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UN Refugee Agency Hails $1.5 Bn in Early Donations Amid Funding Crunch

Ibrahim Mohamed Ishaq, 35, a Sudanese refugee father from el-Fasher, stands near firewood after purchasing it for warmth inside the Tine transit camp, after arriving and securing a place in eastern Chad, as he and his family flee ongoing clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese army, November 22, 2025. (Reuters)
Ibrahim Mohamed Ishaq, 35, a Sudanese refugee father from el-Fasher, stands near firewood after purchasing it for warmth inside the Tine transit camp, after arriving and securing a place in eastern Chad, as he and his family flee ongoing clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese army, November 22, 2025. (Reuters)
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UN Refugee Agency Hails $1.5 Bn in Early Donations Amid Funding Crunch

Ibrahim Mohamed Ishaq, 35, a Sudanese refugee father from el-Fasher, stands near firewood after purchasing it for warmth inside the Tine transit camp, after arriving and securing a place in eastern Chad, as he and his family flee ongoing clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese army, November 22, 2025. (Reuters)
Ibrahim Mohamed Ishaq, 35, a Sudanese refugee father from el-Fasher, stands near firewood after purchasing it for warmth inside the Tine transit camp, after arriving and securing a place in eastern Chad, as he and his family flee ongoing clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese army, November 22, 2025. (Reuters)

The United Nations refugee agency said Tuesday it had secured more than $1.5 billion in early pledges to support its work in 2026, at a time when aid funding is plummeting globally.

"Today's commitments show that the world has not turned its back on people forced to flee, and that support for refugees endures," United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) chief Filippo Grandi said in a statement.

During a donor conference in Geneva, governments pledged $1.16 billion to the agency for 2026, which was "slightly above the amount pledged last year... which was an all-time high", it said.

An additional commitment of $350 million from the private sector brought the total to $1.5 billion, covering nearly 18 percent of the UNHCR's projected funding needs for next year, it said, adding that additional contributions were expected in the coming months.

Top government contributors included Denmark, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands and Norway, alongside substantially increased contributions from Ireland, Luxembourg and Iceland, the UNHCR said.

It was welcome news for the agency, which is grappling with a towering crisis: amid surging global displacement, humanitarian funding has been fast evaporating this year.

The United States -- traditionally the world's top donor -- has slashed foreign aid spending since President Donald Trump returned to office in January, while other major donor countries have tightened their belts.

The UNHCR announced in October that it had been forced to shed nearly 5,000 jobs globally, with dire consequences for refugees in need of aid and protection.

"This year's drastic funding cuts -- neither necessary nor inevitable -- have been deeply counterproductive, leading to more instability and less protection, assistance and hope," Grandi said.

While welcoming the early pledges for 2026, the UNHCR said they highlighted a "worrisome trend", with the percentage of unearmarked funds dropping to just 17 percent -- nearly half of the 2023 share.

Humanitarian organizations prefer receiving flexible funds not bound to specific activities, allowing them to dedicate resources where they are most needed and react more easily to emergencies.

UNHCR has said it needs $8.5 billion to cover its 2026 budget -- down 20 percent from this year's.

This decrease is not due to a reduction in needs, but rather to a strategic shift in how UNHCR plans and implements its actions, it said last month, stressing a greater focus on protection, life-saving interventions and systems support in host countries.

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World

Iran Holds Massive Drills in Gulf

A handout photo made available on 05 December 2025 by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shows a missile being launched during a military drill in the waters off southern Iran coast. EPA/IRGC HANDOUT
A handout photo made available on 05 December 2025 by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shows a missile being launched during a military drill in the waters off southern Iran coast. EPA/IRGC HANDOUT
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Iran Holds Massive Drills in Gulf

A handout photo made available on 05 December 2025 by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shows a missile being launched during a military drill in the waters off southern Iran coast. EPA/IRGC HANDOUT
A handout photo made available on 05 December 2025 by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shows a missile being launched during a military drill in the waters off southern Iran coast. EPA/IRGC HANDOUT

Iran launched massive missiles in the Sea of Oman and near the strategic Strait of Hormuz during the second day of a naval drill, state TV reported Friday.

The report said the Revolutionary Guard launched the missiles from the depth of Iran's mainland, hitting targets in the Oman Sea and neighboring area near Strait of Hormuz in a drill that began on Thursday.

It identified the missiles as cruise Qadr-110, Qadr-380 and Ghadir that have a range of up to 2,000 kilometers. It said the Guard also launched a ballistic missile identified as 303, without elaborating.

The drill is the second one following the Israel-Iran war in June that killed nearly 1,100 people in Iran, including military commanders and nuclear scientists. Missile attacks by Iran killed 28 in Israel.

Earlier, Iran hosted an anti-terrorism drill in its northwestern province of East Azerbaijan with members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which, according to state Press TV, was intended to signal both “peace and friendship” to neighboring states and warn enemies that “any miscalculation would meet a decisive response.”

