Collated by Peter Hulm
WEF on World Ocean Day: Why ocean health is key to global prosperity (LINK) — 7 June 2026
UN: Humanity's future depends on protecting the rapidly changing ocean (LINK) — 7 June 2026
AI could consume up to 3% of world's electricity the UN warns: AI could soon use more water than we need to drink (LINK) — 7 June 2026 — United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) report on 3 June — (LINK)
Ebola outbreak live updates: DRC cases pass 450 and 82 deaths, Uganda confirmed three additional cases on Friday, putting its total at 19 confirmed cases and two deaths (LINK) — 7 June 2026
— Proposals to establish a 50-bed quarantine facility for U.S. citizens affected by the outbreak in DRC have provoked a public backlash in Kenya, although the country's president, William Ruto, said the plan was safe. Two people were reportedly killed last week amid a protest close to the Laikipia Air Base, where the facility is due to be placed. Kenya's high court temporarily blocked the quarantine facility, citing public health concerns.
WHO launches $518 million plan to curb Africa Ebola outbreak: donors pledge over $300 million so far (LINK) — 5 June 2026
Ebola outbreak in Central Africa could reach 20,000 cases without strong public health measures — US CDC (LINK) — 5 June 2026
Congo reports attack on Ebola burial team as cases rise (LINK) — 3 June 2026
— Bloomberg: Rimba became the 17th affected health zone in Ituri — and the 25th nationally on Wednesday.
The United Nations says it is running out of money: António Guterres, the U.N. secretary-general, sent a letter to all U.N. member states saying that the organization faced "imminent financial collapse." (LINK) — 4 June 2026
— Deseret News: Although China has been paying its dues, China has been delaying mandatory payments until late in the year to apply financial leverage. If countries do not pay their dues, U.N. officials have said, the agency could resort to shutting down its headquarters in New York. Humanitarian efforts supported by the U.N., such as World Food Programme, UNICEF, and the U.N. refugee agency would also be drastically impacted.
Swiss CHF100,000 Music Grand Prix goes to yodelling singer Nadja Räss: first representative of Swiss folk music to receive the award: contributed to the inclusion of yodelling on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage last December (LINK) — 4 June 2026
Israeli official unable to finish speech at ILO conference in Geneva amid protests (LINK) — 3 June 2026
Antibiotics use in livestock could rise by a third in next 15 years, FAO report warns: governments urged to act to prevent potentially disastrous impacts on human resistance to medicines (LINK) — 3 June 2026
— Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) already costs an estimated €11bn (£9.5bn) a year within Europe alone and is predicted to cost $1tn globally by 2050. AMR is forecast to kill tens of millions of people unless there is concerted action.
Germany loses vote for UN Security Council seat: in competition with Austria and Portugal for two seats in the "Western Europe and Others" group (LINK) — 3 June 2026
— Zimbabwe and Trinidad and Tobago were each elected unopposed to seats reserved for their respective regions on the UN Security Council. The central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan was also elected to a seat, winning out against the Philippines.
WHO says suspected Ebola cases drop to 116 after hundreds ruled out (LINK) — 2 June 2026
Bangladesh's foreign minister defeats Cyprus' ambassador to be UN General Assembly president (LINK) — 2 June 2026
World Ocean Assessment, "possibly the most important book about the ocean ever written", highlights urgent need for science and global action (LINK) — 2 June 2026
UN: OHCHR calls on Nicaragua to investigate Indigenous leader Brooklyn Rivera's death in custody (LINK) — 2 June 2026
El Niño confirmed, set to fuel more extreme weather, says WMO: urged all countries on Tuesday to bolster early warning systems (LINK) — 2 June 2026
— According to WMO there is an 80 per cent chance that El Niño conditions will emerge between June and August and a 90 per cent probability of this happening thereafter. WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo: "The footprint of an El Niño travels far beyond its origins in the Pacific Ocean, impacting agriculture, energy supplies, trade, water resources, supply chains, and livelihoods across entire regions."
Nuclear meltdown warning from IAEA after latest drone strike on Ukraine atom plant (LINK) — 1 June 2026
Ebola outbreak spreading in Africa is 'likely far worse' than official figures suggest: IRC: only about 20% of contacts are currently being traced (LINK) — 1 June 2026
Ebola: Congo's confirmed cases near 300 (LINK) — 1 June 2026
— AP: The outbreak remains focused in eastern Ituri province, where 264 cases have been confirmed, the health ministry said. Congo has reported over 1,000 suspected cases of the Bundibugyo virus, the species of Ebola that was confirmed weeks after the outbreak quietly began. The outbreak has spread to 22 health zones across three eastern provinces, government data shows, even as the World Health Organization has sought to highlight signs of progress like new deliveries of supplies to deeply under-resourced health centers.