In 2024, 300 million people across 72 countries will need humanitarian assistance as climate change, displacement and conflict push more people to the brink of famine, a UN report published on Monday found.
The UN and partners are appealing for $46.4 billion to help reach 180.5 million of the 300 million people who are most in need of life-saving assistance, double the amount sought four years ago.
“This figure has been arrived at by a process in every single country where we operate, where humanitarian agencies operate, by looking at the levels of need, counting the populations in need, compiling lists, analysing them, seeing who's in need of what,” UN aid chief Martin Griffiths told reporters.
“There has been an enormous effort made by humanitarian agencies in every single one of those countries to limit our focus on the very, very direst needs.”
The Mena region, where continuing geopolitical tension is fuelling large-scale displacements, resource shortages and severe humanitarian crises, requires $13.9 billion in funding to address the needs of 53 million people, marking the highest funding requirement among all regions.
It constitutes 30 per cent of the 2024 Global Humanitarian Overview, the UN said.
“The Middle East as a whole, adding Gaza and West Bank in, is probably going to be the area of greatest need,” Mr Griffiths said.
Specifically, three countries have appeals for more than $1 billion – the Occupied Palestinian territories, Syria and Yemen.
Across the region, 50 million people are displaced in their own countries or as refugees across borders, leading to overcrowded camps and strained host communities.
More than 40 million people need urgent support, according to the UN’s humanitarian partners.
The number of food-insecure people has increased by 20 per cent across the region over the past three years – reaching more than 41 million.
The unemployment rate is about 10.67 per cent, with Palestine, Libya and Jordan having the region's highest rates.
More than 31 per cent of the population of Mena are living under the poverty line, with Yemen, Syria, and Egypt having the highest rates.
The 2024 appeal is “quite a considerable reduction” to the $57 billion in 2023, Mr Griffiths said.
“You can imagine what hard work it has been to reduce those numbers, to persuade agencies to come down, to be realistic, to be focused, to be tough-minded about what we are really going to be able to achieve,” he said.
This year, donor funding led to the largest financing deficit for the UN, with unmet financial needs passing one third of the required $57 billion for 2023, OCHA said in its annual assessment of global humanitarian needs.
“If we cannot provide more help in 2024, people will pay for it with their lives,” said Mr Griffiths.
Because of the lack of funding, 10 million people in Afghanistan lost access to food assistance between May and November.
In Yemen, more than 80 per cent of people focused on for assistance do not have proper water and sanitation.
Unlike in other parts of the UN where fees depend on countries' economic size, humanitarian funding is voluntary and relies overwhelmingly on 10 top donors who provide about 60 to 80 per cent of the total amount.
The US is by far the biggest donor, giving $15 billion so far this year, followed by Germany, the European Commission and Japan.
“As we come out of the Cop28, the climate community is a community of enormous activism and energy," Mr Griffiths said.
"It is a community that insists on its rights and the importance of its objectives, existentially for the world. We need to be like that.
“We need money. We need safety. We need international humanitarian law.
"And we need activism to remind people that actually, humanitarian operations are a sign and a signal and a symptom of the greatest humanity.”
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Meydan race card
6.30pm: Maiden; Dh165,000; (Dirt) 1,200m
7.05pm: Handicap; Dh170,000; (D) 1,200m
7.40pm: Maiden; Dh165,000; (D) 1,900m
8.15pm: Handicap; Dh185,000; (D) 2,000m
8.50pm: Handicap; Dh185,000; (D) 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap; Dh165,000; (D) 2,000m
Results:
6.30pm: Handicap (Turf) | US$175,000 2,410m | Winner: Bin Battuta, Christophe Soumillon (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer)
7.05pm: UAE 1000 Guineas Trial Conditions (Dirt) | $100,000 | 1,400m | Winner: Al Hayette, Fabrice Veron, Ismail Mohammed
7.40pm: Handicap (T) | $145,000 | 1,000m | Winner: Faatinah, Jim Crowley, David Hayes
8.15pm: Dubawi Stakes Group 3 (D) | $200,000 | 1,200m | Winner: Raven’s Corner, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
8.50pm: Singspiel Stakes Group 3 (T) | $200,000 | 1,800m | Winner: Dream Castle, Christophe Soumillon, Saeed bin Suroor
9.25pm: Handicap (T) | $175,000 | 1,400m | Winner: Another Batt, Connor Beasley, George Scott
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World Cricket League Division 2
In Windhoek, Namibia - Top two teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which starts on March 4.
UAE fixtures
Thursday February 8, v Kenya; Friday February 9, v Canada; Sunday February 11, v Nepal; Monday February 12, v Oman; Wednesday February 14, v Namibia; Thursday February 15, final
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
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%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3EInform%20your%20doctor%20about%20your%20plans.%C2%A0%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EAsk%20about%20your%20treatment%20so%20you%20know%20how%20it%20works.%C2%A0%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EPay%20attention%20to%20your%20health%20if%20you%20travel%20to%20a%20hot%20destination.%C2%A0%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EPlan%20your%20trip%20well.%C2%A0%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A
Types of bank fraud
1) Phishing
Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
2) Smishing
The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
3) Vishing
The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
4) SIM swap
Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
5) Identity theft
Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
6) Prize scams
Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
Opening weekend Premier League fixtures
Weekend of August 10-13
Arsenal v Manchester City
Bournemouth v Cardiff City
Fulham v Crystal Palace
Huddersfield Town v Chelsea
Liverpool v West Ham United
Manchester United v Leicester City
Newcastle United v Tottenham Hotspur
Southampton v Burnley
Watford v Brighton & Hove Albion
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Everton
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
