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Her Excellency Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani participated in the High-level Pledging Event on the Central Emergency Response Fund 2026, held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, in the presence of the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher.In a statement during the event, HE Sheikha Alya announced that the State of Qatar, based on its firm belief in the vital role played by the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) in responding to urgent humanitarian needs and its longstanding partnership with the United Nations, is pleased to pledge $1 million to support CERF for 2026.Her Excellency expressed Qatar's deep appreciation for the Fund's pivotal role, noting that it has demonstrated a unique capacity to deliver rapid, life-saving assistance in the most urgent and complex humanitarian situations. She highlighted that CERF has provided food, shelter, medical care, and essential services at critical moments when swift response has meant the difference between life and death.HE Qatar's Permanent Representative also underscored the Fund's sustained role in responding to emergencies in conflict zones and in addressing climate-related disasters, stressing its continued importance and indispensable value to the international community.Her Excellency further noted that the State of Qatar was among the first contributors to CERF following its establishment in 2006, with its total contributions exceeding $21 million between 2006 and 2025.She concluded by affirming the State of Qatar's unwavering support for the Fund and its firm commitment to remaining a reliable and constructive partner of the United Nations. She stressed the importance of ensuring the timely and effective delivery of humanitarian assistance to all those affected and the need to strengthen cooperation among all stakeholders in humanitarian crises resulting from armed conflicts or natural disasters. She also highlighted the essential role of humanitarian diplomacy in promoting dialogue and facilitating access to those in need.

The Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) has reaffirmed its commitment to community safety and emergency readiness by conducting a comprehensive full-scale exercise recently.This large-scale simulation, which saw the participation of over 100 actors, was designed to rigorously test and enhance PHCC’s ability to respond to an emerging public health event. The exercise evaluated the effectiveness of command-and-control systems, clinical operations, security protocols, and resource management procedures in a realistic emergency scenario.“These exercises are a critical component of our multi-year training and exercise programme,” said Dr Hamda Ahmed J A al-Mansoori, manager of Emergency and Disaster Preparedness at PHCC. “They ensure that our health centres and staff are fully prepared to provide optimal care to our community during any emergency situation.”Dr al-Mansoori explained: “ PHCC is committed to emergency readiness by ensuring that all health centres receive annual major incident training and conduct drills as part of its comprehensive preparedness programme.”PHCC has designated 18 nodal centres across Qatar as focal points for major incident response, each equipped and trained to deliver round-the-clock emergency services when needed. The recent exercise demonstrated seamless coordination, ensuring comprehensive coverage and preparedness across the healthcare network.While preparing for the exercise, PHCC made provisions to ensure that business-as-usual (BAU) operations were not impacted. Patient care continued seamlessly throughout the day, reflecting PHCC’s dedication to maintaining service continuity while strengthening emergency response capabilities. There was no disruption to services, and patient care was not affected.PHCC operates 31 primary health care centres throughout Qatar, serving as the first point of contact for community healthcare needs. The Emergency and Disaster Preparedness Department continuously works to ensure organisational readiness through ongoing training, policy development, and regular exercises aligned with national and international best practices. 

In a bid to stave off famine and save lives, Qatar Charity (QC) has launched an emergency food security project in Yemen, backed by donors from Qatar.The initiative aims to rescue thousands of vulnerable families amid what is described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.The project kicked off in Taiz Governorate, targeting 1,780 families, and will soon expand to Al Hudaydah Governorate with a similar number, bringing the total beneficiaries to 3,560 families — around 25,000 people.Under the project, each family will receive three food baskets sufficient for four and a half months, containing essential staples such as wheat, rice, sugar, oil, and legumes. The distribution is being carried out in co-ordination with the Food Security Cluster and local authorities to ensure aid reaches the most vulnerable, including internally displaced persons (IDPs) and fragile communities.This intervention comes at a critical juncture as many international organisations have withdrawn, and relief programmes have ground to a halt, heightening famine risks across several Yemeni governorates, a QC statement said Wednesday. Yemen has endured over a decade of conflict that shattered infrastructure, wiped out livelihoods, and was compounded by climate disasters devastating agriculture—pushing millions to the brink of famine.In a joint statement issued last October, more than 30 international and local organisations warned that Yemen faces the world’s third-largest food crisis, with half the population struggling with hunger and half of all children under five suffering from chronic malnutrition. The statement projected that by early next year, over 18mn people will experience acute food insecurity, including 41,000 at risk of famine.Beneficiaries expressed profound relief. Hammoud Saeed Masad, a displaced father from Taiz, said: "I fled with my family because of the war. Despite my age and illness, I work for a meagre wage to feed my children. Sometimes we sleep without dinner. This aid is life-saving. Thank you to the generous people of Qatar." Samia Ahmed, shared: "I often go to bed without food. This basket brought me immense joy, and I will pray with all my heart for the generous donors." 

