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Inter-ethnic violence in Syria’s predominantly Druze city of Sweida has been met with government intervention, Israeli airstrikes – and on Tuesday, a reported ceasefire announcement by Syria’s defence minister. 

On Sunday, violence erupted between Sunni Bedouin tribal fighters and Druze militias in Sweida, two days after a Druze merchant was abducted on the highway to Damascus.

Global life expectancy increased by an astonishing five years between 2000 and 2019. And then since the COVID-19 pandemic, it slid backwards by almost two. More than 110 million children have entered school since 2015 – but by 2023, 272 million children still had no access to the classroom. 

Clashes on Sunday between Sunni Bedouin tribal fighters and Druze militia have reportedly left at least 30 dead in Syria’s predominantly-Druze city of Sweida. 

The violence erupted two days after a Druze merchant was abducted on the highway to Damascus.

As the deadline for the 2030 Agenda looms, ministers, experts, and civil society leaders from around the world will convene in New York next week for a high-level UN forum to fast-track action on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The fuel crisis in Gaza has reached a breaking point, threatening to bring all humanitarian operations to a halt and endangering the lives of everyone reliant on aid inside the enclave, UN agencies warned in a powerful joint statement on Saturday.

“Fuel is the backbone of survival in Gaza,” said the statement. “Without fuel, these lifelines will vanish for 2.1 million people.”

The Kingdom of Jordan recently opened its first advanced nuclear medicine diagnostic centre in a public hospital with IAEA support, significantly increasing access to diagnostic services for cancer and other non-communicable diseases.   

The head of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has voiced deep dismay over the “unconscionable” killing of children during an aid distribution in the central Gaza Strip on Thursday. 

Catherine Russell said she was appalled by the reported killing of 15 Palestinians, including nine children and four women, who were waiting in line for nutritional supplements provided by Project Hope, a UNICEF partner organization.

UN humanitarians have warned that the catastrophic conditions in Gaza are worsening, as tents, schools, homes and medical facilities come under attack, and fuel supplies run out. 

What little fuel remains is powering essential operations, but it is running out fast, and there are virtually no additional accessible stocks left, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said, citing reports from the UN relief coordination office, OCHA.  

As digital technologies rapidly reshape every aspect of society, the UN’s top human rights official has called for human rights to be placed at the centre of this transformation.

Digital technologies have the potential to drive progress and strengthen rights, including connecting people, improving access to health and education, and much more.

A key water reservoir serving Khan Younis in southern Gaza has become inaccessible following new Israeli displacement orders, sparking fears of a collapse in the city’s water distribution network and worsening already dire humanitarian conditions, the United Nations warned on Wednesday.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Israeli authorities issued displacement orders overnight for two neighbourhoods in Khan Younis, where up to 80,000 people had been living.