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Fighting continues across parts of the Middle East, with renewed exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Humanitarian needs are deepening, with rising civilian casualties, mounting displacement and growing strain on services. Diplomatic efforts continue with high stakes negotiations due to start Saturday between the US and Iran over the faltering ceasefire deal. Lebanon is an active war zone and the Strait of Hormuz is still effectively closed. Stay with us for live updates. App users can follow coverage here.

With Lebanon still reeling from Israel’s devastating airstrikes on 8 April, UN humanitarians reported new fears of attacks on ambulances and looming food shortages in the south of the country on Friday.

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. 

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.

More than a million Sudanese refugees who’ve fled into neighbouring Chad risk losing out on essential food, shelter and other support due to funding cuts, as the war in their homeland approaches the three-year mark.

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).

With a US-Iran ceasefire offering a fragile glimmer of hope after weeks of conflict, violence continues to reverberate across the Middle East. Massive airstrikes in Lebanon have caused heavy civilian casualties and widespread destruction, drawing strong UN condemnation. As humanitarian needs deepen and diplomatic efforts intensify, the situation remains highly volatile. Stay with us for live updates. App users can follow coverage here.

The announcement of a two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran, will it is hoped, lead to the opening of the strategically important Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which one fifth of the world’s oil and gas passes.

The United Nations has strongly condemned airstrikes by the Israeli military across Lebanon on Wednesday which have resulted in significant casualties and destruction.  

At least 326 humanitarians were killed in the line of duty across 21 countries during 2025, bringing the total killed over three years to over 1,010. The International Red Cross warned the Security Council on Wednesday that “we are losing our humanity in war.”

After nearly 40 days of intense hostilities across the Middle East – marked by rising civilian casualties and widespread damage to critical infrastructure – a two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran has been announced, offering a potential pause in the fighting. While the UN Secretary-General has welcomed the move as a step toward a broader peace, reports of continued Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon underscore the fragility of the situation. Stay with us for live updates on developments across the region and beyond. App users can follow coverage here.

The UN Security Council has failed to adopt a resolution aiming to boost security in the Strait of Hormuz as the critical shipping corridor remains largely closed to global trade and the transport of humanitarian aid, with war continuing to rage across the region.