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Qatar Charity (QC) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have signed a letter of understanding (LoU) accompanied by a Data Sharing Addendum, to enhance their joint response to the humanitarian needs of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. The LoU was signed as part of a broader co-operation framework aimed at strengthening co-ordination and collaboration between the two organisations, particularly in the areas of shelter and settlement, as well as the provision of humanitarian aid materials and essential services for the most vulnerable refugee populations. The agreement was signed by Ivo Freijsen, representative of UNHCR Bangladesh, and Zakarya al-Motair, country director of Qatar Charity’s Bangladesh branch. 

Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS)’s representation office in Yemen announced that more than 77,000 refugees and locals in Sanaa received comprehensive healthcare services, as part of a healthcare project with a $904,005 funding from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Two medical facilities are covered by the project: Al-Hafi and Al-Rahbi healthcare complexes. The project also involves referrals for the patients requiring emergency or advanced care to government hospitals and specialised medical centres/clinics. From January to November 2025, the number of beneficiaries reached 42,113 and 35,270 locals, who received a wide range of primary healthcare services for free, including consultations; medical examinations; medications; radiology; mental health; reproductive health; maternity and child healthcare; vaccinations; and health education on pregnancy care, reduction of pregnancy complications, benefits of breastfeeding, prevention of infectious diseases and cholera, and personal hygiene. Moreover, 2,260 refugees benefited from the referral programme, with significant medical services provided, including 300 surgeries, at specialised government hospitals. The procedures included open-heart surgeries, therapeutic catheterisations, thoracic surgeries, orthopaedics, and advanced tests at private-sector laboratories and medical centres. Ibrahim Issa, a 57-year-old Somali refugee is one of the beneficiaries who shared their experience, saying: “For two years, I had been suffering from a severe neck pain. Recently, I underwent a cervical spine fixation surgery at the Al-Jumhuri Hospital’s Department of Orthopedics. I received comprehensive and free-of-charge healthcare from my admission to full recovery. I am deeply grateful and overjoyed to be free from pain, which had plagued me for years”. The Ethiopian refugee Fareed Siraj, 15, expressed his gratitude, saying: “My mother received full medical care at the Al-Thawra Hospital’s Department of Cardiac Catheterisation. She underwent a therapeutic catheterisation and stent placement in the right artery. I am extremely happy and thankful for this project, which saved her life from imminent danger. We could never afford the procedure’s cost of $4,000”. For seven consecutive years, QRCS has been providing regular support for Al-Hafi and Al-Rahbi primary healthcare complexes, including medications, medical solutions, stationery, fuel, water, and operational expenses. 

Growing support for far-right parties is pressuring European governments to introduce stricter controls on immigration. Switzerland is set to vote on a proposal that would take the idea to the next level — imposing a cap on its population.The initiative could lead eventually to a blanket ban on new arrivals if the number of residents rises from around 9mn currently to above 10mn, with little distinction made between refugees, skilled workers and top managers on six-figure salaries.Citizens will likely vote on the proposal next year under the country’s unique system of plebiscites on constitutional amendments and policy, and polls suggest there’s a chance they’ll approve it. The risk is it could lead to shortages of critical skills that end up harming Switzerland’s competitiveness. The outcome will show how far citizens are willing to go to preserve some of the traits that made their country such an appealing destination. What prompted the call for a Swiss population cap? Switzerland’s dynamic economy has made it a major draw for foreign workers. The country is home to global businesses including UBS Group AG, Nestle SA and Novartis AG. Its relatively low taxes, highly skilled population and lean approach to government have also drawn in big foreign businesses including Google, IBM Corp and Walt Disney Co. The country’s per-capita economic output is now the sixth-highest in the world.The nation’s population has grown steadily for almost five decades, and many locals now complain of sky-high rents, traffic jams and overcrowding on trains and buses that harm their quality of life.The right-wing Swiss People’s Party, or SVP, won 28% of the vote in the last election with a campaign that presented Swiss citizenship as a privilege, not a right. It came up with the idea of a population limit in 2023, presenting it as a way to preserve the Swiss lifestyle and protect its environment from excessive human activity. How fast is Switzerland’s population growing? Switzerland’s population has grown by about 10% over the past decade. That’s much quicker than in the European Union, where the population grew less than 2% over the same period, according to World Bank data. Migration is the biggest contributor to the Swiss population increase, with the natural growth rate — the difference between births and deaths — accounting for only about a tenth of the growth.The increase was especially high in 2023 as national statistics factored in the arrival of refugees from Ukraine for the first time. In most years, migrants have come largely from the EU or countries with which Switzerland has a free-trade and association agreement. Is the vote likely to pass? There’s a fair chance that it will, even though the government — which in Switzerland is always composed of the largest parties, including the SVP — opposes the plan. A poll conducted in late November and published on December 7 suggested that 48% of voters were either inclined to back the proposal or had already decided to vote for it. A smaller percentage, 41%, was against, while 11% of voters were undecided.In Switzerland’s system of direct democracy, citizens cast ballots as much as four times a year on issues ranging from inheritance taxes to whether apes should get human rights. Support for a proposal tends to decline as the vote date draws nearer. However, an earlier survey in July also showed a 48% approval rate for the population cap idea, suggesting it has a steady base of support that is not so likely to shrink. What would enforcing the population cap involve? Supporters of the plan propose a multi-step arrangement that would be triggered if Switzerland’s population surpasses the 9.5mn mark before 2050. That’s quite likely to happen: Current forecasts project the country will come close to the threshold in five years and cross it by 2035.The first target would be asylum seekers and families of foreign residents who wish to follow them into Switzerland. People admitted to the country on a temporary basis would no longer be entitled to a residence or settlement permit, citizenship or any other right of residence.**media[392261]**If the threshold of 10mn residents is crossed, the country would then withdraw from what the proposal describes as “population-driving” international treaties.If the population doesn’t fall back below 10mn two years after that, Switzerland would as a final step quit the free-movement accord it has with the European Union. This would have far-reaching consequences as it would trigger the cancellation of a range of other bilateral deals the Swiss have with the bloc. It would also call into question the residence rights of some 1.5mn EU citizens currently living and working in Switzerland and threaten the country’s access to the EU’s single market. How does Switzerland’s business community view the proposal? Various lobby groups have expressed concerns. Economiesuisse warned of “substantial” damage from the proposal, pointing to an expected shortage of 430,000 workers by 2040 that it said could not be filled without immigration. Manufacturing lobby Swissmem said the recruitment of skilled workers from the EU is “essential” for the export-dependent sector.Some individual business leaders support the proposal, including Ems-Chemie Holding AG Chief Executive Officer Magdalena Martullo-Blocher and businessman Thomas Matter. Both are lawmakers for the SVP in the national parliament. What could be the impact on Switzerland and its economy? There have been no formal estimates of the proposal’s economic impact, but it’s widely assumed it would be a drag on growth. Beside the expected labour shortages and an accelerated aging of society, there’s the risk of severe trade disruption if the bilateral agreements with the EU — the destination for more than 40% of Swiss exports — were to fall away.The initiative’s proponents argue such issues would be offset by lower housing rents and lower costs for infrastructure and public welfare. 

