EU external relations, diplomacy, and security
The UN reports a sharp rise in West Bank school closures while AI diagnostic tools expand in hospitals and Indigenous land rights score a landmark win in Canada. Three stories from a world still wrestling with its most persistent inequalities.
Jihadist groups across West Africa are no longer just launching attacks — they’re collecting taxes, controlling trade routes and pushing steadily toward the Gulf of Guinea. The nature of the threat has fundamentally changed.
From blocked aid convoys in northern Rafah to a record-breaking clean energy push and a worsening cholera crisis in Sudan, here’s what’s shaping the world this week. Three major global stories demand attention as humanitarian and environmental pressures intensify simultaneously.
The WHO has warned that the DRC’s current Ebola outbreak is the fastest-growing ever recorded, with most new cases coming from untraceable transmission chains. Health officials say the situation is escalating at a pace that’s never been seen before.
UN agencies are demanding diplomatic de-escalation in the Strait of Hormuz as attacks on commercial vessels intensify and global oil markets reel. With both Washington and Tehran claiming control of the critical waterway, the window for a peaceful resolution may be closing fast.
Iran has turned the Strait of Hormuz into its most powerful bargaining chip since the US-Israel strikes killed the Supreme Leader in February. But with Trump’s invasion threats ringing hollow and a provisional council in Tehran consolidating power, breaking the oldest cycle in Middle East diplomacy won’t come easy.
The United Nations firmly defended the International Criminal Court on Monday, calling it a ‘critical cog’ in global justice as political pressure to abolish the tribunal intensifies. With 124 member states and 17 active investigations, the court’s survival has never felt more uncertain.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres is calling on Iran and the United States to urgently resume negotiations as fresh strikes and a disputed Hormuz closure send oil prices surging. The crisis is now being described as the most dangerous flashpoint between the two countries in years.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas says a 21st round of sanctions against Russia is nearly finalized but still lacks a final agreement among member states. The new package is expected to crack down harder on sanctions evasion and Russia’s shadow oil fleet.
The Ebola outbreak has spread to two new provinces in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with 31 deaths confirmed so far. Meanwhile, a Sudanese court sentenced paramilitary leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo to death in absentia, and protesters in Nigeria’s Niger Delta demand action over devastating oil pollution.
