withdraw

The sweeping changes will see the US quit major forums for cooperation on climate change, peace and democracy.

United States President Donald Trump has announced that he plans to withdraw the US from 66 United Nations and international organisations, including major forums for cooperation on climate change, peace and democracy.

In a presidential memorandum shared by the White House on Wednesday evening, Trump said that the decision came after a review of which “organizations, conventions, and treaties are contrary to the interests of the United States”.

The changes would see the US cease participation and also cut all funding to the affected entities, Trump added.

The list shared by the White House included 35 non-UN organisations, including notably the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance and the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Although the IPCC was included in the list of non-UN bodies by the White House, it is a UN organisation that brings together top scientists to assess the evidence related to climate change and provide periodic scientific assessments to help inform political leaders.

In addition, the White House said it was withdrawing from 31 UN entities, including the UN’s top climate change treaty body, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the UN Democracy Fund and the top UN entity working on maternal and child health, the UNFPA.

Several of the UN entities targeted also focused on protecting at-risk groups from violence during wars, including the UN Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children in Armed Conflict.

In a note to correspondents on Wednesday evening, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said that the UN expected to respond to the announcement by Thursday morning.

Despite publicly claiming he wants the US to have less involvement in UN forums, Trump has not held back from influencing decision-making at the international level.

In October last year, Trump threatened to impose sanctions on diplomats who formally adopted a levy on polluting shipping fuels that had already been agreed to at an earlier meeting, effectively sinking the deal for 12 months.

The Trump administration also imposed sanctions on UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese, after she published a report documenting the role of international and US companies in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

In 2017, Trump also threatened to cut aid from countries that voted in support of a draft UN resolution condemning the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the US also holds considerable power at the United Nations, as one of only five countries able to veto measures it doesn’t like, a power the US repeatedly used to block efforts to end Israel’s war on Gaza before mediating a ceasefire late last year.

Since beginning his second term in January last year, Trump has already withdrawn the US from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Paris climate agreement and the UN human rights council.

Trump also quit these three organisations during his first administration, but the withdrawals were all later reversed by the administration of former US President Joe Biden.

The US withdrawal from the WHO is set to come into effect on January 22, 2026, one year after it was ordered by the White House.

Between 2024 and 2025, the US contributed $261m in funding to the WHO, amounting to about 18 percent of the funding the organisation receives for its work encouraging global cooperation on a wide range of pressing health issues, including tuberculosis and pandemics, like COVID-19.

The Trump administration has also continued a US funding ban on the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, that began under Biden.

The UAE says it’s withdrawing all ‘counterterrorism’ units from Yemen after a Saudi-led coalition launched air strikes on a port in southern Yemen. Riyadh has accused the Emiratis of shipping weapons and military vehicles to aid Yemen’s separatist movement, an accusation Abu Dhabi denies.

On Dec. 17, the M23/AFC rebels announced their withdrawal from Uvira, a city in the South Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC),  due to pressure from the United States. The rebel group has, however, failed to keep its promise to restore peace in Uvira, thereby worsening the security and humanitarian situation throughout South Kivu Province.

Fighting has since persisted between the M23 rebels and the Congolese armed forces, known as FARDC.

Amid shrinking funding, partly due to new American foreign policies, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) reports that armed groups are looting health and educational facilities in the troubled region.

“Since the announcement of the withdrawal by the M23 from the town of Uvira on Dec. 17, the security situation remains extremely precarious in the localities neighbouring and along the Uvira-Fizi highway. Armed violence continues, provoking continued displacements. Meanwhile, looting targeting notably educational and health structures has been reported, thus compromising access to health and education by thousands of persons. This persistent insecurity continues while the territories of Fizi and Uvira are already faced with increasing cases of cholera,” the UNOCHA office in DR Congo noted.

The UN agency, which is responsible for coordinating response to global humanitarian crises, natural disasters, and conflicts, added that a climate of unrest continues in these areas. Local humanitarian sources indicate that at least seven healthcare facilities in the Ruzizi health zone of Uvira territory and the Fizi health zone of Fizi territory have been looted and vandalised. Eight primary schools supported by the World Food Programme (WFP) have also been affected. This situation significantly limits access to medical care and disrupts children’s education.

The invasion of the Uvira town by M23/AFC rebels has elicited strong reactions from the international community, particularly aimed at Rwanda. The US declared on Dec. 13 that Rwanda has failed to uphold its commitments made under the Washington Accord, which was concluded between Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame, with the participation of various regional heads of state and representatives from the African Union.

Facing international pressure, the M23/AFC rebels declared their intention to withdraw from Uvira to aid the peace process. This statement was released in a communiqué signed by Corneille Nangaa, the political coordinator of the rebel movement. However, a few days later, the American representative to the UN Security Council reiterated the call for the rebels to retreat at least 75 kilometres from Uvira, which they have yet to do.

Somalia has demanded Israel reverse its recognition of the breakaway region of Somaliland, condemning the move as an act of “aggression that will never be tolerated”.

