Economic Development
(UN News) Global fragmentation, deepening geopolitical tensions and conflicts are putting decades of development progress at risk, the UN warned in a report published on Thursday – calling for stepping up investment to meet internationally agreed goals. The 2026 Financing for Sustainable Development Report assesses progress on the Sevilla Commitment, a 2025 agreement that aims to secure the $4 trillion needed annually to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the end of the decade. “Implementing the Sevilla Commitment is our best chance to demonstrate the global community’s enduring commitment to cooperation and to unlock the finance needed to keep the promise of the Sustainable Development Goals,” UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said ahead of the launch. – Development finance gap risks reversing decades of progress | UN News
India
(Cherylann Mollan, Umang Poddar – BBC) The Indian government has proposed changes to extend its regulatory framework to a wider range of online news voices, including influencers and podcasters on platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and X. Last week, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) suggested amendments to India’s IT rules – which govern digital media content – to include “users who are not publishers” who share content related to “news and current affairs” within a “code of ethics” it currently applies to registered news publishers. Experts say this will potentially give the government more power over news-related posts shared by ordinary users, including independent journalists and podcasters. – IT rules: India proposes new digital rules to regulate news and political posts on social media
Kosovo
(UN News) Despite successful legislative elections in Kosovo late last year, a “delicate equilibrium” persists as deep divisions remain over the future of the United Nations presence in the region. Peter Due, Special Representative and Head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), told the Security Council during his first briefing inside the iconic chamber on Thursday that while the December 2025 polls featured broad participation, the momentum is being tested. Speaking in New York, Mr. Due noted that the process of electing a new President remains incomplete, following a year of political stalemate. – Kosovo mission head warns ‘mistrust’ threatens post-election stability | UN News
Lebanon
(UN News) The scale and speed of destruction from the wave of airstrikes in Lebanon which began just hours after the US-Iran ceasefire announcement, has left the country’s already strained health system struggling to cope, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO Representative in Lebanon Dr. Abdinasir Abubakar spoke to UN News from Beirut and said that Wednesday marked “one of the deadliest single days in the current escalation of violence” in the country. In just minutes, multiple strikes hit densely populated areas, including the capital, Beirut, in the middle of the working day. “In just 10 minutes, yesterday afternoon, explosions struck multiple locations, including densely populated civilian areas in the capital, Beirut,” he said, describing scenes of panic as civilians went about their daily lives without warning. The attacks resulted in a large number of civilian casualties. “The interim assessment is reporting…over 200 deaths and over 1,000 injuries. Among them, women and children,” Dr. Abubakar said, adding that first responders and healthcare workers were also among the dead and injured, with many victims still trapped beneath the rubble. Reflecting on the scale of the attack, he described it as “horrific, very sad, is alarming”, recounting how he witnessed multiple strikes from his office in Beirut. “I could see in my window, actually, 10 different strikes in front of me, and buildings collapsing.” – Lebanon: Health system overwhelmed following a ‘horrific’ day of Israeli strikes | UN News
US
(Avery Lotz, Alex Isenstadt – Axios) First lady Melania Trump denied that she had a friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein or that she had any ties to his crimes in a head-turning White House address Thursday. The administration’s handling of the Epstein files — and the president’s ties to the disgraced financier — have become a months-long headache for the administration. “The false smears about me from mean spirited and politically motivated individuals and entities, looking to cause damage to my good name to gain financially and climb politically must stop,” she said at the White House. – Melania Trump denies friendship with Epstein in rare address
(Andrew Solender – Axios) House Republicans thwarted an attempt by Democrats to pass a war powers resolution on Thursday that would block President Trump unilaterally restarting hostilities with Iran. The vote would have been largely symbolic — the measure faces an uphill battle in the Senate and could be vetoed by Trump – but Democrats are desperate to show voters they are using every tool at their disposal to end the war. – House Republicans quash Democrats’ attempt to hamstring Trump on Iran
