Which Country Has the Most Refugees? And Other Overlooked Stories
We bring you up to date on underreported conflicts around the world, and the latest from Gaza. Plus: A conversation with Preet Bahara. Trump has a small what? And some ancient News That Doesn't Suck.
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One of the great challenges — and privileges — of this job is that every time we sit down to write, we’re making decisions about what counts as news. For months now, the seismic changes happening here in the US have consumed so much of our collective attention that lots of vital global stories have received less coverage than they merit.
Today, we're shifting our lens outward. We're shining a spotlight on stories from Gaza, Yemen, Haiti, Sudan, Venezuela, and beyond. Here we try to provide essential context on each of the crisis zones, how the US is involved, and who has the power to change them. You'll also see how the removal of US support has caused or exacerbated many of these crises.
Of course, we still bring you the big domestic stories, plus a dose of News That Doesn't Suck.
And as a bonus, here’s a conversation with Preet Bharara, former US Attorney and host of the podcast Stay Tuned with Preet. We talk about the future of media; how to find trusted evidence-based voices online; discussed our frustrations with AI chatbots, and touched on the possibility Trump’s DOJ might cut a deal with Ghislane Maxwell. Watch that conversation below and check out Preet’s Substack, Stay Tuned with Preet.
Conversation With Former US Attorney Preet Bahara
Key Global Conflicts
Facing Famine: More than 100 aid organizations warned Wednesday that “mass starvation” is spreading throughout the Gaza Strip. “There is no one in Gaza now outside the scope of famine,” a pediatrician told the New York Times this week, “not even myself.” Doctors treating children for severe malnutrition — their distended bellies and protruding spines visible in videos and photos — say they are struggling to stay on their feet from hunger; journalists documenting what the Washington Post calls “a worst-case scenario” say they lack the strength to walk to clinics to seek treatment themselves. Multiple people, including children, have died of starvation this week alone, according to aid organizations and health workers, including local hospital directors. Israel denies blocking supplies, and has accused UN agencies of failing to distribute available aid. The Israel-backed US private contractor operating the only sanctioned aid distribution points in Gaza, accuses Hamas forces of murdering aid workers and stealing aid. Because Western reporters aren’t allowed into the Gaza strip, reporting relies on cross checking claims from local voices, official government accounts, and information from aid organizations. You can see recent photos from Gaza here. Content warning: many of the pictures are disturbing.
Fighting for Survival: To eat, multiple aid agencies say that Palestinians must endure impossible prices and gruelling journeys that often turn deadly. The 100-plus aid agencies mentioned above say they are “blocked” by Israel “from reaching those in need, including our own exhausted and starved teams.” According to witnesses and health officials in Gaza, hundreds of people have been killed by Israeli forces while attempting to reach aid distribution sites or convoys entering the Strip. The Israeli military maintains that it has only fired warning shots. An Israeli government spokesperson told reporters this week “there is no famine caused by Israel. There is a man-made shortage engineered by Hamas.” Another government official said “we understand that action is required to stabilize the humanitarian situation.” This week Israel’s president accused “Hamas and its people” of “trying to sabotage” aid in an attempt to undermine Israel’s military campaign. Israel claims Hamas has diverted up to one-quarter of aid supplies, though it has not provided proof of this.
New Report: Reuters today revealed the existence of an internal USAID report that analyzed 156 incidents of US-funded aid being stolen or lost in Gaza. None of the incidents could be definitively connected to Hamas.
What Now? Germany, France, and the UK today called on Israel to “immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid.” Israel confirmed it will permit and coordinate airdrops of aid into Gaza from foreign countries, reportedly Jordan and the UAE. Last year airdrops reportedly killed multiple civilians in Gaza.
Political Solution Delayed, Again: The US walked out of ceasefire negotiations in Qatar. “Hamas really didn’t want to make a deal,” Trump claimed. Israel also suspended talks; according to Haaretz, Israeli officials described this “as a coordinated move to pressure Hamas — leaving the negotiations at an uncertain juncture.” Both sides appear to agree on a proposed 60-day ceasefire, during which more aid would be allowed in and Hamas would free some of the hostages it still has imprisoned. (About half of the 50 remaining hostages are believed to be alive.) The sticking points appear to be the degree to which Israel will withdraw its military and what might happen after the ceasefire if no permanent deal is reached.
Statehood Surprise: France’s President Emmanual Macron announced yesterday that France will recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September, becoming the first major Western power to do so. Macron did not specify what borders this Palestinian state would have; however, he revealed his decision through a letter to the president of the Palestinian Authority and head of the Palestine Liberation Organization, which has previously recognized Israel as a state within its 1967 borders. Also today, 220 lawmakers in the UK called on the prime minister to recognize a Palestinian state, which he says he will do as part of a negotiated two-state agreement. Israel and the US condemned France’s move, saying it rewards terror; Saudi Arabia praised it as “historic.”
Context: Other European countries, including Spain, Ireland, and Norway, recognized a Palestinian state last year, bringing the total countries doing so to 147. France will be the 148th. The US announced yesterday it would skip a conference on reaching a two-state solution, to be hosted by France and Saudi Arabia next week. US officials previously criticized the planned conference as “counterproductive to … efforts to end the war.”
Yemen Under Siege: For the last decade, Yemen has been home to one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters. Some 20 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, and about 4.5 million are currently displaced. National Geographic published a rare look inside the conflict here; or check out Radio Free Europe’s (non-paywalled) images here.
