Iraqi civilians fleeing walk past the destroyed al-Nuri mosque as Iraqi forces continue their advance against Islamic State militants in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq, 4 July 2017. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

🏺When war threatens beauty: Aliph’s battle to preserve cultural heritage. Wherever human history has taken shape, war and disaster have posed a grave threat to culture. Valéry Freland, director of the Aliph Foundation, which is hosting a conference on the matter this week in Geneva, stresses the urgency of protecting it.

🪖Groups fear Israeli proposal for controlling aid in Gaza will forcibly displace people. The UN and other aid groups have rejected Israel’s plan to use private security firms to distribute aid, warning it could have consequences that would violate international law. “Israel has the responsibility to facilitate our work, not weaponise it,” said a UN relief spokesperson.

💄States agree to ban PFAS forever chemical. Countries gathered for talks on toxic chemicals and waste management in Geneva this month decided to ban the production and use of PFCAs (long-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids), a persistent pollutant belonging to the infamous PFAS family.

🏦Exclusive: US seeks to weaken global development finance efforts, UN document shows. The Trump administration is opposing proposals to reform the world’s financial architecture to help countries face climate change and other global challenges ahead of a key conference in Spain next month.

🪓Trump budget proposes unprecedented, ‘reckless’ cuts to foreign aid. The White House presented a slim 2026 budget plan on Friday, confirming earlier reports about its intentions to severely slash foreign aid and UN contributions. Congress still has to study the proposal.