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The ongoing “white and iron” dzud in Mongolia has reached a “critical” level, with over 90 per cent of the country facing high levels of risk from the unique weather phenomenon, UN agencies have reported.

Amid further fighting across Gaza on Thursday, including reports of deadly airstrikes in the Rafah governorate, the UN’s top aid official, Martin Griffiths, echoed widespread international fears about a further escalation of the conflict.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) this week undertook his fourth visit to the beleaguered Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in southern Ukraine, his office said on Thursday. 

As the devastating Gaza-Israel war entered its fifth month on Wednesday leaving a reported 27,585 Palestinians dead and nearly 70,000 injured, the UN’s top humanitarian official welcomed early indications of a “potential breakthrough” in negotiations for a ceasefire and the release of all remaining hostages.

The United Nations on Wednesday urged countries not to forget millions of people caught up in the war between rival militaries in Sudan, calling for $4.1 billion to help stave off famine and assist those who have fled into neighbouring countries.

The top UN official in the Middle East underscored the importance of a ceasefire in Gaza during a briefing to journalists at UN Headquarters on Wednesday. 

As severe hunger ripples across northern Ethiopia, the World Food Programme (WFP) is ramping up efforts to deliver lifesaving assistance to three million people in the coming weeks to avert “a major humanitarian catastrophe”, the agency announced on Tuesday.

Tens of thousands of families that survived last year’s devastating earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria have yet to recover on multiple fronts, the UN’s top humanitarian official warned on Tuesday.

Cancer patients, young students and families are among the 250,000 Palestinians – 80 per cent already living under the poverty line – who could lose access to lifesaving services in Lebanon by March amid looming funding cuts, the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, country director told UN News on Tuesday.

Despite being the driving force for sustainable development, middle-income countries face unique challenges and require more international support and vision to thrive, the UN deputy chief said on Tuesday.

UN humanitarians reported on Monday that a food convoy in Gaza had been hit by shelling after a deadly weekend of hostilities in Gaza in which at least 234 Palestinians were reportedly killed, stoking regional tensions in the Middle East. 

Some of the world’s leading tech companies have signed a ground-breaking agreement with the UN to build more ethical artificial intelligence (AI) systems.

With the war in Sudan triggering widespread violence and instability, youth-driven emergency response rooms (ERRs) are among a growing number of community-led initiatives reaching vulnerable civilians with myriad assistance, from repairing damaged power lines to carving out safe evacuation routes for millions fleeing the conflict.

The UN agency assisting Palestine refugees (UNRWA) plays a “critical role” in delivering aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip and it is vital to restore international confidence in the agency, the United States Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on Friday.

The number of hungry people in Sudan has doubled over the past year, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday, adding that it is already receiving reports of people dying from starvation. 

The UN and the Government of Ethiopia have appealed for urgent funding to respond to rising hunger in the northern highlands region, the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, reported on Friday.

Lifesaving aid operations in Gaza are “in peril” amid ongoing Israeli bombardment because of the funding crisis impacting the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, top UN officials reiterated on Thursday.

Humanitarians will need $2.7 billion to support millions of civilians in war-ravaged Yemen this year, the UN and partners said on Thursday. 

Deadly clashes and shelling continued in Khan Younis in southern Gaza overnight into Wednesday as top UN humanitarians and NGO chiefs warned of the “catastrophic consequences” of defunding UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees facing allegations of collusion with Hamas.

The war in Gaza has resulted in an unprecedented level of destruction to its economy which will take tens of billions of dollars and decades to reverse, UN trade and development body UNCTAD said in a new report on Wednesday. 

As the UN chief prepares to meet representatives from countries who donate to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) late on Tuesday following allegations of collusion with Hamas, the UN health agency, WHO, reiterated that now was not the time to abandon the people of Gaza.

No organization can be a substitute for the UN agency assisting Palestinians, UNRWA, in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, the Organization’s senior coordinator for the enclave said on Tuesday.

The UN and partners launched the 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan for Somalia on Tuesday, calling for $1.6 billion to assist 5.2 million people across the Horn of Africa nation.

Ongoing hostilities across the Gaza Strip have been “particularly intense” in the southern city of Khan Younis, UN humanitarians warned on Monday, as the UN agency for Palestinians, UNWRA, reported that its shelters were now four times over-capacity.

Secretary-General António Guterres is due to meet with major donors to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) on Tuesday, as major non-governmental organizations (NGOs) issued an urgent plea to keep lifesaving funds flowing.

Secretary-General António Guterres has appealed to the countries that suspended funding to the UN agency assisting Palestine refugees (UNRWA) to reconsider their decisions, to ensure continuity of its vital humanitarian operations.

The head of the UN agency assisting Palestine refugees (UNRWA) said on Saturday that some countries’ decisions to halt funding will jeopardize its lifesaving programmes, urging them to reconsider.

Secretary-General António Guterres has asked the head of the UN agency assisting Palestine refugees, UNRWA, to “swiftly” investigate “extremely serious allegations” that several agency staffers were involved in the 7 October terror attacks in southern Israel.

Attacks on buildings in Gaza where terrified civilians are sheltering are “abhorrent and must stop immediately”, a top UN humanitarian official insisted on Thursday following a direct hit on a United Nations training centre.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is due to issue an emergency measures order on Friday relating to South Africa’s accusations of genocide by the Israeli military in Gaza, which Israel strongly denies.