Amidst a month dedicated to love and equality in the United States, Americans and citizens around the world have faced severe blows over the past week in the fight for equality.  From the deadliest US shooting at a gay club in Orlando, to the murder of the United Kingdom’s MP Jo Cox, and across the world in Falljuah, Iraq where more than 85,000 people have been forced to leave the city – these are times that test the resolve and strength of all those who fight for equality.

Yet, these are the hours and days when recommitting to peace and justice (see the UN’s Global Goal 16) matter most. This month will close with vibrant displays of color and love at the New York City’s Pride Parade and with Monday’s strawberry moon – the longest day of the year. And so it goes on.

Here’s the news and thought leadership pieces you need to know:

The Latest On The United Nations And The Global Goals: 

The UN Secretary General’s special op-ed in The Guardian on the World Humanitarian Summit: Ban Ki-moon: ‘We Must Work in New Ways to Help People in Crisis’. “The challenge we face is unprecedented. Around the world, 130 million people need humanitarian aid. More than 60 million people have been forcibly displaced from their homes. Despite their precarious conditions, there is a severe lack of funding to assist them – raising basic questions about global solidarity in a world of great wealth.”

Could this be the secret solution to ending extreme poverty? Brookings’ Senior Fellow John McArthur writes in GOOD on How to End Worldwide Poverty by 2030. “A bold experiment announced by the nonprofit GiveDirectly builds on growing evidence that simply giving people money can play a major role in mitigating the worst pains of extreme poverty, particularly among those living on $1 a day or less. Conventional wisdom says it’s too impractical, too costly, and unlikely to forge real change. But independent studies, including randomized control trials, indicate that one-off cash transfers can boost food consumption, improve the health of children, and help people and their small businesses establish long-term incomes. Despite concerns from skeptics, recipients don’t appear to buy unhealthy or frivolous items.”

Global Trends – What Experts Are Reading and Writing About:

It’s not all doom and gloom when it comes to our climate. Harvard Business Review reports that two American food giants recently set aggressive new targets to cut carbon emissions: How General Mills and Kellogg Are Tackling Greenhouse Gas Emissions. “In the global effort to limit climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), the energy and transportation sectors are the most obvious targets, but perhaps not be the biggest. Consider the food business. Agriculture alone – not including the sizable food processing industry — produces up to 35% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions(and uses 70% of the water).”

Where the money is — Devex’s Raj Kumar interviews the White House’s Ben Rhodes on the future of US development policy. “He’s been called — in one of the most talked-about profile stories of the year — ‘the single most influential voice shaping American foreign policy aside from [President Obama] himself.’ Ben Rhodes, White House deputy national security advisor, is shaping United States foreign assistance too — and the development legacy this administration will leave behind.”

Looking Ahead – What We’re Paying Attention To:

Monday is World Refugee Day and the United Nations reports new stats – A Record 65 Million Displaced by Global Conflicts, UN Says. “More people are on the run than ever before in recorded history, the United Nations said in a report released Monday. They include those fleeing marauders in South Sudan, drug gangs in Central America, and the Islamic State in the Iraqi cities of Mosul and Falluja. While most are displaced within their own countries, an unprecedented number are seeking political asylum in the world’s rich countries. Nearly 100,000 are children who have attempted the journey alone.”

Image: New York Times’ The Week in Pictures: June 17, 2016 – Flowers left next to Lake Eola in Orlando on Monday as a memorial to those killed at the nightclub Pulse on Sunday morning. The killings prompted discussion of crimes against gays and recent progress on gay rights. Hilary Swift for The New York Times.