Countries must move rapidly to slash CO2 emissions from homes, offices, shops and other buildings -- a sector that accounts for a third of global greenhouse gas pollution, the United Nations said Monday.
Carbon dioxide emissions from the building sector rose around five percent in the last decade when they should have fallen 28 percent, according to a new report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Yemen's Huthis said on Tuesday they carried out their third attack on American warships in 48 hours, following US strikes on the Iran-backed rebels that sparked mass protests in areas under their control.
The rebels also condemned Israel's wave of strikes on Gaza, which the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said killed more than 400 people, vowing to escalate their own operations in support of ally Hamas.
The Huthis had targeted ships in the Red Sea after the start of the Gaza war and until a January ceasefire, claiming solidarity with Palestinians.
The EU led the way as donors on Monday pledged $5.8 billion euros in aid for Syria at a conference in Brussels -- but the call for funding to help the war-torn country after Bashar al-Assad's ouster fell short of last year as US support dries up.
Western and regional powers are desperate to steer Syria onto the road to stability after 14 years of civil war that have sent millions of refugees over its borders.
For the first time, the Syrian authorities were represented at the annual aid conference in Brussels -- with interim foreign minister Assaad al-Shibani attending.
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini acknowledges that it has been "stressful" leading the embattled UN agency for Palestinian refugees, but says he is confident he is "on the right side of history".
The 61-year-old head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees has, along with his organisation, withstood a barrage of criticism and accusations from Israel since Hamas's deadly October 7, 2023 attack inside Israel and the devastating war in Gaza that followed.
Aid workers in the Palestinian territories told AFP they are concerned that rules recently floated by Israel could make already difficult humanitarian work "almost impossible".
Since the war in Gaza broke out with Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, aid organisations have been contending with a "slippery slope" when it comes to Israeli authorities' tolerance for their work, said one senior NGO staffer.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that he was seeking to dismiss the head of Israel's internal security agency, who swiftly called the move political and said the premier expected "personal loyalty".
Netanyahu and Shin Bet head Ronen Bar have been engaged in a public spat in recent weeks over reforms to the agency, which has been accused of failing to prevent the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack that triggered war in Gaza.
US officials on Sunday vowed further strikes in Yemen until the Huthi rebels decide to end their attacks on Red Sea shipping, while also threatening action against the group's backer Iran.
In a wave of strikes on Saturday, the first against the rebel group since US President Donald Trump returned to office in January, several Huthi leaders were killed, the White House said.
The airstrikes "actually targeted multiple Huthi leaders and took them out," National Security Advisor Michael Waltz told ABC News.
Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels claimed on Monday to have twice attacked an American aircraft carrier group within 24 hours, calling it retaliation for deadly US strikes.
The Huthis initially said they launched 18 missiles and a drone at the "aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman and its accompanying warships" in the Red Sea, before hours later claiming to have fired a second round.
There was no immediate comment from the United States about the Huthis' claimed attacks.
Yemenis on Sunday recounted their panic and terror as the first US attacks under President Donald Trump struck rebel-held areas, killing dozens and wounding more than 100.
A "horrific explosion" rocked the capital, Sanaa, late on Saturday during suhoor, the night-time meal during the holy month of Ramadan, one resident said.
"The house shook, the windows shattered, and my family and I were terrified," father-of-two Ahmed, who did not want to give his full name, told AFP.
A massive explosion believed to have been triggered by a scrap dealer handling an old bomb killed at least 16 people in Syria, civil defence officials said Sunday.
The blast on Saturday in the Mediterranean city of Latakia demolished a four-storey building, ripping down slabs of concrete and crushing residents underneath chunks of their flattened homes.
Rescue officials pulled out the bodies through the night -- including five children -- as they searched for survivors.