Her Excellency Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations, Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani met with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi at the Permanent Mission's headquarters in New York. During the meeting, aspects of cooperation between the State of Qatar and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees were reviewed. The two sides also discussed ways to enhance joint efforts to alleviate the suffering of refugees and displaced persons around the world through the provision of humanitarian and relief assistance.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) confirmed on Tuesday that 12 of its facilities in Gaza City were directly or indirectly hit between September 11 and 16. UNRWA added on its official website that among the targeted facilities were nine schools and two health centers, which sheltered more than 11,000 displaced persons.UNRWA noted that its activities in Gaza City have significantly decreased due to the deteriorating security situation.UNRWA's only health center in northern Wadi Gaza, located in Al-Shati refugee camp, was forced to suspend operations on September 13 due to intensified attacks and damage sustained during the raids.The agency stated that the massive destruction to the city's infrastructure, coupled with the severe disruption to humanitarian operations and access restrictions, severely impede the last remaining lifelines for civilians in Gaza City.On September 16, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry concluded that Israel committed genocide, stating that Israel prevented trusted aid agencies (including UNRWA) from delivering essential and life-saving assistance, with the aim of "physical destruction of Palestinians in Gaza through harsh living conditions."The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that nearly half of the more than 246,800 displacements recorded since mid-August occurred in the past week alone, with increasing reports of displaced families sleeping on the streets or in makeshift tents, struggling to survive.UNRWA noted that Israeli forces have tightened movement and access restrictions in the West Bank, including the installation of new road gates to control the movement of Palestinians in and out of communities across the region.

The Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) Philippe Lazzarini announced that in the past four days alone, Israel has struck 10 UNRWA buildings in Gaza City, including seven schools and two clinics currently serving as shelters for thousands of displaced people.Lazzarini added in a post on UNRWA's X platform account that no place and no one is safe in Gaza City and its north, where the intensity of airstrikes is increasing, forcing more Palestinians to flee into the unknown.Commenting on the situation in Gaza City, he said, "We were forced to suspend healthcare at Al-Shati refugee camp, the only health care available north of Wadi Gaza. Our vital water and sanitation services are now only at half capacity."The UN official continued, "In the past four days alone, 10 UNRWA buildings have been targeted in Gaza City," calling for an immediate ceasefire.Days ago, Israel began a campaign of gradual destruction of high-rise residential buildings in Gaza City, forcing more families into displacement under harsh and dire conditions. Meanwhile, human rights organizations warn that the goal is to forcibly displace residents southward, as part of a broader plan to displace them outside the Gaza Strip.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) stated that intensified Israeli military operations in Gaza City will expose around one million people to new forced displacement.The agency added in a post on the X platform Friday, that any further escalation would exacerbate suffering and push more Palestinian civilians toward catastrophe, amid existing famine.It pointed out that the ongoing Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip and evacuation orders are forcing entire families to leave their homes once again amid fear and destruction.Members of the UN Security Council, except the United States, called on Wednesday in a joint statement for an immediate, permanent, and unconditional ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, a significant increase in aid across the sector, and for Israel, the occupying power, to immediately and unconditionally lift all restrictions on the delivery of aid.They also called on Israel to immediately reverse its decision to take control of Gaza City.