The Civil Defence in the Gaza Strip announced that its operations have effectively been reduced by 50% due to the lack of fuel needed to run emergency vehicles and rescue equipment.Spokesperson for the Civil Defence, Mahmoud Basal, told Qatar News Agency (QNA) Monday that field teams have been struggling for weeks to secure the fuel required to operate the remaining essential vehicles and equipment, including fire engines, rescue and ambulance vehicles, as well as portable power generators that run on gasoline and are critical for removing hazards and retrieving trapped individuals.He stressed that these tools form the backbone of firefighting, rescue missions, evacuation operations, and emergency response for civilians enduring dire humanitarian conditions under Israeli attacks. He warned that rescue teams can no longer reach thousands of damaged and unstable buildings, and that search and recovery efforts are on the verge of being completely shut down.Basal noted that a significant portion of the Civil Defence's response to fires, explosions, and building collapses has already stalled, posing an immediate threat to civilian lives. Despite appeals to UN agencies and international organizations to supply the needed fuel, Israeli-imposed restrictions continue to block the entry of sufficient quantities, with distribution mechanisms falling far short of operational needs. This, he said, has caused a major paralysis in the Civil Defence's ability to fulfill its humanitarian duties.He called for lifting all restrictions on fuel delivery and ensuring immediate and full operational supply, with a transparent and consistent mechanism that aligns with the scale of the emergency in Gaza.Despite the lack of equipment, Basal emphasised that efforts to recover the bodies of Palestinians martyred in Israeli occupation airstrikes continue. However, operations are progressing extremely slowly due to severe equipment shortages. Currently, only one excavator is operating in central Gaza in co-ordination with the International Committee of the Red Cross and specialised teams to retrieve bodies from beneath the rubble.He said that once work is completed in the central and southern areas, the excavator will move to Gaza City and the northern region. Basal stressed that a single excavator is insufficient given the enormous number of bodies, and that additional heavy machinery is urgently needed to complete the process as quickly and safely as possible.Basal also noted that some international organisations have expressed willingness to support recovery efforts and bring in heavy machinery. Still, so far, no additional equipment has entered Gaza aside from the one excavator currently in use.He described the issue of missing persons as a profoundly humanitarian crisis, with families submitting daily pleas for help in recovering their loved ones. He estimated that around 10,000 bodies remain under the rubble, though obtaining precise figures is extremely difficult due to the conditions on the ground and the lack of comprehensive documentation.Specialised committees have been formed to document and assess families targeted by Israeli occupation attacks who require urgent intervention by Civil Defence teams.Basal concluded by noting that although Israeli aggression on Gaza ceased following the October ceasefire agreement, which according to official and UN reports, left around 92% of residential buildings fully or partially destroyed, the Israeli occupation continues to block the entry of reconstruction materials, rubble removal equipment, and essential humanitarian supplies for sectors including health and water. This ongoing obstruction, in violation of the humanitarian protocol annexed to the ceasefire agreement, is crippling local, municipal, and international efforts to provide basic services to war-stricken residents of the Gaza Strip. 

Sri Lanka declared a state of emergency Saturday and appealed for international assistance as the death toll from heavy rains and floods triggered by Cyclone Ditwah rose to 153, with another 191 reported missing. The extreme weather system has destroyed more than 15,000 homes, sending 78,000 people to state-run temporary shelters, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake invoked emergency laws, granting him sweeping powers to deal with the devastation after a week of torrential rain across the island. “We have 153 confirmed dead and another 191 missing,” DMC Director-General Sampath Kotuwegoda said, adding that relief efforts had been bolstered with the deployment of the army, navy and air force. The military rescued 69 bus passengers on Saturday, including a German tourist, who were marooned in the Anuradhapura district after a 24-hour operation involving a helicopter and naval boats. One of the passengers, speaking to reporters at a local hospital, said navy sailors had helped them climb onto the roof of a nearby home after using ropes to help them safely wade through flood waters. “We were very lucky... while we were on the roof, a part of it collapsed... three women fell into the water, but they were helped back onto the roof,” Shantha said. A helicopter had to abort an initial rescue attempt as the downdraft from the rotors threatened to blow away the roof they were perched on, he said. They were later rescued by naval boats. Roads in the central district of Badulla remained inaccessible, leaving many villages cut off and relief supplies unable to get through. “We lost two people in our village... others are sheltering at a temple and a house that is still standing,” said Saman Kumara from the village of Maspanna in Badulla, one of the worst-affected districts. “We can’t leave the village and no one can come in because all roads are blocked by earth slips. There is no food and we are short of clean water,” he told media website News Center by telephone. Officials said about a third of the country was without electricity and running water as power lines had collapsed and water purification facilities were inundated. Internet connections were also disrupted in many areas. Cyclone Ditwah moved away from the island Saturday and was heading towards neighbouring India to the north. India’s Chennai Airport has cancelled 54 flights in view of the cyclone’s approach, with the weather department forecasting extremely heavy rainfall and strong winds over the next 48 hours. Fresh landslides hit the central district of Kandy, 115km (71 miles) east of Colombo, with the main access road underwater at several locations. The government has issued an appeal for international help and asked Sri Lankans abroad to make cash donations to support affected communities. Officials said Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya had met Colombo-based diplomats to update them on the situation and seek assistance from their governments. India was the first to respond, sending two plane loads of relief supplies, while an Indian warship already in Colombo on a previously planned goodwill visit donated its rations to help victims. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences over the loss of lives in Sri Lanka and said New Delhi was ready to send more aid. Flooding in low-lying areas worsened on Saturday, prompting authorities to issue evacuation orders for those living along the banks of the Kelani river, which flows into the Indian Ocean from Colombo. Rain had eased in most parts of the country, including the capital, but the island’s north was still experiencing showers due to the residual effects of Cyclone Ditwah. The cyclone is Sri Lanka’s deadliest natural disaster since 2017, when flooding and landslides killed more than 200 people and displaced hundreds of thousands of others. The worst flooding Sri Lanka has experienced since the turn of the century occurred in June 2003, when 254 people were killed. 

