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The UN Secretary-General has welcomed the decision on Monday by the Syrian president to open two further crossing points on the Turkish border to allow more aid into the stricken northwest of the country.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a $43 million appeal to support earthquake response in Syria and Türkiye, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced on Sunday.

The amount is set to increase as the magnitude of the disaster becomes clearer, he said, speaking during a press conference from the Syrian capital, Damascus.

Latest reports put the death toll at more than 33,000, according to international media, with millions more left homeless.

Humanitarians will launch appeals for Türkiye and Syria in the aftermath of the deadly earthquakes this week, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths said on Saturday.

Mr. Griffiths was speaking in the Turkish city of Kahramanmaraş, where recovery efforts are ongoing in frigid temperatures.

He met with families left homeless by the disaster and listened to their stories of shock and devastation. 

“I am here to make sure that these people also are not forgotten,” he said.

Now is the time to stand up for the people of Türkiye and Syria living in the region of the deadly earthquake disaster, said the UN chief on Thursday, and show them “the same kind of support and generosity” which they have displayed in recent years, aiding millions of refugees and displaced people fleeing conflict.

After a massive earthquake hit southern Türkiye and northern Syria in the early hours of Monday, prompting fears of a humanitarian crisis, UN aid agencies have scrambled to help many thousands of reported victims, including those still believed to be buried under the rubble. The initial 7.8 magnitude quake struck close to Gaziantep, followed by another 7.5 magnitude earthquake several hours later. 

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Regional Office for West Asia in collaboration with the University of Technology and Applied Sciences in Oman launched today a 4-day workshop in Muscat, Oman on extracting and using colorants from natural sources.

Held under the umbrella of the UNEP West Asia Sustainable Fashion Academy initiative, the workshop has brought together participants from Oman, Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. 

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)  has appointed Mr. Mazen Shaqoura as the Regional Representative for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region as of 1 February 2023.

He comes with over 25 years of experience in human rights and has extensive knowledge of international law and political affairs with the United Nations, in conflict contexts in the Middle East and Africa.  

A UN-led plan to tackle climate change by radically improving the way heat-trapping atmospheric pollutants are measured all over the planet, is being given serious consideration by governments and the international scientific community, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Wednesday.

Building on a longstanding global partnership, the Government of Japan and the United Nations Human Settlements programme (UN-Habitat) have signed a new project totalling US$900,000. This new partnership was marked at the Japanese Embassy in Beirut and by the Japanese Ambassador to Lebanon, H.E. Magoshi Masayuki, and Head of UN-Habitat Lebanon Country Programme, Taina Christiansen.

In collaboration with the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Beirut, Al-Balad Online website in Lebanon launched a weekly segment titled “Al-Balad Barometer” on its web tv to address mis/disinformation that spread throughout the week and the issue of hate speech in an effort to limit its spread in society.