Global Issues

BRIGHTON, UK, April 6 (IPS) - Urgent steps need to be taken to rebuild the relationship between citizens and state to stem the decline of democracy globally. Experts point to inequality and political exclusion as two of the biggest drivers for democratic backsliding, with the exclusion of citizens from a role in policy and decision-making spaces leading to ‘hollow citizenship’. Read the full story, “Tackling Political Exclusion is Central to Saving Democracy”, on globalissues.org →

UNITED NATIONS, April 6 (IPS) - The US has spelled out in detail its own concept of what a restructured United Nations should look like: after drastic reductions in staff, cutting down its budget, avoiding duplication in mandates, slashing peacekeeping operations worldwide and deploying artificial intelligence (AI) for translations and interpretations in six languages. Read the full story, “US Aims at Heavy Staff & Budgetary Cuts– & Seeks to Launch Cost-Saving Artificial Intelligence at UN meetings”, on globalissues.org →

The 2026 World Cup final will take place at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, a few miles away from UN Headquarters where, on Wednesday, elite athletes and sports administrators spoke about the power of football and other international sports to change the world for the better.Read the full story, “As World Cup kick-off nears, a reminder of the power of sport to build bridges and break barriers”, on globalissues.org →

Reports of yet another projectile strike near the Bushehr nuclear power plant prompted Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), to register his deep concern on Saturday.Read the full story, “UN nuclear agency chief ‘deeply concerned’ by reports of latest attack on Iran power plant”, on globalissues.org →

NYAMTAI, Uganda, April 3 (IPS) - Environmental activists and farmer groups opposed to the construction of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), the world’s longest heated oil pipeline, are mounting a last-ditch legal effort meant to stop its construction in a suit they plan to have filed in London, UK, believing that it stands a chance to stop the controversial project despite being at the 78 percent completion stage. Read the full story, “Ugandan Farmers Sue EACOP in London in Last Minute Effort to Stop Crude Oil Pipeline”, on globalissues.org →

MEXICO CITY, April 3 (IPS) - In Asunción, Paraguay last month, finance ministers, central bank presidents, and private sector leaders gathered for the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) Annual Meetings to talk about growth. Read the full story, “The Inter-American Development Bank Invest Talks Growth–but Ignores People Bearing the Cost”, on globalissues.org →

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, April 3 (IPS) - By Easter 2026 it was still not clear when – or how – the war initiated by Israel and the US against Iran would end. But what was already clear was that it would harm Africa in a number of ways. Read the full story, “Iran War: What African Countries Can do to Get Through the Crisis and Emerge in a Better Place”, on globalissues.org →

In conflict zones where new technologies are making landmines more dangerous, deminers must innovate at the same pace to avoid being left behind, a leading UN mines expert has told UN News. Read the full story, “Deminers race to keep up with military technology”, on globalissues.org →

As violence forces tens of thousands to flee Sudan’s South Kordofan state, doctors in a key maternity hospital are facing impossible choices – with too few supplies, too many patients, and lives slipping away.Read the full story, “‘We watched them die before our eyes’: Sudan health workers helpless amid medical shortages”, on globalissues.org →

UNITED NATIONS, April 2 (IPS) - Global human migration is at record-high levels, as the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that roughly 1 in 8 people—about one billion individuals—are on the move. Many of these migrants and refugees face harsh living conditions and heightened challenges, such as poverty, insecurity, and limited access to basic services. With the number of international migrants having doubled since 1990, new findings from WHO call for expanding health systems to meet the growing scale of needs. Read the full story, “WHO: Migrants and Refugees Face Rising Health Risks as Global Systems Fall Short”, on globalissues.org →