News headlines in June 2026

KABUL, June 1 (IPS) - While Afghanistan faces a serious shortage of female doctors, the country’s Islamist regime has placed restrictions on female students from graduating, further exacerbating the situation. Female medical graduates are barred from writing their final exams, which provide them with the professional qualification to practice as medical doctors.

SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan, June 1 (IPS) - While the Global Environment Facility (GEF) said its eighth replenishment cycle (GEF-8) was about to exceed environmental targets for biodiversity protection, marine conservation, ecosystem restoration, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, governments and civil society groups called for stronger safeguards to ensure that local communities, Indigenous Peoples, and smaller implementing agencies are not left behind as funding mechanisms become more complex.

UNITED NATIONS, June 1 (IPS) - Africa holds 9 per cent of global renewable freshwater, over 600 gigawatts of untapped hydropower potential, and between 60 and 65 per cent of the world’s uncultivated arable land.

The United Nations continues to warn against the dangerous escalation in the war in Ukraine, a senior official told the Security Council on Monday, underlining the need for restraint and dialogue.

The Security Council meets late on Monday at France’s request, as concern grows over escalating violence in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah amid warnings of Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, and confusion over the status of US-Iran peace talks linked to the faltering ceasefires. Follow live here from New York.

Families in Gaza living on or near the so-called Yellow Line controlled by the Israeli military have told the UN they live in constant fear of being killed or injured.

Years after conflicts fade from the headlines, the weapons used to fight them often continue to circulate – crossing borders, fuelling crime and undermining an often-fragile peace. Now, ghost guns, 3D-printed firearms and increasingly sophisticated trafficking networks are creating new challenges for governments worldwide.

As hostilities escalate in Lebanon despite a recent ceasefire extension, the United Nations continues to support civilians displaced by the conflict.

Four nurses who fell ill with Ebola in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have been discharged from hospital after recovering from the often-fatal illness that sparked an international health alert.