Building healthy bridges towards peace: WHO launches $1 billion appeal

“This appeal is a call to stand with people living through conflict, displacement and disaster to give them not just services, but the confidence that the world has not turned its back on them,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. The 2026 appeal seeks to respond to 36 emergencies worldwide, including 14 “grade 3” crises […]

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Why futuristic, tech-centred ‘smart city’ projects are destined to fail

For residents of European cities – with their snarled traffic, draughty old buildings, creaking public services and grey winters – it’s easy to see the appeal of moving to a brand-new, high-tech metropolis. Enter Dunia Cyber City, a new special economic zone in Zanzibar aimed at attracting tech workers (real and virtual) and companies with […]

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why a German university is returning a Māori taonga

Restitution debates – the question of whether a cultural object should be returned from a museum or other collection to a person or community – often begin with a deceptively simple question: who owns an object? In colonial contexts, this question rarely has a clear answer. Histories of acquisition are often incomplete, disputed and overwhelmingly […]

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Capitalising on Europe’s research connections to tackle cancer

For Dr Pavla Bouchalová, a cancer researcher in the department of biochemistry at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, answering complex questions about how colorectal tumours behave requires access to data, samples and analytical tools that go far beyond a single laboratory. Through an EU-backed initiative called canSERV, Bouchalová’s team gained access to colorectal cancer tissue samples […]

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Spain’s mass regularisation for 500,000 undocumented migrants is not extreme, unprecedented or opportunistic

As governments around the world tighten migration controls, Spain has taken a strikingly different path. In January 2026, the Spanish cabinet approved a decree opening a pathway to legal residency for hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants who already live in the country. At a time when deportations, detentions and exclusion dominate migration debates elsewhere, […]

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UN peacekeeping patrols suspended along Lebanon-Israel Blue Line

The incident took place north of the Blue Line on Sunday morning and led to the suspension of more than a dozen UN peacekeeping activities for over nine hours, according to UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric. Toxicology tests “The IDF said that peacekeepers should stay clear of the area,” Mr. Dujarric told reporters in New York. […]

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Global health systems ‘at risk’ as funding cuts bite, warns WHO

This is occurring as the risk from pandemics, drug-resistant infections and fragile health services are on the rise, said the WHO Director-General. Addressing the WHO Executive Board in Geneva, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed the impact of workforce reductions last year due to “significant cuts to our funding,” which have had significant consequences. “Sudden and severe […]

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Gaza: Limited Rafah crossing reopening sparks hope – but also ‘massive trepidation’

The sole border point with Egypt is a lifeline to the world – including for thousands of severely ill or injured Palestinians who require medical treatment outside the enclave, where last October’s fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas continues to hold.  The development comes, however, following reports of violence over the weekend, with the UN voicing concern over the killing of civilians and Israeli airstrikes.  ‘Competing dynamics’  “As we have seen so many times throughout this conflict, we’re seeing really […]

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