Context: The most recent crisis in Yemen began in 2015, when Saudi Arabia launched a military campaign against Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Relentless bombings have killed at least 9,000 civilians but failed to dislodge the Houthis, who control much of the country. The UNHCR has an explainer here.
America’s Involvement: Throughout the conflict, the US has approved tens of billions of dollars in arms sales to the Saudis. In May, Trump agreed to sell $142 billion in arms to Saudi Arabia, which the White House bragged was the “largest defense cooperation deal in US history.” According to a joint investigation by the Washington Post and Security Force Monitor, a “substantial portion” of the airstrikes that have killed Yemeni civilians were conducted by jets developed by US companies and flown by US-trained pilots. The Trump administration’s decision in January to re-designate the Houthis as a terrorist organization effectively made it impossible for aid organizations to reach much of the population out of fear of violating US sanctions. One expert warned it “condemned all Yemenis to an absolute catastrophe.”
Post-American World: In Afghanistan, millions continue to suffer the consequences of the decades-long conflict that concluded in 2021. Last year, for example, half of the country required humanitarian assistance. The Taliban has relentlessly imposed its interpretation of sharia law on the country, including public executions and horrific restrictions on women’s rights. Read more here. And see photos documenting life under Taliban rule here.
Back Into the Fire: Can you guess which country has the largest refugee population? It’s not the US. Nor is it in Europe. In fact, it’s Iran, which hosts some 3.5 million refugees, perhaps as many as 5.5 million. Most of them fled from Afghanistan. And now Iran is sending them back. Millions of Afghani refugees are being expelled from Iran, Pakistan, and Tajikistan. Often with nowhere to go, they face an uncertain future and some reports of torture at the hands of the Taliban — and, for women and girls, the prospect of “coming back to a cage,” as one 17-year-old girl said.
America’s Role: Trump cancelled Afghan family reunification flights on his first day in office, and his administration has blocked pathways for hundreds of thousands of Afghanis trying to escape to the US. Those who made it to the US now live in fear of being detained and deported by ICE.
Stateless Haiti: Over the last two decades, the Haitian state has effectively crumbled away; now armed groups control the vast majority of the country’s capital. Almost half the population lacks access to safe water and faces acute food insecurity, and over 360,000 people have been displaced by violence — the majority of them women and girls, who increasingly face sexual and gender-based violence. Read more here and here. You can see photos of the chaos, some of them disturbing, here.
Maduro’s Mess: Over the last few years, Venezuela’s economy collapsed, in part due to US sanctions and in part due to mismanagement by a corrupt, authoritarian government. Living standards fell by 74% between 2013 and 2023. Half the country lives in poverty and some eight million have fled, leading to tensions in neighboring countries — and the US. Read a brief overview here and a more in-depth explainer here.
Power Struggle in Sudan: The UN warned yesterday that Sudan is experiencing a worsening humanitarian crisis. In April Sudan entered its third year of a brutal civil war. The International Criminal Court this month informed the UN it had “reasonable grounds to believe” that war crimes and crimes against humanity — including widespread and targeted sexual violence against women and girls of specific ethnic communities — are being committed in Darfur, the epicenter of the conflict. In January, the US State Department concluded that genocide was being committed by the Rapid Support Forces in Darfur.
Human Impact: Almost 13 million people, or one-third of the population, has been displaced. At least 150,000 have been killed. Over 90% of the country’s school-age children have no access to formal education. Hundreds of thousands of people are suffering from famine, and millions more are at risk. The Trump administration’s dismantling of USAID only worsened an already perilous situation. For an insight into the situation on the ground at the epicenter of the crisis, the New Humanitarian has two new reports that you can read here and here. The second part focuses on local volunteers working to create community kitchens to help feed the displaced. The Guardian published photos from Khartoum, Sudan’s ravaged capital city, here.
Context: The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is a paramilitary group that has been battling Sudan’s military for the last three years. Formed in 2013, its origins lie in an infamous militia called the Janjaweed, which in the early 2000s was accused of committing genocide and ethnic cleansing against non-Arabs in Darfur. Both sides have traded territory repeatedly over the years, leaving major cities in ruins and making the coordination of aid incredibly difficult. For an overview of the conflict, consult the BBC. For more detail on the history behind the fighting, see here, and for information on the people affected, see here.
War Aims: The RSF is attempting to set up its own government, which could cause Sudan to fracture for the second time in 15 years (South Sudan split off in 2011). Both the RSF and Sudan’s government control massive gold mines, which, thanks in part to widespread child labor, produce billions of dollars — much of which flows straight out of the country to arms suppliers.
Who’s Involved: Russia’s Wagner Group and a senior Libyan commander are reportedly among the foreign powers involved on the RSF’s side. Egypt, China, Iran, Serbia, and Turkey have all provided support to both sides. Most important, though, is the UAE, which has provided substantial military support to the RSF, leading Sudan’s government to formally accuse it in March of complicity in genocide.
US Ties: The UAE is a major ally of the US. In May, the State Department authorized a $1.4 billion arms sale to the UAE; a month later, Republicans rejected a Democratic attempt to cancel the sale, which came shortly after a UAE-backed investment firm used a crypto owned by Trump to facilitate a $2 billion deal.
Cambodia/Thailand on the Brink of War: Over 100,000 people have been displaced this week as Cambodia and Thailand traded military attacks in a disputed border region. Thailand’s acting prime minister warned today this dispute “could develop into war.” Thailand has been a close US ally since 1954, and US support helped it develop its military into one of the strongest in the region. See photos of the fighting here.
US Headlines You Should Know
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