The SCO, a Eurasian security and economic bloc founded in 2001 to combat terrorism, separatism and extremism, often conducts joint military exercises among its members.

The organization includes China, Russia, India, Pakistan, and several Central Asian countries, with observer and dialogue partners such as Iran, Saudi Arabia and others participating in selected operations.

World

Taiwan Says China Deploys Warships in ‘Military Operations’

A Chinese PLA navy ship monitors an area during a maritime cooperative activity between the Philippines, Australia and Canadian navy near Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea on Sep 3, 2025. (AFP)
A Chinese PLA navy ship monitors an area during a maritime cooperative activity between the Philippines, Australia and Canadian navy near Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea on Sep 3, 2025. (AFP)
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Taiwan Says China Deploys Warships in ‘Military Operations’

A Chinese PLA navy ship monitors an area during a maritime cooperative activity between the Philippines, Australia and Canadian navy near Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea on Sep 3, 2025. (AFP)
A Chinese PLA navy ship monitors an area during a maritime cooperative activity between the Philippines, Australia and Canadian navy near Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea on Sep 3, 2025. (AFP)

Taiwan said Friday that China had deployed warships for “military operations” stretching hundreds of kilometers from the Yellow Sea to the South China Sea, posing a “threat” to the region.

Beijing, which claims self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory, neither confirmed nor denied the maneuvers.

Taiwan’s defense ministry and other security agencies were monitoring China’s activities and had a “complete grasp of the situation,” presidential office spokeswoman Karen Kuo told reporters.

She did not say how many Chinese ships were involved in the deployment, but a security source told AFP the number was “significant.” The source spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The operations were not limited to the Taiwan Strait, but extended from the southern Yellow Sea, to the East China Sea near the disputed Diaoyu Islands and on into the South China Sea and even the Western Pacific, Kuo said.

“This indeed poses a threat and impact on the Indo-Pacific and the entire region,” she said.

Taiwan urged China to “exercise restraint,” Kuo said, adding: “We are also confident that we can handle this matter well.”

Neither China’s armed forces nor state media have announced any increased military activity in the region where Taiwan said Chinese ships had been detected.

Beijing’s defense ministry spokesman Jiang Bin said Friday that the navy’s training on the high seas complies with international law and “is not directed at any specific country or target.”

He was responding to a question about a Chinese naval flotilla that reportedly may be heading toward Australia.

A spokesman for China’s foreign ministry said Beijing “has consistently followed a defensive policy” and urged “relevant parties” not to “overreact or... engage in groundless hype.”

China has refused to rule out using force to take Taiwan, and also contentiously claims sovereignty over nearly all of the South China Sea.

Taiwan’s intelligence chief Tsai Ming-yen said Wednesday that October to December was the “peak season” for China’s “annual evaluation exercises.”

There was a possibility that China’s ruling Communist Party could turn seemingly routine military activities into drills targeting Taiwan, Tsai warned.

Last December, Taiwan said about 90 Chinese warships and coast guard vessels took part in vast exercises including simulating attacks on foreign ships and practicing blockading sea routes in Beijing’s biggest maritime drills in years.

Beijing did not confirm the drills at that time.

The United States has historically been Taiwan’s main security backer.

But President Donald Trump’s administration signaled a potential shift in that policy on Friday, saying in a strategy document that its Asian allies Japan and South Korea should take on more of the burden of defending the region.

World

France Investigates Reports of Drones Over Nuclear Sub Base

A picture taken on December 5, 2016 shows a nuclear submarine at the naval base in Ile Longue, western of France. (AFP)
A picture taken on December 5, 2016 shows a nuclear submarine at the naval base in Ile Longue, western of France. (AFP)
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France Investigates Reports of Drones Over Nuclear Sub Base

A picture taken on December 5, 2016 shows a nuclear submarine at the naval base in Ile Longue, western of France. (AFP)
A picture taken on December 5, 2016 shows a nuclear submarine at the naval base in Ile Longue, western of France. (AFP)

French prosecutors are investigating after drones were suspected to have flown over a nuclear submarine base on the Atlantic coast late on Thursday, a prosecutor in charge of military affairs in the city of Rennes said on Friday.

Jean-Marie Blin said overflights had been reported from around 7 p.m. (1800 GMT) on Thursday until 1 a.m. (midnight GMT) on Friday morning, with the bulk of the sightings occurring during the first couple of hours.

He denied press reports that gendarmes had fired at the suspected drones, but said they had taken "precautionary measures".

Drone flights, mostly of unknown origin, have been disrupting Europe's airspace in the past few months. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called the incursions "hybrid warfare". Russia regularly denies accusations that it is responsible.

The Ile Longue base in northwest France houses nuclear-powered submarines, according to the navy's website. Each is equipped with 16 ballistic missiles carrying several nuclear warheads.

Blin said the investigation was for now focused on verifying whether there really had been drones in the sky. "Some of the reports may be completely fanciful, others are much more serious."

He said the reports had come from different people on site, including gendarmes and military officers.