Ali Omar, Somalia’s state minister for foreign affairs, told Al Jazeera in an interview on Saturday that the government would pursue all available diplomatic means to challenge what it described as an act of “state aggression” and Israeli interference in the country’s internal affairs.

The sharp rebuke came a day after Israel became the first nation in the world to formally recognise Somaliland, triggering swift condemnation across African and Arab nations, and raising concerns about whether the move was part of an alleged Israeli plan to forcibly displace Palestinians.

Somaliland broke away from Somalia in 1991 following a brutal civil war but has never secured recognition from any United Nations member state. The self-declared republic has established its own currency, flag and parliament, though its eastern territories remain disputed.

“This will never be acceptable or tolerable to our government and people who are united in defending our territorial integrity,” Omar said. “Our government strongly advises the State of Israel to rescind its divisive actions and abide by international law.”

Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, known locally as Cirro, had been signalling for weeks that recognition by an unnamed state was imminent, though he didn’t clarify which country. Somaliland’s capital Hargeisa had been dotted with billboards in recent weeks, telling residents that recognition was coming.

Omar said the strategic importance of the Horn of Africa was driving foreign interference and interest. “The importance of this region isn’t new. It is still important for international trade today,” he said.

‘Displacement of Palestinians’

Omar accused Israel of pursuing Somaliland’s recognition in order to further displace Palestinians from Gaza. “One of the motivating factors is the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza,” he told Al Jazeera. “It has been widely known – Israel’s goal on that issue.”

Palestine’s foreign ministry backed Somalia, recalling that Israel had previously identified Somaliland as a potential destination for forcibly displacing Palestinians from Gaza, which it described as a “red line”.

On Saturday, Somaliland’s Cirro defended the Israeli move, insisting it was “not directed against any state, nor does it pose a threat to regional peace”.

Hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the recognition on Friday, Somalia’s prime minister’s office issued a statement describing Israel’s action as a deliberate attack on Somalia’s sovereignty and an unlawful step, and emphasising that Somaliland remains an integral and “inseparable” part of the Somali territory.

Netanyahu framed the diplomatic breakthrough with Somaliland as being in the spirit of the Abraham Accords and said he would champion Somaliland’s cause during his meeting with United States President Donald Trump on Monday. Netanyahu also invited Cirro to Israel, which the latter has accepted.

But Trump has distanced himself from close ally Netanyahu on the issue, telling The New York Post newspaper he would not follow Israel’s lead.

Somalia’s Public Works Minister Ayub Ismail Yusuf welcomed Trump’s stance, writing on social media: “Thank you for your support, Mr. President.”

Trump’s comments marked a shift from August, when he told a news conference his administration was working on the Somaliland issue. In recent weeks, the US president has frequently attacked the Somali community in the US and Somalia.

The US has also expressed frustration with Somalia, saying at a recent UN Security Council meeting that Somali authorities had failed in improving security in the country despite billions in aid, and signalling it will not continue to fund a costly peacekeeping mission.

Meanwhile, the African Union’s chairperson, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, rejected any initiative aimed at recognising Somaliland as an independent nation, warning it would set a dangerous precedent with far-reaching implications. The continental bloc cited a 1964 decision on the intangibility of borders inherited at a country’s independence as a fundamental principle.

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit also condemned what he described as a provocative Israeli assault on the sovereignty of an Arab and African state. He said the Israeli recognition was a clear violation of international law and a flagrant infringement of the principle of state sovereignty.

Despite the international reactions, thousands poured onto the streets of Hargeisa on Friday to celebrate what many saw as the end of 30 years of diplomatic isolation. The Israeli flag was emblazoned on the national museum as residents welcomed the breakthrough.

Somalia has historically had contentious relations with Israel, stemming from Israel’s historic ties with Somalia’s regional rival, Ethiopia.

During the Cold War, Israel provided Ethiopia with military training, intelligence and weapons, while Somalia, aligned with Arab states hostile to Israel, was defeated in the 1977 Ogaden War, a setback that helped fuel decades of civil unrest.

Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 following persecution under former leader Mohammed Siad Barre, but Somalia has never recognised the breakaway region.

Earlier this month, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel revealed there had been communication with Somalia’s government about shared concerns over Houthi influence in the region.

But Omar, the Somali state minister for foreign affairs, strongly denied any ties with Israel, stating that the country’s position on Israeli policies remained unchanged.

The Ukrainian military says its forces have withdrawn from ​​the battle-scarred town of Siversk in the eastern Donetsk region after heavy fighting with Russian forces.

In a statement on Telegram on Tuesday, Ukraine’s General Staff said that Russian troops had a “significant advantage” in manpower and equipment and had exerted constant pressure on the defending Ukrainian troops by staging small-unit assaults in difficult weather conditions.

Ukraine’s decision to withdraw its forces was made to “preserve the lives of our soldiers and the combat capability of the units”, the General Staff said.

Heavy losses were inflicted on Russian forces before the order to retreat was given, and Siversk remains “under the fire control of our troops”, and “enemy units are being blocked to prevent their further advance,” the General Staff added.