War in Iran/Middle East/Gulf and beyond
(Nadeen Ebrahim, Sarah Tamimi – CNN) Israel’s massive attacks in Beirut and other parts of Lebanon this week are threatening to derail a fragile ceasefire with the US and Iran. Tehran argues that the strikes violate the truce, which it says included Lebanon — a position echoed by mediator Pakistan. Israel and the United States say Lebanon was not part of the deal. As US and Iranian delegations prepare to begin negotiations in Islamabad, Pakistan, this weekend, what happens next in Lebanon will be a potential wildcard. At least 303 people were killed in Wednesday’s strikes alone, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. “The Lebanese front may ultimately undermine efforts to sustain the ceasefire,” said Danny Citrinowicz, senior researcher in the Iran and the Shiite Axis Program at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv. From Tehran’s perspective, Israel’s continued attacks on Lebanon “may justify a renewed response against Israel,” he added. – What is Israel’s war in Lebanon and why could it shatter the Iran ceasefire? | CNN
(Alex Raufoglu – RFE/RL) Forty-eight hours into a US-Iran cease-fire, the situation on the ground already appears increasingly unstable. Reports of continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon, attacks across the Gulf, and renewed threats around the Strait of Hormuz are raising urgent questions about whether this pause can hold. Plus, the key disagreement between the US and Iran over whether the cease-fire even applies to Lebanon, where Israel has been striking what it says are Hezbollah targets. Hezbollah is the Iran-backed militant group designated a terrorist organization by the United States. RFE/RL spoke with Allison Minor, director of the Atlantic Council’s Project for Middle East Integration and former director for Arabian Peninsula affairs at the White House National Security Council during Donald Trump’s first term, to unpack these early developments and gauge what could come next for the war and the region. – Allison Minor: Cease-Fire Or Strategic Pause? Lebanon, Hormuz Test The Iran Truce
(RFE/RL) US President Donald Trump assailed Tehran for its plan for the crucial Strait of Hormuz, suggesting it was “dishonorable,” even as top US and Iranian officials were due to gather in Islamabad on April 10 for crucial peace talks. “Iran is doing a very poor job, dishonorable some would say, of allowing Oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz. That is not the agreement we have!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on April 9. “There are reports that Iran is charging fees to tankers going through the Hormuz Strait — They better not be and, if they are, they better stop now!” Trump wrote in a separate post. – ‘Not The Agreement We Have’ — Trump Warns Iran On Hormuz As Key Talks Loom
(Barak Ravid, Alex Fitzpatrick – Axios) President Trump on Thursday demanded Iran stop charging tolls for tankers to cross the Strait of Hormuz, as Iran’s supreme leader promised the country would control the crucial waterway. The already shaky ceasefire between the two countries is getting more strained by the day, even as they prepare for peace talks in Islamabad on Saturday. The narrow waterway off Iran’s southern coast is vital to the normal functioning of the global economy. “There are reports that Iran is charging fees to tankers going through the Hormuz Strait — They better not be and, if they are, they better stop now!” Trump posted to Truth Social. That followed a Financial Times report that Iran is demanding the right to toll ships passing through the strait: $1 per barrel of oil aboard, paid in cryptocurrency. Trump later added in another post: “Iran is doing a very poor job, dishonorable some would say, of allowing Oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz. That is not the agreement we have!” – Strait of Hormuz remains all but closed, Trump demands Iran stop tolls
(Jeremy Bowen – BBC) The best hope for the ceasefire talks in Pakistan is that both the United States and Iran have strong reasons to call a halt to the war. The biggest obstacle to their success is a total absence of trust, no discernible common ground and the fact that Israel, America’s full partner in the war, has hugely escalated its onslaught on Lebanon. US President Donald Trump is already speaking about the war in the past tense. He has declared victory and needs an exit. Not only does he have a state visit from King Charles in the diary for later this month, followed by a summit with China’s President Xi Jinping in May, there are midterm elections in November. With America’s summer holiday season looming, Trump also needs petrol prices to fall back to where they were before he went to war. Royal visits, summits and elections do not mix well with wars. – Ceasefire or no ceasefire, the Middle East’s reshuffling is not yet done
