Emma Batha

Israel launched a military offensive in Gaza after Hamas-led Palestinian militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and seizing around 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

With soaring numbers of migrants arriving in Britain on small boats from France, the government is testing a new 'one in, one out' scheme to crack down on the illegal crossings.

However the first deportations - due to start Monday - were cancelled after last-minute legal challenges, according to media reports.

The use of hotels to house asylum seekers has become a major flashpoint in Britain as record numbers of people arrive in small boats from France and with broader tensions flaring over immigration.

More than 111,000 people claimed asylum in the year ending June 2025, a 14% rise on the previous 12 months.

U.S.-led aid cuts have increased the death toll in a devastating Afghan earthquake with hundreds dying from their injuries because nearby clinics have closed, aid workers say.

The dramatic fall in global aid has diminished stockpiles of emergency supplies, shrunk the pool of aid workers on hand and grounded a helicopter that could have helped remote communities, according to humanitarian agencies.

Britain's lawmakers have voted to decriminalise abortion following concerns over a growing number of police investigations into women ending late pregnancies.

While abortion has been legal for almost 60 years, women in England and Wales can be prosecuted if they terminate a pregnancy after 24 weeks under an 1861 law that carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Millions of drugs used to treat debilitating and disfiguring tropical diseases risk going to waste after U.S. aid cuts stalled treatment campaigns, leaving vital medication to expire in warehouses.

Experts fear the funding crisis could sabotage hard-won progress in the global fight against conditions such as river blindness and intestinal worms that blight the world's poorest.

A record 383 aid workers were killed last year, according to new data, but humanitarian experts warned that fatalities could escalate as massive U.S. funding cuts force organisations to scale back security.

Overall, major violent incidents were up 36% compared to 2023, with another 308 aid workers injured and 125 kidnapped, according to the annual Aid Worker Security Report compiled by research group Humanitarian Outcomes.

As temperatures soar around much of the world, people are cranking up the air conditioning, but blasting icy air into buildings fuels global warming, which increases demand for more cooling, creating a vicious circle.

Climate change, rapid urbanisation, rising incomes and population growth are driving huge demand for air conditioners (AC) globally, but particularly in developing countries.

When prize-winning architect Francis Kéré was growing up in Burkina Faso he spent his schooldays in a gloomy classroom that was so stifling he says it would have been better suited to making bread than educating children.

Years later, while studying abroad, Kéré returned to his home village to build a light and airy school where children could learn in comfort despite temperatures that can hit 45 degrees Celsius (113 F).

World leaders have just five years left to make good on their pledge to end poverty and tackle a host of global injustices before a 2030 deadline.

But in these challenging times, how on earth do they - or we - pay for it?