Ukraine’s DeepState military monitoring site reported late on Tuesday that Russian forces had occupied Siversk as well as Hrabovske, a village in Ukraine’s Sumy region close to the border with Russia.

Russian Lieutenant General Sergei Medvedev had told Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 11 that troops had taken Siversk, where fighting has been fierce in recent months, but Ukrainian officials denied the Russian reports at the time.

Ukraine’s military said at the time that Russian troops were “taking advantage of unfavourable weather conditions” to launch attacks, but were mostly being “destroyed on the approaches”.

The Kyiv Independent news site said that, despite Siversk’s modest size – it had a pre-war population of 10,000, and now, just a few hundred civilians remain – the town was key to the defence of northern Donetsk.

The town had helped shield the larger Sloviansk and Kramatorsk areas, “the main bastions of Ukraine’s so-called ‘fortress belt’”, which Russia has been unable to conquer since the start of fighting, the Kyiv Independent said.

Donetsk is one of three Ukrainian regions at the centre of Russia’s territorial demands, which are the stumbling blocks to reaching an agreement on a ceasefire. Ukraine’s leaders have said they will not concede their country’s territory taken during Moscow’s invasion.

Russian forces had already seized an estimated 19 percent of Ukrainian territory as of early December, including Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014, all of the Luhansk region, and more than 80 percent of Donetsk, according to the Reuters news agency.

Russian forces also control about 75 percent of the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions, and small parts of the Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions, according to Reuters.

A 28-point peace plan first put forward by the administration of US President Donald Trump last month says that a negotiated settlement would see Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk “recognised as de facto Russian, including by the US”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently said that the United States is pushing for Ukraine to withdraw its forces from the Donetsk region to establish a “free economic zone” in the area, which he said the Russian side is referring to as a “demilitarised zone”.

Pope saddened as fighting continues over Christmas

The latest setback for Kyiv on the battlefield came as Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that Russian forces had launched another “massive attack” on Ukraine on Monday night, killing at least three people, including a four-year-old girl, across 13 regions targeted with drones and missiles.

In Russia, Ukrainian drone attacks killed four people in the Belgorod region over the past two days, local officials said.

Pope ‍Leo ‍expressed disappointment on Tuesday that Russia had apparently refused to agree to a ceasefire on December 25, the date many Christians celebrate Christmas.

“I will make ​an appeal one ‌more time to people of goodwill to respect at least Christmas ‌Day as a day of ‌peace,” Leo said, speaking to reporters outside his residence in Castel Gandolfo, Italy.

“Maybe they will listen to us, and there ‌will be at least 24 hours, a day of peace, ‍across the world,” he said.

While most people in Ukraine and Russia are Christians, many are Orthodox, meaning they observe Christmas on January 7.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced an unexpected 30-hour unilateral truce a day before Easter this year, a rare pause in Russia’s war on Ukraine, which has now continued for close to three years, after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Israel Katz says military units will be established inside the Palestinian enclave, in contravention of the truce agreement.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has said the Israeli military will never fully withdraw from the Gaza Strip and that an army unit will be established inside the Palestinian enclave.

Speaking on Tuesday, Katz said Israeli forces would remain deployed throughout Gaza, despite a United States-backed peace plan signed by Israel and Hamas in October that calls for a full Israeli military withdrawal and rules out the re-establishment of Israeli civilian settlements in the territory.

“We are located deep inside Gaza, and we will never leave all of Gaza,” Katz said. “We are there to protect.”

“In due course, we will establish Nahal [an Israeli infantry brigade] outposts in northern Gaza in place of the settlements that were uprooted,” Katz added, according to Israeli media.

Hours later, he issued a statement in English to the Reuters news agency, saying Nahal units would be stationed in Gaza “only for security reasons”. The Israeli media reported that US officials were displeased with Katz’s initial comments and demanded clarification.

Nahal units are military formations that combine civilian service with army enlistment and have historically played a role in the creation of Israeli communities.

Katz was speaking at a ceremony in the occupied West Bank marking the approval of 1,200 housing units in the illegal Israeli settlement of Beit El.

Addressing settlement expansion in the West Bank, Katz said: “Netanyahu’s government is a settlements government … it strives for action. If we can get sovereignty, we will bring about sovereignty. We are in the practical sovereignty era.”

“There are opportunities here that haven’t been here for a long time,” he added.

Israel is expected to head into an election year in 2026, with illegal settlement expansion a key political issue. Far-right and ultranationalist members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition have repeatedly said they intend to reoccupy Gaza and expand illegal settlements in the West Bank.

Under international law, all Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are illegal. The transfer of an occupying power’s civilian population into occupied territory is considered a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Meanwhile, violence by Israeli forces and settlers has continued across the West Bank, while killings continue in Gaza despite the ceasefire. Palestinian officials say more than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed, about 11,000 wounded and more than 21,000 arrested.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health said that since a ceasefire began on October 11, at least 406 Palestinians have been killed and 1,118 injured. Since the start of Israel’s war on October 7, 2023, the ministry said, 70,942 Palestinians have been killed and 171,195 wounded.