Briefing by Ramiz Alakbarov, Acting Special Coordinator and Resident Coordinator at the Office of the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO), on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.
After wide consultation, the Secretary-General releases his report on the review of all forms of UN peace operations, including peacekeeping operations and special political missions.
The review calls for a reset in how we think about and use peace operations, including a sharper focus on peacemaking, stronger partnerships with host States, focused and adaptable mandates and more agile operations.
Conditions in Gaza remain dire despite a nearly year-old ceasefire.
UN Acting Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Ramiz Alakbarov reported renewed Israeli airstrikes on 12 August after a one-week lull; 100 Palestinian deaths and over 400 injuries during the reporting period; and continued settler attacks in the West Bank.
Mr. Alakbarav and High Representative for Gazan on the Board of Peace Nickolay Mladenov urged full implementation of the 15-point Roadmap and Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict, which envisions Hamas’ disarmament, Israeli military withdrawal, an international stabilization force and transitional Palestinian governance.
Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
– Tomorrow’s Guest
– Burundi
– Nigeria / UN House Abuja Bombing
– Asia Floods
– Security Council / Middle East
– Occupied Palestinian Territory
– Secretary-General / Peace Operations Report
– Colombia Earthquake
– Syria
TOMORROW’S GUEST
Tomorrow, Ms. María José Torres, the UN Resident Coordinator in Colombia, will join as a guest virtually and will give an update on the UN’s response following the recent earthquakes.
The Secretary-General is also expected, subject to confirmation later today, to be at the Security Council stakeout tomorrow at 9:45 a.m. to provide an update on the efforts regarding the devastating Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
BURUNDI
UN colleagues at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs note that the UN and its partners are continuing to support the Government-led efforts in Burundi to prepare for the potential spread of Ebola in that country.
While Burundi has not reported any confirmed Ebola cases, the country remains at higher risk due to its proximity to the affected areas in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and continued cross-border population movements.
Preparedness efforts include strengthened surveillance at points of entry through temperature screening and deployment of thermal scanners, including at the airport in Bujumbura.
The UN is also training healthcare providers, including nurses and community health workers as well as journalists.
Nearly 30,000 Ebola prevention posters have been distributed in three languages: Kirundi, Swahili and French.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization and its partners are supporting the national authorities in Burundi in updating their Ebola response guidelines and strengthening lab procedures for the safe collection and transportation of any samples.
At the end of June, Tom Fletcher, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, released $2 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund to bolster the preparedness efforts in Burundi.
NIGERIA / UN HOUSE ABUJA BOMBING
Today marks the 15 years of the terror attack on the UN House in Abuja, Nigeria.
26 August 2011 is a day the UN has not forgotten.
15 years ago, 13 of UN colleagues were killed in the terror attack. In addition, ten other people who were also in the building perished. Many others were injured.
To mark the grim anniversary, a remembrance ceremony was held today at the new UN House in Abuja.
Speaking at the event, UN Resident Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohamed Malick Fall, said that the fallen colleagues are remembered not only for how they died, but also for how they lived with courage and compassion.
The UN joins him in paying tribute to those who were injured, those who witnessed the bombing, and those who lost friends, colleagues, and family, noting that for many the shock and the trauma of that day remain.
15 years on, a number of suspects remain before the courts in Nigeria, but no convictions have been handed out to date.
The UN has not forgotten and will continue to push for those responsible to be held to account.
Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-08-26
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) (video statements)
The FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice on August 26 announced the disruption of a global botnet disruption used by a Chinese state-sponsored group known as QTFY to target U.S. critical infrastructure. In this video, FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director Brett Leatherman speaks to the significance of the disruption and discusses an associated Joint Cybersecurity Advisory that the Bureau and our partners issued to help defenders protect their networks from the group.
For a full transcript and download, visit: https://www.fbi.gov/video-repository/fbi-and-doj-announce-botnet-disruption-082626.mp4/view
To read the Joint Cybersecurity Advisory, visit: https://www.ic3.gov/CSA/2026/260826.pdf
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Acting Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP) Carl Skau linked disruptions in the Gulf to hunger elsewhere, saying, “an oil tanker anchored in the Strait of Hormuz can mean one less meal a day for a child in Sudan, where basic food costs are up almost 40 per cent since February this year.”
Skau warned that “suffocation of fertilizer exports has also hit this planting season hard across Africa and Asia,” and reported that WFP has been exposed to “20 per cent higher shipping costs, 35 per cent more on fuel for our airdrops and our humanitarian flights, meaning less assistance for the people we serve.”
On the Black Sea, he said Russian and Ukrainian exports “equal one third of global wheat supply,” and that “grain shipments through the Bosphorus Strait are now down 40 per cent year on year.”
On 27 august, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will give the keynote speech for the start of the La REF 2026 – MEDEF. The conference will gather business leaders, entrepreneurs, executives, partners, public-sector decision-makers, journalists, and civil society representatives coming together to amplify the voice of business, and take part in the leading economic and influence gathering of the season.
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Source: Republic of South Africa (video statements)
The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure South Africa, Mr. Dean Macpherson delivers his opening remarks at the 5th Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium of South Africa (SIDSSA)