Hi there, this is Michelle. In today’s news, the UN weather agency has issued a stark warning, saying we should brace for El Niño in the coming months, bearing weather extremes.

Other storms are brewing elsewhere. As Ebola rages on in eastern Congo, already claiming 48 lives, the international playbook is once again failing to address its true driver – war, writes Annie Sparrow in this commentary.

As the UN leadership race heats up, two international leaders currently or formerly at the helm of the International Gender Champions network, Tatiana Molcean and Martin Chungong, call in this opinion piece for the next secretary general to fight for women’s rightful place at the table – and for member states to hold them to it. Four of the five candidates on the ballot are former or active members of the network.

Michelle Langrand

03.06.2026

On our radar

Photo article

A resident of a riverside community carries food and containers of drinking water after being distributed during a drought in Careiro da Varzea, Amazonas state, Brazil, 24 October 2023. (AP Photo/Edmar Barros, File)

Imminent El Niño will amplify effects of climate change, warns WMO. The United Nations’ weather agency predicts an 80 per cent chance of an El Niño climate phenomenon emerging before September. What impact can we expect it to have on our lives on top of climate change-related events?

Geneva Solutions (EN)

What they think

❝The Ebola outbreak is outpacing the response – because we are fighting the wrong battle. In eastern Congo, the international playbook ignores the reality on the ground: conflict is not just the backdrop to the epidemic – it’s the driver. To stop Ebola, treat malaria, pay healthcare workers and ensure hospitals are not bombed, writes war zone clinician Annie Sparrow.

❝The UN is choosing its next leader. Gender equality is on the ballot. As candidates vie to become the next UN secretary general, member states must hold them to account on gender equality – a core UN value under coordinated attack, write gender champions Martin Chungong and Tatiana Molcean.

Here's what else is happening

💻Data of 600,000 Gaza households exposed in WFP cyberattack. The UN food aid agency confirmed the attack from early May, which could be the largest known security breach of aid beneficiary data to date.
The New Humanitarian (EN)
🚢Hormuz disruptions drive up aid costs amid UN funding squeeze. Officials from Unicef, the World Food Programme and the UN trade and development agency warned on Tuesday that transport delays, port congestions and fuel shortages were affecting humanitarian operations in vulnerable regions already grappling with funding cuts.
Arete News (EN)
🦠WHO says suspected Ebola cases drop to 116 after hundreds ruled out. The organisation has documented 321 confirmed cases in DR Congo, with 48 deaths and six patients who recovered.
Reuters (EN)
🎯Why WHO can't just ‘prioritise’ in the Middle East. Its regional branch, EMRO, oversees some of the world’s deepest crises from Gaza to Sudan. Between funding cuts and a long list of other tasks, the office has a lot of juggling to do.
Devex (EN)

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