction of its peacekeeping obligations. The payments avert the prospect of the US losing its vote in the forthcoming UN General Assembly, but leave Washington with billions in back dues.
Source: Devex
Money sent home by migrants nearly doubles in a decade
14/9/2026: Remittances to families in low and middle-income countries totalled $728.6 billion in 2025, an increase of 94% since 2016, according to a new report. This figure for 2025 exceeds foreign direct investment to those countries and is more than four times global official development assistance.
Source: IFAD
Trump administration nominee chosen to lead World Food Programme
12/9/2026: Luke Lindberg, a senior US Department of Agriculture official, has been chosen to lead the World Food Programme, making him the youngest person to head the agency. The final decision to appoint Lindberg coincided with US assurances to pay more than $700 million in its regular budget dues for 2025. It remains unclear whether the two issues were linked.
Source: Devex
Russian recruitment of foreign nationals to fight in Ukraine amounts to human trafficking
10/9/2026: Research by Amnesty details how individuals have been lured into the Russian Armed Forces under false pretences, including migrants and refugees already present in Russia. This amounts to human rights violation and the crime of human trafficking.
Source: Amnesty International
Millions fail to get humanitarian aid as global system crumbles
10/9/2026: With aid contributions cut by 30% between 2022 and 2025 and thousands of aid workers losing their jobs, action is narrowing to focus only those whose lives are in immediate danger, according to the State of the Humanitarian System 2026 report. Support for longer-term issues and the ability to recover from crises has been drastically scaled back.
Source: The Guardian
Human cost of violence in South Sudan as elections approach
10/9/2026: The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan has warned that renewed violence and political tensions put the planned transition to democracy at risk. It calls on the authorities to create conditions for inclusive political dialogue ahead of elections scheduled for December. South Sudan is the world’s youngest country having gained independence from Sudan in July 2011.
Source: UN News
IMF debt conditions revive fears of 1980s structural adjustment
10/9/2026: New research by Oxfam reveals that the International Monetary Fund has tightened up its loan conditions progressively over the past decade. These conditions undermine vital spending on public services – from healthcare to education and housing – that protect low-income communities.
Source: Oxfam International
Nepal-Tibet disaster highlights restrictions on information in China
8/9/2026: Authorities in Nepal have published official government lists of persons missing in the glacier disaster, but families in Tibet have no such support. China's state control over the internet appears to have been deployed to conceal the true scale of the death toll.
Source: The Guardian
UN tells the world: Stop making Africa look small
4/9/2026: By 164 votes to one, the UN General Assembly has endorsed a resolution promoting map projections that more accurately reflect the true size of continents – the culmination of an African-led campaign against the 16th-century Mercator projection. The US cast the sole vote against.
Source: UN News
AI promises judgment-free sexual health advice. What could go wrong?
3/9/2026: Across Africa, organizations and funders are increasingly exploring whether artificial intelligence can help overcome barriers that have long made it difficult for young people to access sexual and reproductive health information. But as AI carries the risk of inaccurate answers, the experiment raises serious questions.
Source: Devex