U.S. plans to rejoin UNESCO from July this year

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said that the United States plans to rejoin the body from July this year. The U.S. had previously withdrawn from UNESCO at the end of 2018. 

The United States, a founding member of UNESCO, was a major contributor to UNESCO's budget until 2011, when the body admitted Palestine as a member state. That triggered an end to the contributions under US law.

Then, President Donald Trump went further by announcing in 2017 that the United States was withdrawing from UNESCO alongside Israel, accusing the body of bias against the Jewish state. Its pullout took effect in 2018.