Three people were killed and 29 others injured on Sunday in a Russian attack on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.Ukraine’s Emergency Service reported that the city was targeted by Russian forces for the second time in the past 24 hours.According to the report, Russian forces carried out a drone strike in the Desnianskyi district, where one drone hit a nine-story residential building.Another drone struck a 16-story building, shattering the windows on the first nine floors. Reports also indicated that a drone hit a multi-story building in the Obolonskyi district.Drone strikes between Russia and Ukraine have become routine amid the ongoing conflict, which remains far from a political solution as Moscow continues its military operation in Ukraine until its declared objectives are achieved.

Four people were killed when a building under renovation collapsed in the center of the Spanish capital, Madrid. According to the Spanish news agency (EFE), emergency teams recovered the victims' bodies last night from beneath the rubble of the six-story structure located on Calle de las Hileras, between the Royal Opera House and Puerta del Sol, one of Madrid's busiest areas. Around 40 workers were on site at the time of the incident.Madrid Mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida said that the identities of three victims have been confirmed, while the fourth is believed to be an architect involved in the renovation project.Authorities reported that three other workers were injured, including one who suffered a broken leg and two who sustained minor wounds.Land registry records show that the building, which covers a total area of 6,745 square meters, was originally constructed in 1965.

Russian air defenses intercepted several Ukrainian drones heading toward the capital Moscow early Tuesday, in the second such incident within 24 hours. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said in a post on social media that emergency service specialists were working at the site where debris had fallen. In Tula Region, south of Moscow, Russian authorities reported the destruction of four Ukrainian drones overnight, adding that no casualties or damage to buildings or infrastructure had been recorded. Voronezh Governor Aleksandr Gusev also said that Russian air defense forces had shot down several drones in two areas of the region, with no injuries reported, according to preliminary information. The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that a total of 184 Ukrainian drones were intercepted and destroyed over various regions of the country during the past night. Since the start of the conflict in February 2022, Russia and Ukraine have issued near-daily reports of attacks and counterattacks, which remain difficult to verify independently due to the ongoing hostilities and wartime conditions.

China's Ministry of Emergency Management issued a Level (4) emergency response for disaster relief after Typhoon Matmo, the 21st typhoon of the 2025 Pacific typhoon season, struck the southern provinces of Guangdong and Hainan. China's National Commission for Disaster Reduction (NCDR) dispatched working teams to the affected areas to direct rescue and relief operations at the disaster sites, Xinhua News Agency reported. According to local authorities, approximately 347,000 people in Guangdong and Hainan provinces have been evacuated for their safety. China has a four-tier emergency response system, with Level 1 representing the most severe response.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized the gravity of the situation at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, following a complete power outage about a week ago. Zelenskyy added, in a video address, that one of the emergency power generators had gone out of service seven days after the external power lines were cut off. "This is the seventh day. There has never before been such an emergency situation at the Zaporizhzhia plant. The situation is critical. Russian shelling has cut the plant off from the electricity network," Zelenskyy said. "We have information that one of the diesel generators has stopped working," he added. The Zaporizhzhia plant, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, has been under Russian control since March 2022, about a month after the outbreak of the Russian military operation in Ukraine. However, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regularly deploys a team of experts at the site. The plant has previously been targeted by strikes, causing eight power outages. The plant is in a delicate situation, raising fears of a major nuclear accident. Kyiv and Moscow are trading accusations of planning to cause an accident at the site.

Local authorities in Taiwan, China, said that Typhoon Ragasa had left 14 dead and 18 injured as of this morning. About 100 people are still trapped and awaiting rescue, according to the island's emergency operations center. Local authorities said that rescue teams are racing to locate the missing persons, hoping to conclude the search at a later date. Typhoon Ragasa's outward air currents continue to batter the eastern, northern, and southern coastal areas of Taiwan, China, causing heavy rains.

Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, praised the outcomes of the extraordinary session of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Supreme Council and the Emergency Arab-Islamic Summit, held in Doha Monday, which expressed support for the State of Qatar in confronting the Israeli aggression and reaffirmed the categorical rejection of any violation of international law and international norms. Chairing the weekly Cabinet meeting, the Crown Prince reiterated the Kingdom's strongest condemnation of the attacks by the Israeli occupation authorities in the region, and reaffirmed Saudi Arabia's full solidarity with Qatar and its support for all measures to safeguard its security and preserve its sovereignty.